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Auburn Football vs Arkansas State: 5 Things to Watch for in Game 2
Sep 3, 2016; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers quarterback Sean White (13) speaks to his teammates on the field during the first quarter against the Clemson Tigers at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports
Coming off a narrow loss to the number two team in the country to start the season, hopefully Auburn will come out inspired against Arkansas State this weekend.
The Red Wolves are coming off an embarrassing loss to Toledo in which their defense gave up 30 points and over 500 total yards.
The Auburn Tigers should be able to do the same this Saturday night if they play to their potential.
The Clemson game left us with more questions than answers, and hopefully we’ll get those answers against Arkansas State.
This is a game that Auburn should win easily – they’re favored by 19 points – but I hope the starters get a lot of playing time.
There are still so many questions all over the offense, as well as in the secondary and linebacker positions on defense.
Most of those guys are inexperienced and need the playing time against a team like Arkansas State. The Red Wolves are not a push over as they’re the favorite to win the Sun Belt, but it’s still a game that our players should be able to get a rhythm going.
Here are five things to watch out for this Saturday night as Auburn takes on Arkansas State at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Sep 3, 2016; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers quarterback Sean White (13) takes a snap during warm-ups prior to the game against the Clemson Tigers at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports
The Quarterback Situation
The quarterback situation at Auburn has been unsettled now for almost an entire year. Neither Jeremy Johnson nor Sean White could establish themselves as the clear leader last year.
Those two battled for the job with John Franklin III all throughout the offseason. A little over a week before the first game Sean White was named the starting quarterback. Then three possessions into the first game all three of them had played the position.
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Even the guys over at Lowder know that’s not how you run a business.
So after all that time we’re still without a clear number one at quarterback.
Sean White was once again named the starter for this game. Gus Malzahn also owned up to the fact that using all three quarterbacks so early was not the best idea … no duh.
It sounds as if Sean White is going to be allowed to run the full game plan, for the entire game, and John Franklin III will come in for specific running packages.
I think that’s the plan that makes sense to everyone, let’s hope Malzahn gets on that same page.
Jeremy Johnson should only be inserted into this game if we have a big lead in the fourth quarter, or need to throw a Hail Mary before the end of the first half.
The quarterback situation needs to be settled before Texas A&M and LSU come to town. I hope Gus Malzahn let’s Sean White get into a rhythm against Arkansas State.
Sep 3, 2016; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn reacts during the first quarter against the Clemson Tigers at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports
Does Gus Malzahn Switch up the Game Plan?
Building off that first point, it will be interesting to watch how Gus Malzahn switches up his game plan against Arkansas State.
He had eight months to prepare for Clemson and it looked like he just spun a wheel to pick a play in that game.
He’ll now have just one week to put together an actual game plan against his former team.
Anyone that watched the Arkansas State-Toledo game Friday night knows that the Red Wolves can be beaten through the air. They gave up 371 yards passing to the Rockets.
A lot of that was because Arkansas State stacked the box to stop Toledo’s strong run game. That worked for a minute, but once Toledo’s quarterback completed a few passes, that front seven backed off.
If Malzahn has any bit of sense left in him, he’ll allow Sean White to get in a rhythm making some short passes.
I’m not talking about simple screen passes as defenses see that coming from a while away when they play us. He needs to complete some passes five to 10 yards down field.
There should be plenty of open space as Arkansas State will likely load the box against us expecting the run. If Sean White can complete some passes early, it will slow down their defensive front and then we’ll be able to gash them on the ground.
Whatever the game plan is, it has to be different then what Malzahn tried against Clemson. I really hope the ‘mastermind’ comes up with a solid game plan against Arkansas State this weekend.
Sep 3, 2016; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers running back Kerryon Johnson (21) carries up the field past Clemson Tigers linebacker Ben Boulware (10) during the third quarter at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Running Back Depth
One of the many head scratching decisions from the Clemson game was the distribution of carries.
