Sloppy But Successful: Auburn vs Kansas State Review

Sep 18, 2014; Manhattan, KS, USA; General view of the line of scrimmage as the Auburn Tigers defeated the Kansas State Wildcats, 20-14 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

3. Special Teams

The special teams units were in rare form against Kansas State. Usually special teams offer a boost to the Auburn team, but there were various problems throughout the night Thursday.

To start, Auburn punter Matthew Shiel had to rugby punt after he dropped the snap (which barely got off). Then, Kansas State’s Tyler Lockett had his fair share of great returns against the Tigers. He averaged 23.7 yards a return and his longest of the night was 30 yards.

I did take into consideration that the wind was awful in the game, but as a unit, Auburn failed to make an adjustment. Towards the end of the game Carlson had a kickoff go out of bounds. This set the Wildcats up with great field position. In the coming weeks Auburn may not have perfect weather for a game, so preparation needs to be made for returns. Weather was a big key in the LSU loss last year.

Auburn will continue to work on protection over the next week and coverage will tighten up as well.