Auburn’s offensive keys to beating Texas A&M
After narrowly losing Cadillac Williams’ debut as head coach, Auburn is returning to Jordan-Hare Stadium for a showdown with the struggling Texas A&M Aggies.
Both teams are riding five-game losing streaks and are 3-6 overall and 1-5 in the SEC. The loser of the game will have sole possession of last place in the SEC West. Despite this, Jordan-Hare Stadium is sold out and is expected to be a wild atmosphere.
The Auburn faithful want to watch Williams make his home debut as head coach of the Tigers and they want to do their part to make sure the Tigers come out on top, something Vegas thinks will happen.
If Auburn is going to come out on top then their offense will need to have a good night and here are five things they can do to make that happen.
Feed Tank Bigsby
Todd Van Emst / AU Athletics
Texas A&M is the worst team in the SEC at stopping the run and Tank Bigsby is one of the best running backs in the country. This matchup is a massive advantage for the Auburn offense and one they must exploit. He had a season-high 20 carries against Ole Miss and should have right around that many against the Aggies.
Keep running Robby Ashford
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While Auburn’s offense did not change a ton with Will Friend and Ike Hilliard calling plays, one notable difference was the designed runs for Robby Ashford. These plays were effective against Mississippi State and was how Auburn scored its second touchdown of the game. The Tigers need to keep dialing up designed runs and not just rely on Ashford’s scrambling ability.
Limit Ashfords short passes
(Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images)
Ashford has struggled to complete short passes this season and it seems like every screen is nearly an interception. While these should be high-percentage passes that allow Ashford to get comfortable that is clearly not the case and Auburn needs to move away from them.
Protect the football
Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics
After a disastrous start to the season, Auburn has improved its ball security and has won the turnover margin in the past two weeks.
Turnovers can keep a game close when it should not be and can quickly deflate a crowd, Auburn can not afford to do that against the Aggies.
Do not settle
Zach Bland/ AU Athletics
Auburn’s offense has struggled all season to finish their drives, they have scored on 59.38% of their red zone trips, the second-worst rate in the SEC.
In addition, Anders Carlson’s struggles have made field goals a riskier chance than they should be, he has made 70.6% of his field goals and he missed multiple from inside 40 yards. The Tigers should look to be aggressive on fourth down when they get into Texas A&M territory and not settle for field goals.
Sure Texas A&M does not have a great offense but Auburn needs to make the most of its drives and field goals are not good enough.
