The Auburn Plainsman 10.8.20 Special Section

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Auburn Plainsman

TODD VAN EMST| AU ATHLETICS

2

The Auburn Plainsman: Arkansas vs. Auburn

October 8, 2020

Running Back: Shaun Shivers - 8 D.J. Williams - 3 OR Tank Bigbsy - 4 OR

Left Guard: Tashawn Manning - 56 Tate Johnson - 54 Kamaar Bell - 79

Tight End: John S. Shenker - 47 Luke Deal - 86 OR J.J. Pegues 89 OR Brandon Frazier 87 Wide Receiver: Seth Williams - 18 Anthony Schwartz - 5 Eli Stove - 12 Shedrick Jackson - 11 Ze’Vian Capers - 9 Kobe Hudson - 5

Center: Nick Brahms - 52 Jalil Irvin - 50 Right Guard: Brandon Council - 71 Keiondre Jones - 58 Kam Stutts - 62 Right Tackle: Brodarious Hamm - 59 Brenden Coffey - 55

OFFENSE

Defensive Tackle: Tyrone Truesdell - 94 Zykeivous Walker - 3 Maruqis Burks - 92

Cornerback: Roger McCreary -23 Matthew Hill - 19 Devan Barrett - 10 Eric Reed Jr. - 24 Free Safety: Jeremiah Dinson - 20 Chris Thompson Jr. - 5

Defensive Tackle: Colby Wooden - 25 Daquan Newkirk - 44

Strong Safety: Smoke Monday - 21 Jordyn Peters - 15

Buck: Derrick Hall - 29 T.D. Moultry - 99

Cornerback: Jaylin Simpson - 26 Nehemiah Pritchett - 14 Marco Domio - 17

Linebacker: K.J. Britt - 33 Wesley Steiner - 32

Star: Christian Tutt - 6 Zion Puckett - 31 Ladarius Tennison - 13

Kicker: Anders Carlson - 26 Ben Patton - 96 Punter: Aidan Marshall - 41 OR Oscar Chapmanl - 91 Long Snapper: Bill Taylor - 60 Holder: Ben Patton - 96 OR Grant Loy - 14 Punt Returner: Christian Tutt - 6 Ja’Varrius Johnson - 6 OR Mark-Antony Richards- 21

Kick Returner: Shaun Shivers - 8 Eli Stove - 12

Linebacker: Owen Pappoe - 0 Zakoby McClain - 9

ARKANSAS DEPTH CHART JACK: Dorian Gerald - 5 OR Zach Williams - 56

Nickelback: Greg Brooks Jr. - 9 LaDarrius Bishop - 24

Defensive Tackle: Jonathan Marshall - 42 Taurean Carter - 91

Cornerback: Montaric Brown - 21 Malik Chavis - 4

Quarterback: Feleipe Franks - 13 KJ Jefferson - 1

Left Tackle:

Running Back: Rakeem Boyd - 5 Trelon Smith - 22

Left Guard: Brady Latham - 62 Shane Clenin - 57 OR Luke Jones - 70

Tight End: Hudson Henry - 82 OR Blake Kern - 87

Center: Ricky Stromberg - 51 Ty Clary - 66

Wide Receiver: Treylon Burks - 16 Trey Knox - 7 Mike Woods - 8 De’Vion Warren - 10 Tyson Morris - 19 Kendall Catalon - 6

Right Guard: Beaux Limmer - 55 Ryan Winkel - 71

Defensive End: Eric Gregory - 50 OR Julius Coates - 13

Right Tackle: Noah Gatlin - 73 Dalton Wagner - 78

Weakside Linebacker: Bumper Pool - 10 Levi Draper - 30

Myron Cunningham - 76

Noah Gatlin - 73

Defensive Tackle: Isaiah Nichols - 93 Xavier Kelly - 97

Middle Linebacker: Grant Morgan - 31 Andrew Parker - 28

Strong Safety: Jalen Catalon -1 Myles Mason - 18 Free Safety: Simeon Blair - 15 OR Joe Fouch - 7 Cornerback: Jerry Jacobs - 0 Khari Johnson- 20

