Hunting Hogs with Hank

    In week 4 of college football, the Auburn Tigers take on the Arkansas Razorbacks. Both teams are 2-1 on the season and looking to have a strong start to SEC play. The game airs at 2:30pm on ESPN and the fans are asked to wear orange, blue, or white depending on where they are sitting in an effort to power stripe the stadium.

    Last week, Auburn took on the New Mexico Lobos in a game in which redshirt freshman quarterback Hank Brown got his first start of his college career. I loved what I saw from Hank Brown in his first start. He went 17/25 passing and threw for 235 yards against a defense that I understand is one of the worst in college football, but that's not all I saw that I liked. In the game against New Mexico, I saw a quarterback that stood in the pocket and went through his progressions until he found an open receiver. I saw a quarterback that wasn't afraid to stand in the pocket in the face of pressure and make a good throw to a receiver, even if it meant taking a hit. I saw a quarterback that observed the defense and made the right checks based on what he was seeing. Finally, I saw a quarterback that took charge on the field and led his team through the game. These are all things that I have not always seen out of Payton Thorne. Good quarterback play isn't the only good thing I saw from this offense on Saturday. The tigers ran the ball for 268 total yards, with Jarquez getting a bulk of the workload with 20 carries for 152 yards. Running the ball is a weapon that Auburn will have to utilize in conference play, but hopefully will not have to lean on with hopes of a more potent passing attack. 

    On the other side of the ball, however, Auburn did not look so good. The Auburn defense allowed 448 total yards of offense in the game against New Mexico. The defensive backfield for Auburn looked a little suspect at times, allowing receivers to get open, blowing coverages, and ultimately allowing Devon Dampier to throw for 291 yards. The Auburn defensive backs are young and inexperienced, though, so I believe that this group will get better as the season progresses. One thing the defense did well was stopping dual threat Dampier from running the ball as he only had 17 rushing yards although the defense did allow 157 total rushing yards. It is imperative that this defense finds its identity as we get into conference play, as the offenses they face will be of a much higher caliber. 

    Switching gears, the Tigers will welcome the Arkansas Razorbacks into Jordan-Hare stadium this Friday as each team opens up conference play. Arkansas brings in a high-powered offense led by quarterback Taylen Green. This dual threat quarterback has already thrown for 806 yards and ran for 245 yards in just 3 games this season. The Auburn defense will again have to control a dual threat signal caller this week. This offense averages 587 yards per game thus far this season and averages 328 passing yards per game, a stat that is scary to read after watching this Auburn defense. This razorbacks defense is stingy, only allowing about 290 total yards per game this season. They have proven themselves to be good at stopping the run, only allowing 59 rushing yards against Oklahoma State. The feature player on this defense to me is Xavian Sorey Jr. who has already recorded 23 tackles and 1 sack this season. 

Keys to the Game 

    Hank Brown will face a much stiffer defense this week as compared to last week. He will face much more pressure and will have to stay calm in the face of that pressure to complete his passes. Passing is something this offense will have to rely on facing a defense that is proven to be a run stopper but is not as good at defending the pass, allowing about 280 passing yards per game. As stated earlier, this Auburn defense will have to focus on slowing the legs of Taylen Green, but can they also stop him from throwing the ball? Defending the pass is something Auburn has not done particularly well either so far this season, allowing about 243 passing yards per game. The Auburn defense struggled to stop the passing attack of New Mexico last week, so can they stop an SEC passing attack? 

Delay of Game

    As we all know, the Florida State Seminoles are struggling this season, and struggling is putting it lightly after a 20-12 loss to Memphis last weekend. In the driver seat of this struggle bus is head coach Mike Norvell. One of Mike's jobs is to make decisions and changes in an effort to give his team the best chance at winning and in my opinion the main thing keeping this team from winning is the quarterback, DJ Uiagalelei. So far this season, the fifth-year senior is posting a 57% completion percentage on 666 total yards, despite what it seems, these aren't smoking hot numbers. If you need more convincing, he ranks 88th in the country with a 43.1 QBR. How can you look at these numbers from a fifth year senior and not feel like a change is warranted? This team has nothing to lose at this point and they need to realize that things can't get much worse. Mike Norvell needs to stop delaying and try a new quarterback.

Words from the Author

    Thank you for reading this week's installment of AUthentic Insights. I hope to be able to start a podcast one day. I would greatly appreciate sending this to your friends and family! Let's go fry some bacon. War Eagle!