Auburn Football 2011: Mississippi State Comes to the Plains

It is easy for fandom to get quite carried away when the results are in for the first game of the season. Reports of doom and gloom were abundant after Auburn played Arkansas State to start the season in 2010. The same can be said of the Utah State game in 2011.

There are some very basic answers to many of the questions Auburn fans have.
1. Why does the Auburn secondary play so far off the line and allow short slants and timed pass plays to be so effective?

Auburn runs a base Tampa Two defense. In this scheme, the defensive back is not responsible for covering receivers in the flats or close to the line. The responsibility for this falls on the linebackers.

2. Why did Auburn not change to the nickel defense when passes started to be so effective? When a team switches to the nickel defense there is a price to be paid in rushing defense. Utah State was very effective rushing the football for the entire game.

3. Why did Auburn wait so long to utilize the passing game? This is only speculation, but it appeared that Gus Malzahn was giving his new quarterback time to settle into the flow of the game first.

Next Saturday Auburn plays Mississippi State in Jordan-Hare Stadium at 11:00 a.m.  CTS.

Seasonal statistics for Auburn and Mississippi State

Statistic	Mississippi State	Auburn
Rushing Offense	309 yards	78 yards
Passing Offense	336 yards	286 yards
Scoring Offense	59 points	42 points
Sacks Allowed	0	2
Punt Returns	5.83 yards	6.5 yards
Kickoff Returns	0	36.71 yards
Rushing Defense	164 yards	227 yards
Pass Defense	174 yards	221 yards
Sacks	2	1
Tackles for Loss	8	9
Net Punting	41.4 yards	41 yards
Scoring Defense	14 points	38 points

In their first game, Mississippi State ran 69 offensive plays averaging 9.35 yards per play. Auburn ran 54 plays averaging 6.74 yards per play. Neither team looked especially strong on defense to start the season.

This is the SEC opener for both teams this season. Fans can expect both teams to execute better in game two as wrinkles are worked out. This should be a very well played game this Saturday.

Prognostication

Auburn should win this game with less difficulty than they experienced in the first game of the season. Expect the Tigers to tie up loose ends and get the job done in this early season matchup. Auburn -10