SPECIAL TEAMS

Mark-Antony Richards- 21

Defensive End: Big Kat Bryant - 1 Jaren Handy - 55

SPECIAL TEAMS

Left Tackle: Alec Jackson - 65 OR Austin Troxell - 68 Killian Zierer - 77

DEFENSE

Quarterback: Bo Nix - 10 Grant Loy - 14 Cord Sandberg - 24

DEFENSE

OFFENSE

AUBURN DEPTH CHART

Kicker: A.J. Reed - 35 Matthew Phillips - 80 Punter:

George Caratan - 40 OR

Sam Loy - 43

Long Snapper: Jordan Silver - 48 Holder: George Caratan - 40 Punt Returner: Treylon Burks - 16 Nathan Parodi - 14 Kick Returner: De’Vion Warren - 10 Treylon Burks - 16

October 8, 2020

The Auburn Plainsman: Arkansas vs. Auburn

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JOSH FISHER | PHOTOGRAPHER

Auburn linebacker Owen Pappoe (0) prepares for the snap during Auburn’s season opener against Kentucky.

‘Not going to fold;’ Auburn moving past loss

By IAN BIVONA Writer

With the Auburn Tigers taking on the Arkansas Razorbacks Saturday, last week’s 27-6 loss to Georgia is still a game that weighs heavy on the minds of the coaching staff and players.

“Obviously [last Saturday’s] loss was a tough loss, they really dominated the game,” Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said Sunday. “What we talked about with our team today was we’re going to learn from this. We’re an inexperienced team, we’re going to grow each week.”

The loss was Auburn’s worst defeat to Georgia since the 2017 SEC Championship, where the Bulldogs defeated the Tigers by 21 points. Auburn is now 2-8 in its last 10 matchups against Georgia.

“They got after us pretty good,” Malzahn said, “you have to give them credit. They’re probably one of the best teams in the country.”

A blowout loss is hard to look past and get over, especially when that loss comes to a rival. Auburn struggled to move the ball in the game, only racking up 216 yards of total offense versus Georgia’s 442 yards.

“A big part of football is establishing the run,” Auburn center Nick Brahms said, “we’ve got to do it. That starts with [the offensive line], we’ve got to make those holes for those running backs.”

The Tigers having success after an early season loss isn’t unheard of. In Auburn’s 2013 season they lost to LSU by two touchdowns in Week 4 before rallying off nine

straight wins to make the national championship. In 2017 the Tigers lost to Clemson, then won nine of their next 10 games to make a run to the SEC Championship.

“You can always look at past history and experiences especially after a tough loss in a big game like this,” Malzahn said. “We’ve had these games and we’ve referred to them during our team meetings. The championship-type teams, they respond and they improve.”

If the Tigers want to replicate their 2013 and 2017 success the main improvement that needs to happen is fixing offensive line woes.

Auburn’s offensive line has given up four sacks, three of which came against Georgia. In their first two games the Tigers have only put up 130 rushing yards, most came from running back Tank Bigsby and quarterback Bo Nix. The Tigers currently average 2.5 yards per rush compared to the 4.7 yards per rush that they averaged last year. Before the Tigers could even get a snap off against the Bulldogs there were two false start penalties, signaling miscommunication and a lack of chemistry on the offensive line.

This rough start to the game led to Auburn throwing the ball more, and all but abandoning the running game.

“We’ve talked the last two weeks about being able to settle on five [offensive lineman] and I think we’ll be able to do that,” Malzahn said. “I think the big thing [Saturday] is that we were behind, so we had to be in catchup-mode, just one dimensional.”

Accoriding to Pro Football Focus, Nix was pressured 22 times in Saturday’s loss. When Nix was pressured he went

6-of-19 with an interception and was sacked twice.

