First off, if anybody wants to watch Auburn, their replay from last night will be on ESPNU at 3:00 today.
The Auburn team I saw last night didn't look like the ones we have seen in recent years. The only way Frazier beats us with his arm is if we don't cover Blake well, or we play that same prevent zone defense we played against JSU. Frazier is very inconsistent, but we have to make sure we don't allow him to pick up big yards running it when a play breaks down. This team is nowhere near as scary looking without Malzahn's offense. That being said though, we have to play well on the edges of the D-line, and not give up the big play around the ends.
Defensively, I thought they were about like last year. We should be able to move the ball against them, and we may see more of Dak than many think in this game. He can exploit some things and keep them off balance. I also fully expect to see Robinson up the middle a lot against them, and passes out of the backfield to Perk. I would think Morrow will provide some much needed running room too, because we will throw a deep ball to him occasionally to keep them from bringing safeties up for run support. I think we can run on them.
Overall, Auburn is very talented and can definitely beat us....but not if we don't set them up with great field position and turnovers. That offense should not be able to consistently drive the length of the field on us from what I saw. With them coming off of a loss into our home field, I think it is super important to get ahead early. If we can put some pressure on them by scoring first, I could see Frazier trying to do too much and our defense creating some turnovers. I'm cautiously optimistic about the game, but I truly think if we don't beat ourselves, they won't beat us. Touchbacks and no turnovers = a MSU win.
I'd love to hear others' thoughts on what they saw from Auburn and how it relates in game to our match-up.
The Auburn team I saw last night didn't look like the ones we have seen in recent years. The only way Frazier beats us with his arm is if we don't cover Blake well, or we play that same prevent zone defense we played against JSU. Frazier is very inconsistent, but we have to make sure we don't allow him to pick up big yards running it when a play breaks down. This team is nowhere near as scary looking without Malzahn's offense. That being said though, we have to play well on the edges of the D-line, and not give up the big play around the ends.
Defensively, I thought they were about like last year. We should be able to move the ball against them, and we may see more of Dak than many think in this game. He can exploit some things and keep them off balance. I also fully expect to see Robinson up the middle a lot against them, and passes out of the backfield to Perk. I would think Morrow will provide some much needed running room too, because we will throw a deep ball to him occasionally to keep them from bringing safeties up for run support. I think we can run on them.
Overall, Auburn is very talented and can definitely beat us....but not if we don't set them up with great field position and turnovers. That offense should not be able to consistently drive the length of the field on us from what I saw. With them coming off of a loss into our home field, I think it is super important to get ahead early. If we can put some pressure on them by scoring first, I could see Frazier trying to do too much and our defense creating some turnovers. I'm cautiously optimistic about the game, but I truly think if we don't beat ourselves, they won't beat us. Touchbacks and no turnovers = a MSU win.
I'd love to hear others' thoughts on what they saw from Auburn and how it relates in game to our match-up.