The Auburn Tigers look to get back to their winning ways after a two-week losing skid. The Tigers head to Oxford, MS looking to extend their winning streak against Ole Miss to eight straight victories.
The Auburn Daily staff is back to give their thoughts on this week's contest against the Ole Miss Bears Landsharks Rebels.
ZAC BLACKERBY - Starting the Landshark, Benching the Bear, Cutting the Rebel.
LINDSAY CROSBY - Start Colonel Reb, Bench Tony the Landshark, Cut Rebel the Black Bear.
Look, I know the connotations with the whole "rebel" thing. I get it. But picking a bear and naming it Rebel was dumb. The story's interesting - supposedly Teddy Roosevelt, then the current president, was on a trip to Mississippi and refused to shoot a bound black bear, calling it both "majestic" in its beauty and cruel in the manner in which it was offered to him (bound and restrained, defenseless against Teddy's rifle). But getting rid of a cartoon "Rebel" and then naming your new mascot "Rebel" is just kinda...missing the point of making the change in the first place?
The Landshark is interesting but it's no Admiral Ackbar. Give me the OG Colonel Reb.
LANCE DAWE - Start the Rebel, bench the land shark, cut the bear. Just like God intended.
ANDREW STEFANIAK - Start Landshark Bench Bear Cut Rebel
TREY LEE - Start the Landshark, Bench the Rebel, Cut the Bear
GRAY OLDENBURG - Start Rebel, Bench Landshark, Cut Bear (doesn’t make any sense)
COOPER POSEY - Start the Landshark, bench the Rebel, and cut the Bear.
JEREMY ROBUCK - Start Admiral Ackbar. For those who don’t know this Star Wars character got a major push by the student body to replace Colonel Reb that was unfortunately shot down by Lucasfilm.
Bench the Landshark. It wasn’t the worst idea, and had some merit as it was a theme on defense, but it shouldn’t have won as their mascot.
Cut the Rebel Black Bear. Apparently the teddy bear originated in Mississippi, but that is not a good enough reason to choose this as a mascot. Given that this was their stated reason in the final proposal, this means that their school mascot is a teddy bear.
JACK SINGLEY - Start Bear, Bench Rebel, and cut Landshark
ZB - It all comes down the the offense. Can the Auburn offensive line be average? Can the coaches scheme receivers open? Can Tank Bigsby and Jarquez get some space?
It could happen but hasn’t so far this season.
LC - Build the best possible offensive line out of NFL players that are on their bye week (Detroit Lions, Las Vegas Raiders, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans) and then hope that they can keep defenders out of the backfield so that Tank Bigsby has room to work AND give Robby Ashford some space to get the ball downfield.
LD - A lot differently on offense, and it starts up front with the offensive line. The Tigers seemingly didn't block on pass plays
AS - The offensive line has to give Ashford time. It almost seems like that is impossible but that’s the only way to get a flow on offense.
TL - Limit turnovers. The Tigers are ranked 128 in turnover margin, with only Stanford, Temple, and New Mexico State behind them. If Auburn can keep the ball on offense, they stand a chance in this game.
GO - Block - The offensive line play versus Georgia was abysmal and had no signs of improving so therefore one of the best parts of the team (running backs) has no holes and were having to juke and break tackles before you get back to the line of scrimmage.
Finish drives - in the past two games for Auburn and really the whole season, the tigers offense has driven the ball down the field only to turn it over or kick field goals. Ole Miss os going to score points and score touchdowns, Auburn will have to respond
CP - Auburn has to be able to make adjustments. If they find success early maintaining that success is going to be the key to the game. Auburn has not performed to their potential in the second half this season.
JR - Play with confidence and finish. A lot of Auburn’s problems feel mental, and if the Tigers could play together with some swag, they could absolutely take down the Rebels.
JS - Create an offensive identity that isn’t just letting Robby scramble. You have the best RB duo in the league and you don’t give one enough snaps and you scheme to other one into the dirt. They have to utilize quick routes and pop passes to alleviate the pressure on this putrid OL.
ZB - Offense: Jarquez Hunter
LC - Offense: RB Jarquez Hunter. He's got 39 carries for 159 yards, 4 TDs; 8 catches for 180 yards and 2 TDs. For being Tank's backup, he's 2nd on the team in receiving yards, 1st in receiving TDs, and has the highest yards per reception for players with more than one catch as well as continuing to play on kickoff coverage.
Defense: P Oscar Chapman. He's averaging 45 yards per punt, with 13 fair catches, 7 inside the 20, and 6 punts of 50+ yards. His field position advantages are one of the main reasons Auburn's not hemorrhaging points.
LD - Right now, I would say Jarquez Hunter and Derick Hall.
TL - Jarquez Hunter and Derick Hall
Hunter is the offensive sparkplug that Auburn needs to rely more on to get the offense going.The touchdown he scored in the second half against Georgia could be turnaround for this underwhelming season.
Derick Hall is the heartbeat of the defense. The senior leads the Tigers in sacks AND interceptions. Hall has proved that even though the season may be a disappointment, he won't be going down without a fight.
