Auburn’s upset of No. 1 Georgia changed the mood around the program in a hurry, but the challenge gets another step tougher Saturday morning.
The Tigers, now 4-2 overall and 2-2 in the SEC, welcome No. 18 LSU to Jordan-Hare Stadium at 11 a.m. on ESPN. And in AL.com’s weekly prediction roundup, both of the outlet’s Auburn beat writers are leaning toward the visitors.
Jerry Humphrey III picked LSU 28, Auburn 17. Peter Rauterkus went with LSU 38, Auburn 31.
Humphrey said Auburn is “on a roll after being the talk of the college football world after its upset victory over No. 1 Georgia last weekend.” But he pointed to LSU’s offense, noting the Tigers come in with Lane Kiffin at head coach and that Auburn will need to create turnovers the way it did against Georgia, when it forced three.
LSU, Humphrey wrote, is the SEC’s No. 3 offense and could also get tight end Trey’Dez Green back after he missed the last three games. He added that LSU averages 293.6 rushing yards per game and that quarterback Sam Leavitt leads the SEC with 21 touchdowns accounted for, including 14 passing and seven rushing.
“If Auburn can’t match LSU’s offensive production, they could find themselves in a massive hole early.”
Rauterkus said Auburn’s win over Georgia has brought “more positivity than the program has seen in the last few years,” but he still likes LSU to get it done on the road. He noted that LSU is a 7-point favorite as of Thursday night, even with both teams sitting on two losses.
Rauterkus also pointed to LSU’s 8-game road losing streak in SEC play, while acknowledging that Jordan-Hare is not an easy place to play. Still, he said it’s difficult to go against LSU here, especially with the Bayou Bengals ranking near the top of the league in total defense and rushing offense.
“If Auburn struggles to score and can’t stop the run, it could be a long afternoon.”
In Other News...
Auburns First Alabama Test Already Put One Tigers Role In Focus
An exhibition in Birmingham gave Alabama and Auburn an early chance to size each other up, and it also offered a useful preview of where Auburn stands in Steven Pearls second year. With the preseason still unfolding, the Tigers used the first half to sort through rotations and roles against a familiar SEC rival, while Alabama brought back key pieces in Aden Holloway and Amari Allen and looked every bit like a team that already knows what it wants to be.
For Auburn, the bigger takeaway was less about the scoreboard and more about how one role is starting to take shape against real competition. Early in the preseason, those minutes matter, especially in a matchup where every possession gets a little more attention than usual. The Tigers got an immediate read on one players place in the rotation, and that kind of clarity can be just as valuable in October as any final result. [Read more 🡒]
Auburns Alabama Clash Brought Out A Fire Tigers Fans Will Notice
Auburns preseason matchup with Alabama had the feel of a tune-up until a chippy exchange between Thomas Dowd and Keitenn Bristow helped spark a benches-clearing altercation. What followed was the kind of sideline volatility that can turn an exhibition into a glimpse of the edge both programs bring into this rivalry, with Auburn head coach Steven Pearl and Alabama coach Nate Oats getting into a heated exchange of their own and four players picking up technical fouls.
For Auburn, the more interesting part may have been the response. The Tigers came out with noticeably more energy and played better in the first half after the incident, a sign that the emotional temperature of the game seemed to suit them. In a matchup that was supposed to be about getting work in before the games start to count, Auburn at least left with a reminder of the intensity this rivalry can produce. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn's LSU Test Comes Down To One Brutal Offensive Challenge
Auburn is heading into a familiar kind of SEC stress test this week, with No. 17 LSU bringing one of the conferences better defenses to the field and plenty of ways to make life hard on an offense trying to find rhythm. Alex Golesh has already acknowledged the challenge, and the matchup appears to hinge on whether Auburn can give quarterback Byrum Brown enough time to operate against a front that ranks near the top of the league in sacks and overall defensive production.
From Auburns side, the path forward is straightforward in theory and brutal in practice: protect Brown, create something through the receivers and keep the running game involved enough to avoid becoming one-dimensional. LSUs defense has been built to punish mistakes and shrink comfortable throwing lanes, which means Auburns offense will need cleaner execution than it has shown at times if it wants to stay on schedule and keep this from turning into a long afternoon. [Read more 🡒]