Auburn Football vs. South Carolina Gamecocks: Why the Tigers Need This Win More

This is a huge week for college football. In the SEC alone there are two top 15 showdowns. The Arkansas at Alabama is a big game drawing a ton of attention. This game could easily change the landscape of the SEC as well as college football this season with an Arkansas win.

The chance of the Arkansas upset is not out of the question but it does seem to be highly unlikely at this point. The so called upset of South Carolina at Auburn seems to be one that is more in reach.

However with Auburn at 14^th in the coach’s poll and South Carolina 15^th in the same poll, who makes the win an upset? I guess that really doesn’t matter after all. What truly matters is who wins this ballgame on the plains and who really needs this game more?

With a win, Auburn puts one more SEC win under their belt and just that much more confidence moving forward into the meat of the SEC schedule. More swagger heading into an SEC road test in two weeks is not a bad thing. As well, in the SEC western division, every conference win that you can get is as good as gold.

Auburn has a lot to prove in this game after a squeaker in the Clemson game a week ago. This defense has to shut down a running back that has shown a ton of tenacity and willingness to take the first hit and keep going. The front four for the Tigers are going to have to have a better showing than they did against Ellington a week ago.

If the Tigers can stop the run early and force the pass from Garcia, despite the size and skills of the receivers for the Gamecocks expect to see some pressure and mistakes from the Carolina quarterback position. Garcia has never been able to handle pressure well and being in the hard environment that Jordan-Hare Stadium has become, expect mistakes.

The second phase of the game that must improve for the Tigers is the offense. The running game has produced consistently in the past three games but at some point defenses are going to key the run and contain Newton. When that happens Newton is going to have to be able to answer through the air.

Newton has shown that he can throw the long ball. The guy has cannon. The key is going to be the success in the short passing game and if the Tigers can get some quick completions early. The running game is suffering a bit from the tailback position but it Newton can complete some throws early, even some passes to the H-back role, look for Auburn to hit its stride early.

The South Carolina defense is anything but a pushover but with a balanced attack and forcing the Gamecocks to back out of the box, Auburn should be able to make this game go in their favor.

So that’s why Auburn should win and can win for starters. Now why does Auburn need this win so badly? If you look at the West as I stated earlier the competition is harsh with the likes of Alabama, Arkansas, and LSU right around the corner. For Carolina they have to make it past Florida. The same Florida team that is searching for an identity and struggling to get the ball rolling in the early quarters is one that looks very beatable for the Gamecocks in the future.

South Carolina could lose this game and still be in the hunt for the SEC title game and an eastern division title. Auburn needs to pull out this win so that the home is still protected when the Razorbacks and Bayou Bengals come to town in back to back weeks starting October 16^th. Auburn needs the confidence and wins to prove that they belong in the west hunt and division talk.

Of course the biggest game to seal the fate of the Tigers comes at the end of this season to determine the winner of the western division possibly but this win will give the Tigers steam. It will get the wagon rolling even faster so that the race seems to be going downhill.

This week’s contest will bring a many questions that need answering to the table. How will Auburn fair against a quality opponent after a huge game at home? Will this be a showing as to how Auburn can handle future back to back tests in Arkansas and LSU? Will the Auburn offense be able to score early and will the defense be able to hold the middle and force Garcia into mistakes?

Those questions are going to be key for the outcome of this game. If South Carolina wins, Auburn isn’t out of the SEC race but their heads might be. They need this early momentum because at the moment, they aren’t playing mistake free football. They will have to play perfect in the future.