Auburn1954

Nix will have to be sharp. Especially on the behind the line passes to the wideouts. There is no hiding the weaknesses in the line along with the depth issues. Auburn will not run between the tackles unless Nix can force the PS linebackers outside to assist there cornerbacks. Harsin will probably turn Nix loose to run at will to the outside and that will help some but eliminating misses and dropped passes in practice this week would be a hell of a lot better solution. I haven't see a spread yet but would expect PS to be favored 3 to 7.

Great analysis and I have also noticed the tight ends are staying close to home and are not involved in short and mid-range receiving. I thought it was a compromise between Malzahn and Lindsey to add blocking protection for Stidham who, lets face it, has not performed well under pressure in the past. He will surly get an equal to or stronger pass rush from LSU than he did from Washington. Keeping the tight ends close to home also speeds up the hurry up and will keep LSU from using their depth substituting. Malzahn almost certainly has a play or two in his pocket for the red zone that will involve the tight end slipping into the end zone that LSU hasn't seen. We will know early if the hurry up is affecting LSU like it did Washington if LSU is hit with defensive substitution penalties. A couple of 12 or 13 men on the field infractions will force Orgeron to play straight up man to man which I think will be advantage Auburn. I also look for Malzahn to pour it on and not let LSU back into the game like last year in Baton Rouge. With that in mind I have taken Auburn to beat the 9 1/2 point spread and expect LSU to collapse in the fourth quarter with the noise and Marlon Davidson and Derrick Brown spending the game in their backfield.