Auburn’s defense finally flashed the kind of disruption it has been chasing, and now the Tigers get a chance to see if that surge was the start of something real.
After piling up six sacks and 12 tackles for loss in a 26-23 win over Arkansas, Auburn heads to Mississippi State with a pass-rush matchup that looks awfully inviting on paper. The Bulldogs have given up 31 sacks in nine games, second-most in the SEC behind Auburn’s 36, and the trouble has only grown since quarterback Kamario Taylor got hurt.
Mississippi State has surrendered 17 sacks over its last four games, including seven against Texas. That’s the backdrop for a Tigers front that suddenly has some momentum, thanks in large part to freshman linebacker Shadarius Toodle. In his first collegiate game, Toodle delivered three sacks and gave Auburn a new edge off the line.
“A lot of those sacks came with a four-man rush, which is, you know, whenever you’re able to do that, that really helps you defensively,” Durkin said during Monday’s press conference.
That matters because Auburn will need the front four to do a lot of the heavy lifting again. Durkin said the secondary helped against Arkansas by taking away quarterback KJ Jackson’s first options, which bought the rush extra time to get home. If that formula holds, it could create real problems for Mississippi State quarterback AJ Swann.
Swann has taken over for the injured Taylor and has started to find his footing, but Durkin pointed to the arm talent that makes him dangerous.
“He’s got real incredible arm talent. I mean, he can make all the throws on the field,” Durkin said.
Auburn also has a couple of young defenders in Jared Smith and Darrion Smith who are starting to show pass-rush ability. Durkin singled them out while discussing the growth of the defensive front.
“They have some natural pass rush ability,” Durkin said.
Head coach Alex Golesh, meanwhile, said the Bulldogs’ tempo is still a defining part of the challenge.
“It’s tempo. That piece has not wavered. They’ve gone and played really, really, really fast,” Golesh said.
That pace can make it harder to rotate bodies and substitute cleanly, which puts even more pressure on Auburn’s front to win its matchups without extra help. Through nine games, Auburn has 23 sacks, tied for ninth in the SEC, and the Tigers haven’t been consistent in that area all season.
But against Arkansas, everything clicked. With Toodle breaking out and several other defenders stepping up, Auburn showed what its defense can look like when the rush and coverage work together.
Now it gets another shot to prove that performance wasn’t a one-off. If Auburn can keep Swann uncomfortable without bringing extra pressure, the Tigers will have a real chance to tilt Saturday’s game in their favor.
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