“We just have to do a better job of being balanced and running the football and throwing the football,” Malzahn said. “They made us one dimensional and that made it extremely tough.”

Another problem area the Tigers have faced through their first two games is third down defense. Auburn is currently allowing a 62% third down conversion rate, giving opposing offenses the opportunity to extend drives and wear out the defense. If the Tigers hope to make a run, this is another area that will need to be fixed.

“We all know our performance on Saturday wasn’t really Auburn football to the standard that we should have played in,” linebacker Owen Pappoe said. “But we’re looking past that. It’s behind us now. We’re looking at it to just learn from the mistakes that we made and make sure that we don’t have a performance like that again.”

Pappoe said on Tuesday that the team is putting the loss behind them, using this game as a learning experience for the young team. “[We’re taking it] one game at a time,” Pappoe said.

“What happened happened, there’s nothing we can do to go back and fix it, but what we can do is learn from our mistakes and things that we messed up on last game.”

Brahms also spoke about rallying as a team.

“We’re not going to fold,” Brahms said, “I think a lot of guys in our situation would’ve folded. We have some tough guys, we’re going to fight for Auburn, this program, our coaches and each other. We’re not going to let Georgia beat us twice.”

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The Auburn Plainsman: Arkansas vs. Auburn

October 8, 2020

TODD VAN EMST | AU ATHLETICS

Auburn center Nick Brahms (52) blocks for Tank Bigbsy (4) during Auburn’s 27-6 loss to Georgia.

Auburn offense and defense learning from mistakes

By MATTISON ALLEN Writer

After a disappointing loss in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry last Saturday, Auburn will have to quickly learn from its mistakes as they prepare for a meeting with the Arkansas Razorbacks this Saturday.

“We reviewed the film, corrected mistakes, went over corrections in practice and did that kind of stuff,” Auburn center Nick Brahms said. “Now, we’re moving onto Arkansas.

Saturday presents a unique opportunity for Auburn and new offensive coordinator Chad Morris. Morris spent the last two seasons as the head coach at Arkansas.

Brahms not only wants to rebound after the difficult loss, but also wants to play hard for Morris.

“I would say it’s definitely personal for

him,” Brahms. “In that matter, we’re playing for him, we’re playing for each other. I love that guy. I love Chad Morris. Coach Morris is awesome. I’m going to play for him, I’m going to play hard for him.”

This may be Morris’ first season on the Plains, but he has quickly earned the admiration of the players.

“I think everybody is honestly,” Brahms said. “Nobody takes him for granted because he’s a great person and a great man and a great coach. This is his former team that he coached for, so we’re going to play hard for him.”

The Auburn defense had its fair share of issues against Georgia. Although the Tigers were capable of holding Georgia to just three points in the second half, the Bulldogs also put up 24 points in the first half.

Auburn also allowed Georgia’s offense to

convert on third down 64.3% of the time in last Saturday’s game. The Bulldogs finished the day converting 9-of-14 times on third down against Auburn’s defense.

Linebacker Owen Pappoe wants to make sure that Auburn works on getting stops on third downs in practice this week.

“It was definitely hard to see that out there,” Pappoe said. “It was a struggle, but we’re going to regroup in practice this week and make sure we never see anything like that again.

We’re going to get that corrected for sure.”

Auburn is 1-1, with just eight games left in the season. The Tigers are planning to fix their mistakes from the loss to Georgia and watch Arkansas’ film to prepare for the second home game of the season.

Arkansas quarterback Feleipe Franks may have just joined the Razorbacks this offseason, but Pappoe feels that Franks has brought

new life to the offense.

“I think they look better than they have the past few years,” Pappoe said. “Definitely better than last year. They’ve got a new quarterback in Feleipe Franks; he’s a really talented guy and I think he’s brought that offense together and has those guys playing hard and playing together.”

The Razorbacks have been a surprise through the first two weeks and Pappoe knows Auburn will need to be ready on Saturday.

“So I think it’s going to be a pretty good game for us,” Pappoe said. “We’re going to have to give them all we got, because they’re going to give us their best shot.”

