Auburn football puts its perfect record on the line in Week 3 as it plays host to South Alabama. Auburn has continued to climb in the SEC power rankings as they have started strong this season. South Alabama enters the game at 1-1 on the year, but has yet to play on the road. They will face a tough test as they travel to Jordan-Hare Stadium in Week 3. As the two prepare to meet on Saturday afternoon, here are three bold predictions on the game.
South Alabama enters the game at 1-1 on the year. It was a solid start to the year for the Jaguars. In Week 1, the team faced Morgan State. South Alabama forced four turnovers in the game and capitalized each time. The offense would score three touchdowns and a field goal, putting up 24 points off turnovers in a 38-21 win over Morgan State. Week 2 was another solid performance, facing Tulane. South Alabama had a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, but Tulane tied it up before the end of the quarter. The team was down ten at the half but continued to fight back. With under a minute left in the game, Bishop Davenport completed a 26-yard touchdown pass to Devin Voisin. The Jaguars went for two but fell short. After a failed onside kick, Tulane took a 33-32 victory.
Meanwhile, Auburn is 2-0 on the year. The Tigers opened up on the road against Baylor. Baylor scored on the first drive, and after a three-and-out by Auburn, drove the field again. Inside the 5-yard line, Baylor went for it on fourth down to make it a two-touchdown lead, but failed. This led to Jackson Arnold orchestrating a 96-yard touchdown drive to tie the game. The major turning point of the game came in the second half, when Rayshawn Pleasant took a kickoff back 98 yards for a score. Auburn defeated Baylor 38-24. In Week 2, it was complete domination over Ball State. In the first quarter, the defense allowed just eight yards combined over three drives, helping Auburn to a 14-0 lead. Ball State did manage points in the second half, kicking a field goal, but still fell 42-3.
Auburn relies on the ground game
The Auburn offense has been great this year. Not only is the team 21st in the nation in points per game, but also 28th in yards per game. A major part of that has been the run game. Auburn currently runs the ball on 60% of its plays, ranking 25th in the nation. This has resulted in the offense being 11th in yards per rush and 10th in rushing yards per game this season.
This has been led by Jeremiah Cobb. The junior running back has run the ball 27 times this year for 195 yards and three touchdowns. He is averaging over seven yards per carry. He was spectacular against Ball State. While running the ball just 11 times, he still amassed 121 yards and two scores. Further, Arnold is a major threat to run from his quarterback position. He has run for 142 yards and two scores this year. It was not stat padding the rushing yards against Ball State that got him to this number. He ran 16 times against Baylor for 137 yards and found the end zone twice.
South Alabama has also struggled against the run this year. The defense is 112th in the nation, giving up 5.4 yards per rush. The Jaguars rank 125th nationally in opponent rushing yards per game. Last time out against Tulane, the defense gave up 241 yards on the ground against a solid Tulane rushing attack. Regardless, the defense also gave up 181 yards on the ground to Morgan State. With the strong run game of Auburn, expect them to have plenty of success on the ground in this one, possibly running for over 250 yards.
Bishop Davenport has a solid game
While the defense has not been great for South Alabama, the offense has been solid. South Alabama has scored 34.5 points per game this year and did well against a strong Tulane defense. A major reason for the success has been Davenport, the Jaguars' quarterback. He has completed 76.3 percent of his passes this year for 397 yards, with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Meanwhile, he has also run for 52 yards and a touchdown this year.
A major chunk of his yards came against Tulane. In the game against the Green Wave, he completed 17 of 24 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns. Two factors have helped play into the success of Davenport. First has been the running game. Kentrel Bullock has run for 234 yards with three scores on just 47 carries. That is good for five yards per carry and has opened up the passing game.
Second is Voisin, who has been a big-play threat on the outside. He has just 15 receptions, but for 221 yards and three touchdowns. The Auburn defense has been solid, but mainly against the run. Davenport will be able to make some big plays, most likely to Voisin, in this game.
The Tigers are caught in a trap game
Head coach Hugh Freeze noted that Auburn played much better in Week 2. This may not have been the best thing to publicly say. It is going to create a perfect trap situation for Auburn in this game. That could easily lead to complacency when facing a lower-level opponent.
The schedule also gets difficult from here on out. Next week, they will hit the road to face Oklahoma, having Arnold return to where he started his college career. Then it is a road trip to Texas A&M before the open week. After the open week, they have games against Georgia and Missouri. With four straight games against other ranked SEC opponents coming up, looking ahead to this difficult stretch could be on the mind of Auburn players.
Combine this with the fact that South Alabama nearly won last week as a two-touchdown underdog, plus having a solid quarterback, there could be a scare at Jordan-Hare. At the time of writing, odds according to FanDuel have Auburn as a 24.5-point favorite in this game. In the last nine games that a Hugh Freeze-coached team has been a double-digit favorite, his team has lost five times. That includes in 2024 against California when Auburn lost 21-14, and in 2023 against New Mexico when Auburn lost 31-10.
Auburn has been the victim of a major upset in both seasons with Freeze at the helm. This may not be an upset, but South Alabama is going to keep it close.
