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How much longer will Gus Malzahn continue to start Sean White at quarterback? Why is White starting Saturday night’s home game against LSU?
Two weeks ago against Arkansas State, backup John Franklin III made quite the impression on Kevin Sumlin. Here’s what the Texas A&M coach had to say about the junior college transfer going into Auburn’s game with the Aggies last week:
Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin says both John Franklin III and Sean White "threw the ball extremely well last week." JFIII didn't attempt a pass.
— John Zenor (@jzenor) September 14, 2016
As John Zenor of the Associated Press points out, all Franklin did was run the ball against Arkansas State. And he did it quite well against the Red Wolves with 4 carries for 70 yards in Auburn’s 51-14 victory.
He followed that up with a 9-carry, 47-yard performance against Texas A&M in the Tigers’ 29-16 home loss last week. It came in mop-up duty, but averaging more than five yards per attempt against any SEC team is nothing to sneeze at.
Speaking of averages, White averaged fewer yards per pass attempt (4.7) than Franklin did per carry. A&M has two of the best pass-rushers in the country in Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall, but even after White’s performance, the Aggies are still allowing just 5.6 yards per attempt and 226.3 passing yards per game.
Against Auburn, A&M was worse against the run, surrendering 236 yards on 54 carries. The bad thing for the Tigers was that they lost going away despite running the ball — their strong suit so far this year — significantly more than they passed (35).
That ratio has been pretty consistent so far season. Auburn has run the ball 157 times while throwing 88 passes over its first three games.
The running game has been a staple of Malzahn’s offenses for years. Over the last two seasons, Auburn’s passing game behind Jeremy Johnson and White has not been nearly as good.
White is completing 63.4 percent of his passes this year, but that accuracy hasn’t translated into production as only seven of his throws this season have gone for 20 yards or more. That lack of productivity is somewhat surprising considering the fact that Auburn brought in a pair of five-star receiving prospects in Kyle Davis and Nate Craig-Myers as well as four-star Eli Stove and three-star Marquis McClain in this year’s recruiting class.
Davis has made the biggest impact of that group by averaging 32 yards per catch. But for some reason, he’s averaging just one reception a game.
Coincidentally, Craig-Myers has made only one catch. But why would Malzahn recruit these receiving prospects and not use them as much as possible?
Another number that jumps out about the White-led offense is that Auburn is allowing an FBS-leading 11 tackles for loss per game. The offensive line has a lot to with that as well, but despite that eye-opening stat, the Tigers lead the SEC with 262 rushing yards per game, and they could probably push that average to 300 if they make more of a commitment to the run.
That would entail handing the offense off to Franklin, who has thrown only nine passes this season, completing five. Recruited as a dual-threat QB, Franklin has been more effective as a runner, but as ineffective as Auburn’s passing game has been, can he be any worse than Johnson and White have been?
And here’s another poignant and relevant question. With Auburn looking as bad as it did against A&M and as much as it has regressed since Malzahn’s terrific first year when the Tigers won the SEC championship before falling by a field goal to Florida State in the BCS National Championship Game, what does he have to lose by turning to Franklin?
Malzahn should look to Auburn’s next opponent — LSU — for inspiration regarding making a quarterback switch. Since replacing Brandon Harris with Purdue transfer Danny Etling, the Bayou Bengals — albeit unimpressively — have won two straight games.
Without a doubt, having a Leonard Fournette in your backfield makes it easier to make a change at QB. No one on Auburn’s roster approaches Fournette’s ability, but Kamryn Pettway and Kerryon Johnson have more than held their own, so that shouldn’t be an excuse for standing pat.
The bigger issue is that the Tigers run the risk of not even qualifying for a bowl if they don’t do anything. If Auburn doesn’t beat LSU, the only other games you’d feel comfortable betting on Auburn are against Louisiana-Monroe, Vanderbilt and Alabama A&M.
Malzahn won’t survive a four-win season. So what’s he waiting for?
“I’ve been at Auburn for seven years now, experienced some very good times, a few rough times,” Malzahn told the Associated Press on Tuesday. “The last two losses have probably hurt me worse than any of the others. I fully understand our fan base is disappointed, and they should be. The bottom line is we’ve got to coach our players better, and that starts with me.
“The fact is, we’re close. As a matter of fact, we’re real close to being a good team, and we’re going to get this thing turned around.”
From his lips to God’s ears. But at this point, does anyone believe that?
Stan Chrapowicki is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, Alabama and Auburn.
