There’ll be no easing into the 2019 season for Auburn and Oregon.
The Southeastern Conference’s Tigers, No. 16 in the Associated Press rankings, and the 11th-ranked Ducks of the Pac-12 will meet Saturday in the AdvoCare Classic at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
It’s the only Top 25 matchup ( Check out our Top 25 picks Against the Spread HERE ) and it’s a rematch of the 2011 BCS national title game in which Auburn edged Oregon 22-19 on a field goal as time expired. That was the teams’ only previous meeting.
“It’s as big as it gets,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said of the season opener. “You want to win, but one of the biggest advantages of playing one of the best teams in the country is you see where you’re at.”
Oregon returns a veteran squad, led on offense by quarterback Justin Herbert and a line that has a combined 153 career starts, the most in the country. Herbert, a senior who opted to return instead of entering the NFL Draft, has thrown a touchdown pass in 28 consecutive games, the nation’s longest active streak.
The Ducks have averaged 38.3 points per game in his 28 career starts.
Auburn plans to go with Bo Nix, who will be the first true freshman quarterback to start a season for the Tigers since 1946. (The NCAA made an exception for freshmen to play due to World War II.) Nix, a five-star prospect and son of former Auburn quarterback Patrick Nix, edged out redshirt freshman Joey Gatewood for the starting job.
“(Nix is) a very talented football player and whenever you name a starting quarterback, it means you have full confidence in that young man,” Ducks coach Mario Cristobal said. “They might play two (QBs) so we are prepared to play against both.”
The status of Auburn sophomore speedster Anthony Schwartz was up in the air as of Tuesday, with Malzahn saying it might be a game-time decision. Schwartz, a receiver who suffered a broken bone in his hand during camp, scored seven touchdowns last season as an all-purpose threat.
The game will pit Oregon’s experienced offensive line, featuring multiple potential first-round draft picks, against Auburn’s talented defensive line, which last season helped the unit rank 16th nationally in sacks (2.92 per game), tied for 20th in tackles for loss (7.4 per game) and 32nd in rushing defense (135.9 yards per game). Defensive tackle Derrick Brown is a potential high 2020 draft pick.
Oregon also boasts sophomore running backs CJ Verdell, who had 1,018 yards rushing (5.0 ypc) and 315 yards receiving in ’18, and Travis Dye, who rushed for 739 yards last season
“No one else in the country had a 1,000-yard rusher and a 700-plus-yard rusher as freshmen,” Cristobal said. “Those two guys, they’re gonna be playing the entire game.”
Auburn sports 28 players with at least one college start, 16 on offense and 12 on defense.
Cristobal, who was named coach before the 2017 Las Vegas Bowl, guided the Ducks to a 9-4 mark last season.
Malzahn begins his seventh season at Auburn with a 53-27 record and six consecutive bowl appearances. The Tigers finished 8-5 last season.
