keys to victory

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theplainsman.com

Players to watch, keys to victory for Auburn vs. Ole Miss

Last Updated 18 hours ago

5-6 minutes

The Tigers are coming off back-to-back regular season losses since Weeks 7 and 8 of the 2015 season. The Auburn offense is struggling more than it ever has under Malzahn and the whole offense is on the hot seat. 

This week’s game is crucial for the season to get back on track for Auburn. 

Here are some players to watch, keys to victory and stats that stand out for Auburn vs. Ole Miss:

The Ole Miss offense has been one of the most electric units in the country this season; a big part of that is quarterback Jordan Ta'amu. Ta’amu has dominated this season with his ability to throw the ball downfield and surgically pick apart defenses. 

With Ta’amu at the helm, the Ole Miss offense ranks sixth in the nation in yards per game. The Tigers have struggled with pass defense this season and even gave up a career day to a middle-of-the-pack quarterback last week in Jarrett Guarantano. The matchup between Ta’amu and the Auburn secondary is the most important to watch on Saturday and has the chance to make the biggest impact on the outcome of the game.

A.J. Brown (Ole Miss)

A.J, Brown’s has gone as predicted with him being one of the more elite receivers in the country. He currently sits ranked No. 10 in the country in receiving yards and 11th in receptions per game. 

Brown torched the Tiger secondary last season that was one of the better units in the country, but this season Auburn’s defensive backfield has struggled. Brown can easily use his big body to dominate the one-on-one coverage Auburn likes to run. Brown matched up against the smaller defensive backs of Auburn could turn into must-watch TV. 

Jarrett Stidham (Auburn)

Jarrett Stidham has come under some serious scrutiny this season after a series of poor performances. The argument can be made that without Stidham’s turnovers against LSU and Tennessee, Auburn would have walked out of those games with wins. But with losses instead of wins, the second-year starter is sitting on the hot seat. 

If Stidham wants to cool his hot seat, then he will need to return to his 2017 form with efficient passing with minimal mistakes. 

Keys to victory:

Auburn

- The Tigers have a lot of issues, their biggest one seems to be up front on the offensive line. Auburn has struggled to open up running lanes and give Stidham time to sit in the pocket comfortably. If Auburn wants any chance of some offensive success, it all has to start upfront. 

- Another one of the problems Auburn has faced is losing the 50-50 jump balls consistently. The Tigers catch a break with Ole Miss stud wide receiver D.J. Metcalf being out for the year, but they still have to defend against the rest of the talented receivers on the Ole Miss roster. Auburn needs to limit those plays as much as possible to avoid a repeat of last week. 

- Despite last week’s loss, Auburn put up the second-most yardage it has all season. The success partly can be attributed to the amount of plays the Tigers ran. Running a high amount of plays is a staple of the Malzahn offense and if the Tigers want to have more offensive success then they need to run upwards of 75-85 plays in order to pull this one out. 

Ole Miss

- The keys to victory for Ole Miss are simple. Ole Miss needs to pressure Stidham and make him uncomfortable. When Stidham is uncomfortable he makes mistakes and gets happy feet in the pocket forcing the play to breakdown before it has developed. 

- Like mentioned before the biggest matchup is Ta’amu versus the Auburn defensive backs. If he can make plays through the air against a struggling Auburn secondary, then that will open up the window for him to use his legs like last week where he had 141 yards rushing to go with 387 yards passing. 

Stats that stand out

10.6: Yards per attempt this season for the Ole Miss offense – good enough third in the country. The Ole Miss offense has dominated (minus the games against Alabama and LSU) this season, especially through the air. They have found success in explosive plays this season and that has sparked a passing game that is also No. 4 in the country in yards per game. 

71st: Auburn’s biggest defensive kryptonite has been the explosive plays allowed. That is why they find themselves ranked 71st in the country in yardage given up through the air. The thing that stands out is Auburn is 25th in opponent completion percentage at only 53.8 percent. So, what the stats are saying is that Auburn is not giving up a lot of completions but the ones that are given up go for a chunk of yardage. 

-4: Auburn’s current turnover margin in the month of October. The turnovers on offense and the lack of forcing turnovers on defense has been a recipe for disaster in October and if the trend continues the losses will continue to pile up.