GO - Offense - John Samuel Shenker, catches all the passes, has turned into a safety valve for Robby Ashford
Defense - DJ James, has blown away my expectations so far this year, could be Auburn’s next top draft pick at corner
CP - Offensive MVP is Jarquez Hunter, coming off the bench each week he continues to be reliable. Hunter has four rushing touchdowns and two receiving. I think he is a big part of this offense. Derek hall is the defensive MVP for me just because I cant stop thinking about that interception against Missouri.
JR - Derrick Hall is my midseason MVP on Defense. He leads the Tigers in sacks and interceptions. He also has a forced fumble.
Robby Ashford is my midseason MVP on Offense. It’s hard to pick one out there, but I like his effort, and the excitement of watching him run has added some excitement.
JS - Offense: Hunter. He’s been incredibly consistent and even though he has been under utilized he’s been our most reliable way to get yards.
Defense: Secondary. I can’t just pick one and I think the honor is deserving of most of the secondary. Though we’ve given up a bit through the air, we haven’t had a passing TD thrown on us since the Mercer game.
LC - My heart says Jarquez Hunter, my head says Quinshon Judkins.
LD - Hunter hasn't had more than eight carries all season, and has not had eight since the San Jose State game. I would say Judkins reaching the century mark is more likely.
AS - Quinshon Judkins has over 100 yards. That kid is a beast.
TL - Judkins over 100. Auburn needs to get Hunter at least 10 carries a game to compliment Tank Bigsby.
Judkins has been an absolute star for Ole Miss this season. The Pike Road native has rushed for over 100 yards in three out of the six total games he has played, and has scored eight touchdowns this season.
If Auburn can keep him under 100, they may want to check on Zach Evans because he also is likely to go off.
GO - Judkins over 100 yards, I would love to see Hunter get to 8 carries or more, specifically to take some of the load off of Bigsby after breaking 5 tackles for 2 yards in total. Jarquez has shown at his time at Auburn to be a big play threat whether it was out of the backfield for a catch or a run right up the middle for 94 yards. But I don’t see it happening
CP - Jarquez Hunter has hit that 8 carry mark twice this season. I think he gets 8 touches this week. With Auburn looking to break their losing streak it's going to be all hands on deck.
JR - I don’t think either will happen, but Quinshon has at least 98 in four of their five games this year, so I would say that is more likely.
JS - Judkins with 100. I said earlier this coaching staff doesn’t give Hunter enough snaps. Judkins will feast on a rundown defense and will take advantage of Zach Evans being injured/ just coming off of an injury
© Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
ZB - Jabari Smith is doing great things for the Rockets this preseason.
LC - Men's golf sophomore Evan Vo beat Texas A&M's Sam Bennett (the 2022 SEC Golfer of the Year and the reigning US Amateur Champion) 7&6 in match play at the SEC Fall Preview on Tuesday at Old Overton Club in Vestavia Hills. Auburn may have dropped the consolation match, but Vo opened with a birdie and never lost the lead.
LD - Jarquez Hunter, who continues to look solid even when the team doesn't.
AS - Walker Kessler- He had looked terrific in the NBA preseason.
TL - The Auburn volleyball team is 16-1 and had a big win over Georgia Monday evening!
GO - Daniel Carlson, The Las Vegas Raiders kicker has now hit 38 straight field goals which is the longest streak in the NFL. Carlson went 3-3 in the Raiders 1 point loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, his made kicks were from 47, 50, and 53 yards. Carlson is now 15-15 on the season and continue to make the Raider nation and fantasy owners happy.
CP - Jabari Smith, he looked good in the Rockets first pre-season game.
JR - Walker Kessler had a great game against the Spurs on Tuesday. He finished with 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Kessler is starting to look like a legitimate NBA big man.
JS - Bryan Harsin: it’s become increasingly difficult to side with the coach but he’s the winner of the year in my opinion. He’s got 15 million dollars waiting on him at some point down the road. All he has to do is exactly nothing to get that money.
© Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
ZB - Auburn 13, Ole Miss 27
LC - Ole Miss 34, Auburn 17
LD - Auburn doesn't have an offensive line to speak of right now. The defense has been bend and then break all season long, and I think we see more of the same on Saturday. Ole Miss starts slow but eventually starts to lean on the Tigers much like Georgia did. Auburn falls to 3-4.
AS - Ole Miss 27 Auburn 14. I think Ole Miss wins it and Auburn doesn’t really make it a competitive game at all.
TL - This one is going to be close, which may surprise some people. Ole Miss is really good, but Auburn has not lost to Ole Miss in 7 years. If Auburn limits the turnovers and can stop the run, they may put themselves in a position to win this game. However, I am going to take the Rebels in a close one.
GO - Auburn struggles to finish drives and doesn’t find the end zone but maybe once but kicks a lot of field goals. Ole Miss offense struggles early but starts to wear down Auburn’s defense by having complete control of Time of Possession. 37-16 Ole Miss
CP - Auburn 17 - Ole miss 35
JR - I think there’s a chance Auburn surprises some people in this game and is competitive for the majority of it. I do expect something to go wrong and Ole Miss to pull away late.
JS - This is a must win for Harsin and Auburn. A must win that won’t happen. Kiffin has something to prove, especially with rumors of him and the potentially open Auburn job. 38-13 Ole Miss Rebels/Bears/Landsharks
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