Auburn set to face Davey O’Brien semifinalist on Saturday
The strong suit of Auburn Football’s next opponent is definitely its passing game.
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers are led by quarterback Austin Reed, who currently sits at No. 2 in College Football with 3,550 passing yards, and has completed 31 passes for touchdowns, which ranks No. 3 nationally.
Because of his strong season, he was recently named a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Award, the annual award given to College Football’s best quarterback.
Reed is joined alongside the likes of Georgia‘s Stetson Bennett, LSU‘s Jayden Daniels, C.J. Stroud of Ohio State, and former Auburn quarterback Bo Nix, who is currently the quarterback at Oregon.
Reed leads the Hilltoppers’ offense that averages 484 yards per game and scores an average of 38.2 points per game. Reed’s best outing came in Western Kentucky’s 59-7 win over Charlotte on Nov. 5, where he threw for 409 yards and six touchdown passes to beat the 49ers. His season-low in yards came against UAB last month when he passed for just 128 yards in the Hilltoppers’ win.
Western Kentucky comes to town at a good time for Auburn’s defense. Since Cadillac Williams took over as interim head coach, the Tiger defense has improved in defending the pass.
According to Pro Football Focus, Auburn received a grade of 73.1 in pass rush, which was the highest since grading out at 78.6% against San Jose State.
When defending opposing receivers, Auburn graded at 81% and 77% in each of its last two games respectively. Prior to Nov. 5’s game at Mississippi State, the highest grade Auburn received in pass coverage was 72% against Mercer in the season-opener.
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