No. 13 Auburn will take on Arkansas Saturday, Oct. 10, in Jordan-Hare Stadium at 3 p.m. CST and will be broadcasted on SEC Network.

October 8, 2020

The Auburn Plainsman: Arkansas vs. Auburn

5

Behind Enemy Bylines

By ROBERT STEWART The Arkansas Traveler | Sports Editor

Q: How do you expect Arkansas’ offense to do against Auburn’s defense?

The Razorback offense should obviously be energized by the win against Mississippi State, but I’m not expecting much. They have only scored three touchdowns on offense so far, they have yet to score in a goal-to-go opportunity and Rakeem Boyd’s injury is a big question mark.

If Boyd is healthy, he could put up numbers like Zamir White did last week, but the Hogs will have to establish their running game if they want to score often against the Auburn defense.

Q: How do you expect Arkansas’ defense to do against Auburn’s offense?

I have watched Razorback football since the Bobby Petrino days and I’m not kidding when I tell you this could be the best defensive unit Arkansas has fielded in the last 12 years. Against Georgia, Arkansas yielded only three points in the first half. Against, Mississippi State, the Hogs picked off K.J. Costello three times, once for a touchdown, and stopped the Bulldogs on 4th-and-1 in the red zone on two different occasions in the fourth quarter. Bumper Pool and Joe Foucha were just named SEC Co-Defensive Players of the Week with 20 tackles and

two interceptions, respectively. I certainly expect Auburn to find the end zone this week, but the Tigers will have to earn it.

Q: How much of an effect do you think the weather will have on the game?

A rainy day would likely create a low-scoring affair, but even on a perfect day I wouldn’t expect this matchup to be a shootout.

Q: Are the Arkansas players treating this game any differently?

I don’t think anyone at Arkansas is looking at this game differently. If anything, Arkansas has a monkey off its back after snapping a 20-game SEC losing streak, but Pittman made clear in the postgame presser that the Hogs would be back to work as usual this week.

Q: What is the biggest change from last season to this year for Arkansas?

The biggest change, quite bluntly, is having a competent coaching staff. Chad Morris and his staff were clueless. Sam Pittman does not have prior head coaching experience, but it took him two games to deliver an SEC win. Morris never made that happen. He wasn’t outstanding as a head coach, but as Mizzou’s defensive coordinator, Barry Odom was brilliant. He’s coached the Hogs for two games in the same role and he already looks brilliant again.

Q: Now that they have an SEC win, what are the expectations for this team?

Pittman repeated in the postgame presser that “you’re supposed to win at the University of Arkansas.” That is true and that has always been true, but you have to put things in perspective. The Razorbacks still have six preseason Top 25 teams left to play including Auburn. Razorback fans tend to be easily lulled into optimism, but it is still unlikely that this team finishes in the top half of the SEC West this year.

Q: Who are some players to look out for on both sides of the ball for Arkansas?

Though the offense only put up 14 points last week, Feleipe Franks had the fourth-highest passer rating in the league with 117.0. Rakeem Boyd is a second-team AllSEC running back. Any of the pass catchers could go for 100 yards receiving if Franks makes an early connection.

Defensively, linebackers Bumper Pool and Grant Morgan are the top two tacklers in the SEC. Defensive backs Montaric Brown, Joe Foucha and Greg Brooks, Jr. all have interceptions this year and have Arkansas tied atop in the SEC in turnovers.

Q: Score prediction?

I wouldn’t be surprised if this is another low-scoring contest for Arkansas. Just in case Auburn’s offensive problems linger, I’ll take the upset, 20-17 Arkansas.

SEC MEDIA PORTAL

Arkansas running back Rakeem Boyd (5) carries the ball against Mississippi State.

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The Auburn Plainsman: Arkansas vs. Auburn

October 8, 2020

TODD VAN EMST | AU ATHLETICS

Athens, GA, USA; Defensive line stopping the run during in the second half between Auburn and Georgia at Sanford Stadium.

