AU-A&M: Tigers need better performance against Texas A&M
Auburn quarterback Bo Nix will need a solid performance if the Tigers are to upset Texas A&M on Saturday. (Auburn Media Relations/Todd Van Emst)
By TIM GAYLE
Auburn has only played one Southeastern Conference opponent in its history after playing in the Iron Bowl and anyone who remembers the 2001 battle for the SEC West at Tiger Stadium knows it wasn’t one of Auburn’s best performances.
That’s the fear facing the Tigers (5-3) as they play host to No. 5 Texas A&M (6-1) at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. on ESPN.
“We are all programmed with the Iron Bowl is over with and you’re thinking about postseason,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “Obviously, we came off of a tough loss, but the unique thing is we have a top five team coming in. We have a chance to redeem ourselves. So that is different and that should be a positive this week compared to your normal seasons. That’s the way we’ve got to look at it.”
Texas A&M is a 6.5-point favorite, in part because of the Aggies’ experience on both sides of the ball. The biggest challenge for Auburn may be moving the ball against the conference’s top-rated total defense.
“They’re very disruptive up front,” Malzahn said. “They’ve got a lot of guys that have played a whole lot of games. They’re athletic. They do some things scheme-wise that are a little bit different with all their twisting, moving and pressures. They don’t just have one, but just about all of them up front have the ability to do a good job rushing the passer, too. We have to run the ball effectively to be our best.”
Right tackle Brodarious Hamm and tailback Tank Bigsby, limited in their roles at Alabama, “will be similar from last week,” Malzahn said.
Defensively, the Tigers will face the conference’s top-rated rusher, Isaiah Spiller, who averages 112 yards per game.
“He runs hard, you’ve got to gang tackle him,” Malzahn said. “I’m impressed with the offensive line up front. They are leading the league in (fewest) sacks given up and I think that has a lot to do with the guys up front and has a lot to do with Spiller’s ability to run the football.”
Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said the key to his defense’s success on Saturday will be in how well in contains Auburn quarterback Bo Nix.
“Bo is a tremendous competitor, just like his dad was, and tremendous player,” Fisher said. “You have to have discipline, even on your blitz packages. If you match coverage and turn your back, you have to trust that those lanes are taken care of. If you are in zone you have to keep your eyes on the backfield and keep an eye on him when he comes out. You cannot let up on defense when you’ve got a guy like that.”
The Aggies weren’t particularly impressive last week against LSU, but that’s what impressed Fisher.
“I don’t mean this in a bad way, but I don’t know if we win that game before,” he said. “That’s why football is such a great game, you have to feed off of each other and that’s what you have to do to be successful. Our defense did that the other night for the offense and the offense has done it other times for the defense.”
Auburn will honor its 16 seniors prior to the game. Malzahn called them “a bunch of special people” and that it “means a lot to send those guys out with a victory.”
Both teams are in line for postseason play, but first Auburn will have to make up a game at Mississippi State on Dec. 12, while Texas A&M must play host to Ole Miss on Dec. 12 and travel to Tennessee on Dec. 19.