We knew Auburn would be good on offense. But the big surprise of 2014 is that this Auburn defense is one of the best Auburn has fielded in quite some time. They are loaded with talent at all 3 levels of the defense. The defensive line is led by soph defensive tackle Montravius Adams and senior defensive tackle Gabe Wright. Auburn rotates around 10 quality defensive linemen throughout the game. They are stout against the run, and although they lack an elite pass rusher (Carl Lawson is elite but out with a knee injury), they constantly put pressure on opposing quarterbacks as a group. The linebacking core is led by 2 amazing players in Cassanova McKinzy and Kris Frost. Both are hard hitting, athletic heat-seeking missiles. You can add the "star" position to that group and that includes senior Robenson Therezie. Therezie is always around the ball and he hits like a linebacker. Finally, the secondary has 3 cornerbacks that can cover man to man. Seniors Jonathon Mincy and Trovon Reed are clearly the best cover guys, while junior Jonathan Jones is probably the fastest. Safeties Josh Holsey and Jonathan Ford are both fast and excellent tacklers.
On offense, the Tigers have a dynamic quarterback in Nick Marshall. Marshall looks much more polished in the passing game and appears to be even more explosive running the football this year. The read option is just a thing of beauty. His main targets are a 6'2, 215 pound speedy freak of nature in Sammie Coates and 6'2 220 pound newly acquired juco transfer D'haquille Williams who has the best catch radius in college football. Running backs Cameron Artis-Payne and world class sprinter Corey Grant provide a unique rushing attack. Tight end C.J. Uzomah is under utilized but when they throw to him, there isn't a defender in college football that can cover him. He's just too big, too strong, and too good receiving the ball for anyone to handle him one on one. The offensive line pushes people around all game and they have 4 and 5 star players at every position.
Auburn will score 40 points on every team they face this year if they play the way they did last night against LSU. They are the most dominant offense in the nation. With Nick Marshall playing better from the pocket, there is just no way to defend everything they bring to the table. Even when you call the right defense, Auburn's players are bigger, stronger, and faster than the defenders they are facing. This creates a huge advantage for Auburn because they will win most one on one battles. They can thank strength and conditioning coach Ryan Russell for that. The defense and special teams are playing at a championship level. And what's even more troubling for upcoming opponents is that Auburn isn't playing their best football yet. Last night was a glimpse of just how good they can be.
So although Auburn has the toughest schedule in college football, after watching several weeks of big games, I don't see a team on their schedule that can beat them. Some will say Mississippi State is that team. Auburn's defense is better than anything they have seen. And Auburn can put points on the board in a hurry. Ole Miss had an impressive win against Alabama. But Auburn's offense is way better. And Auburn's secondary is better than Alabama's. Of course, anything can happen in a college football game. We saw that this week. But Gus Malzahn may be the best coach in college football. His team will be ready to play every week. As a college football fan, this is the team I will be following very closely as they try to make their way back to the national championship game. They have everything it takes to get there. It would be no surprise if this team goes all the way this year.
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