Report Card: Grading Auburn’s 27-6 loss to Georgia

By RYAN METCALF Writer

Auburn came into Athens, Georgia, hoping to snap the 15-year losing streak to Georgia in Sanford Stadium. Georgia boasted one of the most complete defenses in the country but a new young offense. There were a lot of expectations for Auburn to finally defeat the curse around the team when playing in Athens.

Quarterback: C-

Bo Nix struggled with Georgia’s constant pressure that forced him outside of the pocket nearly every play. Because Georgia was able to get into the backfield consistently, Nix rolled out of the pocket even when it wasn’t necessary forcing passes into coverage that couldn’t be completed.

Nix was 21 for 40 on his passes for only 177 yards. He had overthrown several deep balls with most of his completions being quick screen passes or checkdowns. Throughout the game Nix showed several glimpses of using his running abilities to be a factor in bringing Auburn back but that ultimately didn’t happen due to Auburn trying to force the passing game to work.

Once Georgia went up on Auburn by so much, the offense became one dimensional and Nix couldn’t win the game with his arm alone.

Running Backs: B

Due to Georgia’s early lead that they kept adding to very quickly, Auburn couldn’t establish a run game. Despite all that, Tank Bigsby was the only shining spot for Auburn Saturday night in Athens.

Bigsby running the ball wasn’t super influential because he only had 8 carries all game but his

31 yards was the most out of any Auburn player. His biggest contribution to the offense was his receiving. Bigsby caught 7 passes for an Auburn high, 68 yards. Most of his receptions came in plays when Nix needed to escape a sack or avoid the pressure.

In just his second game at Auburn, the true freshman made smart adjustments mid-play to try to help Auburn comeback. DJ Williams also got some reps at running back on Saturday but Tank Bigsby solely earned Auburn’s highest report card grade for the game.

false starts on the offensive line, they set a tone very early for how the game was gonna go. Auburn’s offensive line was overrun very early and often in the game. Georgia was able to put pressure on Nix without bringing extra rushers.

Not only did Nix not have any time in the pocket, the line was unable to create any push at the offensive line when running the ball. In close yardage situations, Bigsby was forced to follow his tight ends’ blocking and not his offensive line.

They say games are won in the trenches and Auburn’s offensive line definitely lost it there.

Auburn’s receiving core has improved every week since the start of last season and the Kentucky game in week one showed their potential but ultimately, they couldn’t do a thing against Georgia’s secondary. Auburn receivers only accounted for 113 of the team’s receiving yards as Bigsby out gained everyone else on the team.

Schwartz had several good standout moments and plays but became a non-factor once Auburn got a first down or two into a drive. Seth Williams got his usual one-on-one targets but just couldn’t bring them down like he did against Kentucky a week prior. Having to replace an injured Eli Stove, Kobe Hudson got his first career reception for Auburn but had nothing else go his way.

Auburn had an abundance of dropped passes that just didn’t happen against Kentucky. Maybe the crowd in Athens was to blame for putting the receivers in a shaky position all game but they definitely didn’t look the same as normal.

The only part of the team to perform worse than the offensive line, was the defensive line.

Georgia’s running backs averaged 5-yards a carry against Auburn’s line. Georgia could go full drives without passing the ball and they’d be completely fine. Auburn didn’t force a single loss of yardage play on a designed Georgia run, not one.

When Stetson Bennett IV would drop back to pass, he had a near perfect pocket every time with the exception of a sack by Auburn linebacker, Zakoby McClain. Georgia’s offensive line just bullied Auburn’s defensive line all game and they couldn’t adjust for it.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: D+

Offensive Line: F

After starting the game with two consecutive

Defensive Line: F

Linebackers: C+

The linebacker group gets their score because they earned some slack to be cut for their mistakes. The linebackers were forced to recover the mess that the defensive line left when Georgia’s running backs often made it to the second level of the defense on nearly every carry.

