Auburn vs. LSU: Suspensions Won't Keep LSU from Dominating in Death Valley

Playing the No. 1 team in the nation on the road, Auburn will take all the help it can get.

The best news the visiting Tigers have gotten all week is that the home Tigers of LSU will have three key players suspended for tonight’s contest.

Defensive backs Tyrann Mathieu and Tharold Simon, along with running back Spencer Ware, are slated to miss the game for testing positive for marijuana—as reported by nola.com. Even without their missing standouts, though, LSU has enough talent that Auburn isn't left with much to hope for.

The loss of Mathieu and Simon hurts, but doesn’t cripple a pass defense that still has presumptive first-round draft pick Morris Claiborne at corner. With Auburn breaking in a new starting QB in Clint Moseley, LSU hardly needs to be at full strength to contain what has been a mediocre passing game.

Meanwhile, with the LSU front seven unaffected by the suspensions, Auburn’s vaunted ground game will still struggle to find traction.

On the other side of the ball, Ware—LSU’s leading rusher—will be missed, but Michael Ford has been outstanding behind him this season. Elevating Ford to the top of the depth chart isn’t a major loss in quality for the home offense.

Few teams are good enough to lose three starting-caliber players and beat a ranked opponent comfortably, but LSU is one such team. Auburn, meanwhile, has struggled on the road, suffering decisive losses to Clemson and Arkansas and recording a narrow win in which they scored just 16 points at South Carolina.

LSU’s Tigers are too deep and too fast for Auburn’s Tigers to contend with in Death Valley, and even these suspensions won’t change that fact.