DJ Durkin has seen this LSU offense before, and that makes Saturday’s matchup a little more interesting for Auburn.
Durkin spent two seasons working alongside Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss, and even though LSU now has Charlie Weis Jr. calling the plays, plenty of Kiffin’s influence still shows up in the Tigers’ attack. That familiarity gives Durkin a head start on what Auburn’s defense is about to face.
“They have a unique style in terms of their tempo. They put stress on you,” Durkin told reporters on Monday. “They do a really good job within their tempo of giving you multiple formations, motions.”
That stress has helped LSU build one of the country’s most productive offenses. The Tigers rank seventh nationally in both total yards and points per game, and in SEC play they’re averaging 406.3 yards of total offense per game, which sits fifth in the conference.
The run game has been especially sharp. LSU is averaging 196 rushing yards per game, good for fourth in the SEC, and that figures to test an Auburn defense that has had trouble slowing the run at times in conference play.
Tempo is a problem Auburn sees in practice, too. Its own offense operates at a high pace, so the defense is no stranger to the demands of lining up and getting set quickly. But Durkin was clear that LSU uses tempo in a more layered way than most teams.
“A lot of times tempo teams keep it basic on that because they’re trying to go fast, so they’ll line up and roll,” Durkin said. “They do a good job of both. Lane and Charlie and his guys, they understand defenses, so they do things for a reason.”
Kiffin himself noted on Monday that these kinds of matchups can tilt toward the coordinator, since he tends to give his assistants plenty to work with. How much that matters on the field will be known Saturday, when Auburn’s defense runs into one of its biggest challenges of the season.
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