Kerryon Johnson got his fair share with 23 carries, which I’m happy with. I would love to see him get 20 carries against Arkansas State this weekend. If he does, I think he eclipses 100 yards.
What I don’t understand, is how none of the other 18 carries actually went to a running back?
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Wide receiver Stanton Truitt got four carries, fullback Chandler Cox got four carries, quarterback Sean White had four carries and quarterback Jeremy Johnson had six carries.
Running backs Kamryn Pettway, Malik Miller and Kam Martin did not receive a single carry in the game!
Remember that fourth down inside the 10 when Jeremy Johnson was at quarterback with an empty backfield and ran the ball up the middle for no gain? A play that everyone in the world knew was coming.
Why not have your bruising, 240 pound tailback try and ram it up the middle?
It still would have been an obvious play choice, but at least you have an actual running back carrying the ball with some lead blockers.
I can understand to a certain extent why Miller and Martin didn’t receive any carries.
However, I would expect both of them to get some touches against Arkansas State. In fact, it’s very important that they do so we’ll know what kind of depth we have at running back before the Texas A&M and LSU games.
Sep 3, 2016; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers fans react during the first half against the Clemson Tigers at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports
Improvements on the Offensive Line
The offensive line was a bit disappointing against Clemson – especially in the first half when Auburn had one rushing yard.
They gave up four sacks, which two of them could be blamed on the quarterbacks not getting rid of the football.
I like the group of Austin Golson, Alex Kozan, Xavier Dampeer, Braden Smith and Robert Leff.
Golson, Kozan and Smith all started last year, while Dampeer and Leff were backups. I think this is a very strong unit, so I’m hoping they can bounce back against Arkansas State.
According to Pro Football Focus, Leff scored the highest grade of all the offensive lineman for Auburn because of his run-blocking. He did allow two sacks in the game though.
For the entire game, Auburn rushed for just 87 yards on 41 attempts for an average of 2.1. That is downright terrible.
Things seemed to really open up in the second half, especially with John Franklin III at quarterback. I think the threat of a running quarterback helped open up some running lanes.
Clemson’s defensive line was very inexperienced after losing two guys to the NFL Draft, but they were also very talented.
Arkansas State has a very good defensive line that could also give our offensive line some problems.
This will be another big test for the offensive line, so I’ll be watching to see if they gel together better in week two.
Once Toledo opened up the passing game against Arkansas State they were able to run for 184 yards, averaging 4.1 yards per carry.
I think we should at least be able to average around 4 yards rushing per carry this weekend, knowing they’ll stack the box against us.
Sep 3, 2016; Auburn, AL, USA; Clemson Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) passes the ball against the Auburn Tigers during the first quarter at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports
Will the Defensive Line Get a Sack?
Let me be clear, the defensive line played exceptionally well against Clemson. For the most part they stuffed the run up the middle, and they got enough pressure on Deshaun Watson to make him get rid of the ball early.
However, they didn’t record a single sack in the game, and Auburn only had three tackles for a loss.
Last year Auburn only had 19 sacks as a defense. Coming into this year with one of the best defensive lines in the country, I picked Auburn to have over 30 sacks.
They didn’t quite get out to a good start coming away with zero against Clemson. Granted, Deshaun Watson is a hard guy to bring down.
Still, the three tackles for a loss is not a great number either considering Clemson’s inexperienced defensive front helped produce 14 tackles for a loss in the game. Some of that can be blamed on horrible play-calling and a struggling offensive line.
Last week Toledo recorded 4 sacks and 9 tackles for a loss against the Arkansas State offensive line.
Carl Lawson hasn’t recorded a sack in over a year, so I’m really hoping he breaks that streak this weekend.
I would also love to see Marlon Davidson get his first sack as an Auburn Tiger.
Arkansas State quarterback Chad Voytik is experienced and can move, but I still think Auburn gets at least three sacks this weekend.
Going forward we need more impact plays from the defensive line. Hopefully they get things kick-started this weekend against Arkansas State.
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