Auburn has gotten enough out of its ground game to keep winning, but not enough from its running backs to make the offense feel settled. That’s the issue staring at the Tigers as they head into Saturday’s matchup with Mississippi State.
Quarterback Byrum Brown has carried a huge load on the ground all season. He leads Auburn with 605 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 162 carries, and he’s responsible for nearly 43% of the Tigers’ rushing yards. That kind of production has helped mask some offensive issues, but it also shows how much Auburn is leaning on one player to move the ball.
The imbalance showed up again in last weekend’s 26-23 win over Arkansas. Brown ran for 121 yards on 23 carries, while Jeremiah Cobb and Omar Mabson II combined for only 50 yards on 15 attempts. Auburn escaped with the win, but the split in production was hard to ignore.
The strange part is that Cobb and Mabson have both flashed real efficiency when they’ve been given chances. Cobb has 396 rushing yards on 81 carries, good for 4.9 yards per attempt.
Mabson has 263 yards on 50 carries and is averaging 5.3 yards per carry. The numbers say both backs can help.
Auburn just hasn’t turned either one into a steady part of the offense.
That leaves Alex Golesh looking for more balance from a rushing attack that ranks ninth in the SEC at 155.9 yards per game. It also puts more pressure on an offensive line that has been shuffled by injuries and different combinations all season.
“It sounds like coach speak, but it is truly detail and execution, and it’s guys winning one-on-one matchups, early downs,” Golesh said.
That challenge gets tougher against a Mississippi State defense that has been sturdy against the run. The Bulldogs are sixth in the SEC in rushing defense, giving up 121.3 yards per game and 3.39 yards per carry.
Still, Auburn’s backs are contributing in ways that don’t always show up in the box score. Late in the Arkansas game, Mabson and offensive lineman Cole Skinner had a moment of immediate player-to-player accountability after a blocking play, a small scene that fit the standard Golesh has been pushing.
The Tigers have found ways to win despite their offensive inconsistency, but they’ve also struggled to find rhythm early in games. If Auburn wants more than just survival on offense, it needs more from Cobb and Mabson - not just Brown carrying the load again.
In Other News...
Auburns Postseason Picture Just Got A Lot More Interesting
Auburns path to the postseason is suddenly much clearer, and a lot more interesting, after the win over Arkansas pushed the Tigers to 5-4. With one more victory needed to lock up bowl eligibility, the conversation around this team has already shifted from survival to where it might land in December, and there are no shortage of possibilities floating around.
Different outlets have Auburn slotted everywhere from the Texas Bowl to the Gasparilla Bowl, Liberty Bowl and Birmingham Bowl, with potential opponents that range from Oklahoma State to USF and Illinois. None of those projections are set in stone, of course, but they do reflect how much the Tigers finish could shape not just whether they go bowling, but the kind of stage and matchup they end up getting. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Pass Rush Faces Its Biggest Test Since Arkansas
Auburns defense finally looked like the disruptive unit the Tigers have been chasing, piling up six sacks against Arkansas and getting a breakout performance from freshman linebacker Shadarius Toodle, who finished with three of them. Coaches made clear afterward that the pass rush and the coverage behind it have to work together, because one without the other can still leave a defense vulnerable even on a good day.
Mississippi State brings a different kind of test, though the setup is still favorable for Auburn if it can carry over the same edge. The Bulldogs have already allowed 31 sacks this season, and they are turning to AJ Swann at quarterback after an injury to Kamario Taylor, which puts even more pressure on Auburn to get home early and force the issue. For a defense trying to prove the Arkansas outing was more than a one-week surge, this is the next chance to show it can consistently make life miserable in the backfield. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Offense Faces One Last Hurdle To Finish The Job
Auburn is one win away from bowl eligibility, and Saturdays trip to Mississippi State offers one more chance to turn a promising stretch into something with a little more staying power. Offensive coordinator Joel Gordon pointed to the need for a better start after a sluggish first half against Arkansas, a reminder that the Tigers cannot afford to spend too much time searching for rhythm if they want to finish the job.
The formula is fairly clear from here. Auburn needs more from the running game, with Jeremiah Cobb and Omar Mabson among the pieces expected to help, while Byrum Brown has to keep the passing attack efficient enough to avoid long dry spells. On top of that, the Tigers must stay on the field on third and fourth down, because extending drives may be the difference between simply competing and finally locking in bowl eligibility. [Read more 🡒]