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One of two coaches sitting on the hottest seats in college football will move to 3-0 when Texas A&M visits Auburn this week. Kevin Sumlin is trying to improve upon two straight 8-5 seasons while Gus Malzahn is attempting to secure a better finish than last year’s 7-6 mark.
Here’s a look at how their teams match up Saturday night at Jordan-Hare Stadium (7 p.m. ET, ESPN):
When Texas A&M has the ball
QB Trevor Knight vs. Auburn pass defense: Knight has done a decent job as a passer in his first two starts with the Aggies, completing 54.4 percent of his passes for 583 yards, 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. But he’s been even more effective with his feet, as evidenced by his 16 carries for 109 yards and 3 TDs. Granted, he compiled most of those rushing numbers against Prairie View A&M, but that’s a whopping 6.8 yards per attempt.
The Aggies’ receiving corps is as good as any in the conference – and the country for that matter. Christian Kirk is tied for first in the SEC with 13 catches, while teammate Josh Reynolds is sixth in the league with an average of 21.8 yards per catch.
Then, there’s also Ricky Seals-Jones (6 receptions, 90 yards) to worry about as well. Auburn cornerbacks Carlton Davis and Joshua Holsey along with safeties Stephen Roberts, Nick Ruffin and Tray Matthews will have their work cut out for them.
Auburn has allowed 254 passing yards per game to rank just ninth in the league. The Aggies will try to exploit the Tigers’ tendency to allow big plays — especially passing ones.
EDGE: Texas A&M
RB Keith Ford vs. Auburn run defense — Ford has rushed 22 times for 127 yards and 3 TDs so far. His season average of 5.8 yards per attempt is a little more than the 5.6 he’s averaged for his career, which he started with Oklahoma.
Auburn is tied for fifth in the SEC, allowing 108.5 rushing yards per game. The Tigers are also fifth in the conference in rushing yards allowed per attempt at 2.8.
Auburn held Clemson, which has an outstanding running back in Wayne Gallman, to 151 rushing yards in its opener. Arkansas State managed just 66 yards on the ground against the Tigers last week.
We can see Knight and Ford combining for about 110 rushing yards on Saturday night. If that scenario unfolds, there’s a good chance the Tigers will come out on top.
EDGE: Auburn
WR Christian Kirk vs. Auburn pass defense — Kirk is following up a tremendous freshman season during which he finished in the top five in the SEC in receptions (80), yards (1,009) and TD catches (7). In a weird statistical coincidence, his yards per catch average (12.62) this season is almost exactly what it was in 2015 (12.61).
In last year’s matchup against Davis and Auburn, Kirk finished with 7 receptions for 44 yards and no scores with Kyler Murray and Jake Hubenak throwing to him. The more-experienced Knight might have more success getting Kirk the ball, but the Tigers – particularly new defensive coordinator Kevin Steele – should use last year’s game film as a blueprint.
EDGE: Even
When Auburn has the ball
QB Sean White vs. Texas A&M pass defense: White has looked good so far in his first two starts, completing 61.4 percent of his passes for 384 yards, 3 TDs and an INT. With 14 carries for 58 yards, he’s also shown improvement as a runner.
Against Clemson, White struggled against a mostly inexperienced secondary. Last week, the redshirt sophomore exposed Arkansas State’s less talented group.
In light of the fact that A&M has two of the best pass-rushing book ends in the country in Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall, it’s somewhat surprising that the Aggies are just 10th against the pass in the SEC, yielding 258 yards per game.
The Aggies’ secondary consisting of cornerbacks Priest Willis and Nick Harvey along with safeties Armani Watts and Justin Evans surrendered 343 passing yards to UCLA QB Josh Rosen in A&M’s season-opening win over UCLA. The foursome was much better against Prairie View A&M last week, but this week’s matchup feels like a toss-up.
EDGE: Even
RBs Kerryon Johnson and Kamryn Pettway vs. Texas A&M run defense: Auburn scorched Arkansas State for 462 rushing yards last week while averaging 7.5 yards per carry. Pettway (15 carries, 152 yards) and Johnson (18, 124, 2 TDs) were the biggest contributors in that department.
While Auburn has been impressive running the ball this season, A&M has been just as impressive stopping. One week after holding UCLA to 125 yards on 40 carries, the Aggies smothered Prairie View A&M, yielding just 32 yards on 28 attempts.
Thanks to its performance last week, Auburn is currently the top rushing team in the SEC. Meanwhile, the Aggies are fourth in the conference against the run.
Something’s gotta give on Saturday night. The Gus Malzahn vs. John Chavis matchup should be a fun one to watch.
EDGE: Even
WR Marcus Davis vs. Texas A&M pass defense: Davis leads Auburn with seven catches, but Tony Stevens tops the Tigers with 91 receiving yards and 2 TDs. Kyle Davis made a great one-handed grab last week, but it would be nice to see him average more than one catch per game.
A&M’s passing D has been one of the worst in the SEC so far. White might be able to exploit it, but he has to be able to elude Garrett and Hall first.
Considering how good A&M has been against the run so far, Auburn may end up having to throw more than it usually does. This is a battle between two of the teams’ weakest units.
EDGE: Even
Special Teams
Having made 4-of-5 field goal attempts, Texas A&M’s Daniel LaCamera is off to a good start. But Auburn’s Daniel Carlson, a Lou Groza Award finalist last season and arguably the best place-kicker in the country, is already 5-for-5 in that category and earned SEC Special Teams Player of the Week honors after running for a 20-yard touchdown on a fake field goal attempt.
The Aggies’ Shane Tripucka is fourth in the SEC with an average of 45.1 yards on nine punts. Meanwhile, Auburn was so efficient on offense last week that it didn’t have to punt.
Nevertheless, AU’s Kevin Phillips averaged 44.4 yards on five punts against Clemson. Auburn and A&M are tied for first in the SEC with 11 touchbacks apiece; the Aggies’ Evans is fifth in the conference with an average of 21 yards on three kickoff returns, and the Tigers’ Rudy Ford is 11th, having averaged 13.8 yards on four returns.
EDGE: Auburn
Stan Chrapowicki is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, Alabama and Auburn.