The linebackers also had to help in pass defense for an already short staffed secondary that lost their leader, Smoke Monday, a minute into

the game due to a targeting call. For those two reasons, the linebackers get off with the best score on the defensive side of the ball.

Secondary: C-

The secondary wasn’t great as Stetson Bennett IV threw 17 for 28 with 240 yards and a touchdown but they held their own in several key moments of the game. On a Georgia drive inside the 10-yard line, the Bulldogs threw for three consecutive downs and the Auburn secondary didn’t allow a single reception forcing Georgia to a field goal while the game was still within reach of Auburn.

Auburn’s biggest negative in the pass defense was their inability to cover Kearis Jackson. Jackson torched Auburn’s secondary all game for 147 yards on his 9 receptions. He didn’t score a touchdown but his catches set up easy Georgia scores.

Special Teams: B+

Anders Carlson did a great job making his only two field goal opportunities of 20 yards and 45 yards. The rest of the special teams were lackluster as Auburn used two punters because of struggling kicks and Tank Bigsby was unable to get any good kickoff returns.

Carlson had a touchback but also kicked one kickoff out of bounds allowing Georgia great field position to start their drive. Both Aidan Marshall and Oscar Chapman accounted for a downed punt inside the 20 but neither of them could consistently hit good punts with their long being only 50 yards between the two of them.

Bigsby had a couple of decent returns but nothing too flashy as most of the kickoffs went for touchbacks and Auburn didn’t return either of the two punts Georgia kicked.

October 8, 2020

The Auburn Plainsman: Arkansas vs. Auburn

7

SEC

standings SEC EAST 1st - Florida (2-0) 1st - Georgia (2-0) 1st - Tennessee (2-0) 2nd - Missouri (0-2) 2nd - Kentucky (0-2)

2nd - South Carolina (0-2) TODD VAN EMST | AU ATHLETICS

2nd - Vanderbilt (0-2)

Tank Bigsby catches the ball along the sideline against Georgia.

Bigsby shines against Georgia

By RYAN METCALF Writer

Even in Auburn’s defeat in Athens, Georgia, Saturday, the team found out more about freshman running back Tank Bigsby. Bigsby gave the fans a glimpse of his potential ability on the ground and in the passing game.

Bigsby was given the start at running back for Auburn due to injury complications with Shaun Shivers, Auburn’s starting running back on the depth chart. Running back D.J. Williams received reps in the passing game and as a blocker as Auburn attempted to replace Shivers.

The true freshman was the feature back in the loss despite getting eight carries all game. He was the only running back to receive a carry and led the team in rushing with 31 yards. Quarterback Bo Nix was the only player with more carries on the ground, rushing 11 times in the contest.

“You know, that was the best part of the night, just watching him play,” Nix said. “We’ve just got to get everybody playing like Tank.”

Bigsby also led Auburn in receiving yards with seven receptions for 68 yards. The freshman back had several designed screen passes, but his impact in the passing game came from his play in non-designed short passing yardage situations.

When Nix was forced to scramble or needed to throw the ball quickly to avoid a sack, Bigsby was often placed around the line of scrimmage, waiting to help the offense from losing yards.

“You know, that was the best part of the night, I think. Just watching him play,” Nix said.

“That guy’s a fighter, I’ve never really seen anything like it. He just competed his butt off, and I mean he was a spark there when we needed one, and he kept us ahead. He made some huge plays there over and over and over, and he’s the one that kind of kept us rolling, so I was really pleased with what we saw out of him.”

Bigsby’s stats weren’t flashy, but his impact didn’t go unnoticed from the team, and with Shivers’ injury still unknown, Bigsby might have a lot more opportunities in the upcoming weeks.

SEC WEST 1st - Alabama (2-0) 2nd - Texas A&M (1-1) 2nd - Arkansas (1-1) 2nd - Miss. State (1-1,) 2nd - Ole Miss (1-1) 2nd - Auburn (1-1) 2nd - LSU (1-1)

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