GAME SNAPSHOT
KICKOFF: Saturday, 4 p.m. ET
SITE: Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Ala.
TV: SEC Network
SERIES: Auburn leads 17-5. Auburn won the last meeting 27-13 in 2008.
RANKINGS: Auburn No. 10
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Golden Eagles
–QB Jack Abraham is coming off a 428-yard passing game in the 40-22 win over Rice last week, the fourth-most in a game in program history. “Jack had an outstanding game,” coach Jay Hopson said. “He put the ball into play well, and he was our offensive player of the week.” Abraham has averaged 349.3 yards per game passing in three outings, completing 72 percent of his 107 attempts. He has 10 touchdown passes against three interceptions.
–WR Quez Watkins had 23 catches for 377 yards as a redshirt freshman last year, but already has 24 catches as a sophomore for 304 yards. He has half of USM’s 10 touchdown receptions and also has a touchdown on an 81-yard punt return.
–LB Jeremy Sangster leads the Eagles in tackles with 14, one more than NB Picasso Nelson’s 13. Sangster doesn’t have a sack, but has been credited with a quarterback hurry and a pass broken up.
–S Ky’el Hemby came up with an interception in each of his first two games. He had a team-high 81 tackles as a redshirt freshman last year and has nine stops in three games this season.
Tigers
–RB JaTarvious Whitlow has a firm grip on the rushing lead for Auburn, though he has yet to start a game. The redshirt freshman has rushed 57 times for 303 yards and a team-high four touchdowns.
–WR Ryan Davis has had multiple receptions in 18 consecutive games after snagging six balls in the win over Arkansas. Davis has a team-high 19 receptions for the season, good for 149 yards (second to WR Anthony Schwartz’s 163 on eight catches).
–LB Deshaun Davis leads Auburn with 29 tackles, which ranks fifth in the conference. He also has a sack and three quarterback hurries and has broken up a pass in leading the Tigers’ defense.
–CB Noah Igbinoghene has yet to record an interception since being moved from wide receiver but he has been credited with breaking up three passes and forcing a fumble to go along with his 13 tackles. The sophomore speedster return a kickoff 96 yards against Arkansas last week to earn SEC Special Teams Player of the Week. That gives him 141 yards on three runbacks. “I don’t know why but it came to my head that it was going to be a big play this weekend,” Igbinoghene said. “I actually dreamed about it.”
KEYS
TO THE GAME
Auburn coach Gus Malzahn is hoping to get more from his team’s offense when the Tigers host Southern Mississippi on Saturday. Kickoff on the SEC Network for Auburn’s homecoming is 4 p.m. ET at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn.
The Tigers rushed for only 91 yards and managed only 225 yards in total offense in last week’s 34-3 win over Arkansas. It was the lowest rushing total in a win during Malzahn’s tenure and the lowest in a victory overall since the 2011 opener against Utah State.
But Malzahn was preaching patience for this Tigers, saying that you have to look at the “big picture, and the reality is that we had an offensive line that had less than 20 starts coming into the season.
“And then you change our center goes with that, and then you’ve got really four new running backs, three of which are freshmen. And then you have a new freshman receiver who started for the first time.
“So there’s a lot of youth and inexperience, but I really feel strongly that this group is going to be a good offense. But they’re still a work in progress.”
In Southern Mississippi, the Tigers will be up against a defense that has held its three foes to an average of 132 rushing yards per game.
Eagles coach Jay Hopson isn’t putting all his plans on just stopping Auburn’s running game, however.
“You always want to stop the run, but if you hold them to zero yards rushing and they have 867 yards passing, then that’s not a good day at the office,” Hopson said. “You have to be aware of the run and the pass game.”
Frankly, the Tigers likely were looking for more out of their passing game this season. Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham has completed 64.2 of his passes but for just under 180 yards a game. Veteran receiver Ryan Davis has 19 catches, more than twice as many as any other receiver, but for only 149 yards — a 7.8 per-catch average.
Malzahn would like to see more “explosive” plays in both aspects of the offense.
“We haven’t had near as many as we have liked,” he said, “so we’ve got to figure out how to get that done.”
The Tigers’ longest rush against Arkansas was for 15 yards, their longest pass play 42 yards.
But the defense did keep things under control, holding Arkansas to just 141 yards passing. That is significant because the Golden Eagles are bringing one of the country’s most prolific passing games.
Southern Miss is No. 8 in the country in passing yardage per game (over 353). Quarterback Jack Abraham has completed 72 percent of his attempts with 10 touchdowns against only three interceptions.
Wide receiver Quez Watkins has 24 catches for 304 yards and five touchdowns.
“Offensively, they can really throw it,” Malzahn said. “I think they’re eighth in the country in passing yards. Their quarterback and receivers, they’re very impressive.”
The Tigers have allowed 211 yards a game to opposing passers, which ranks only eighth in the Southeastern Conference in pass defense, but are tied for second in the SEC in sacks (13) and third in interceptions (5).
They got to the Razorbacks for four sacks and an interception. That was coordinator Kevin Steele’s plan.
“We talked about putting pressure on the quarterback and disrupting the quarterback,” Malzahn said. “I felt like we did that, and I thought Kevin really mixed up his pressures well and presented a lot of different challenges to their offense.
“I thought that was good.”
Hopson is aware of the task his Eagles face at Auburn.
“They’re a good football team, there’s no ifs or buts about that,” he said. “We know we’ve got a good challenge.
