AU begins its October murderer's row with a trip to Gamecock country in Columbia, South Carolina. Auburn has been struggling all year stopping the run and they face a huge test in future all everything Marcus Lattimore. Auburn had really good success last year defending him, but this year, AU's D-line has not shown it can slow down FAU's rushing attack, much less Lattimore. AU comes in a 10 point dog and it could possibly be alot more.
Keys to the game:
AU has to show some life on defense, aka, getting off the field on the third downs, slowing down the run and pressuring the QB. If AU cannot do these things at least the majority of the time, you can forget about a chance to win; I just hope it wont be a 60-point beatdown. Losing Dee Ford for the season hurts, but it was at a deep position so it's not as devastating a loss. Ford was playing pretty well, though, and is one of the more experienced defensemen AU has.
My armchair QB is coming out again, but oh well, here it goes. I think for AU to have a chance, based on the previous four games, they will have to put 9 guys in the box. AU has to make Garcia beat them through the air. Garcia has a tendency to make mistakes and force throws which lead to turnovers. The key is to get pressure on him. If he has all day to throw, he will pick AU apart, especially having an All-American in Alshon Jeffrey. Au has to disguise what they are doing on defense and send man blitzes from everywhere. The zone or "gap" blitzes have not worked at all this year and have been picked up even by FAU. It might not be a bad idea to employ a Joe Lee Dunn blitz scheme this week; just send a bunch of people from a bunch of different places all the time. It is a high risk high reward defense, but I don't know if we have a choice at this point.
On offense, AU just has to get in a rhythm and keep it going. Give Dyer the ball a bunch and block for him. Don't make Trotter win the game for you but allow him to make some plays down the field. And for goodness' sake, let him run some on the read-option. He has to in order for this offense to be consistently successful.
I believe AU will be able to move the ball on USCe and score some points. The question lies, as usual, with the defense. Will AU's defense show up and play lights out? Or will Lattimore and Jeffrey have a field day? This game is hard to read because it could be a USCe blowout or AU could win going away. I think AU plays well, but based on what I've seen so far this year, AU cannot consistently stop anybody. I think AU plays hard and keeps it close for a while, but in the end, with it being on the road, USCe will be too strong and pull out the victory.
Prediction: AU - 31 USCe - 41
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