There are always a few trap games throughout a college football season that tend to catch a team by surprise, and a lot of times that game can define a team’s season. Auburn has two such games on their schedule this year in Arkansas and Vanderbilt.
A trap game is typically a game against an opponent you should beat, sandwiched in between a couple of really difficult games. The guys at Bleacher Report already talked about the Vanderbilt game as a potential trap game as it’s sandwiched between road games to Ole Miss and Georgia, so we won’t spend too much time on that one.
SEC Football: Biggest Trap Game for Every Team in 2016
While I think Vanderbilt will be much improved in 2016, there is no way Gus lets his team get down for that game after losing to them the past two times Auburn has played them. Something I found shocking is that Vanderbilt actually leads the all-time series against Auburn 21-20-1.
That will definitely be a trap game to keep an eye on, but I think the Arkansas game will be even more of a challenge for Auburn in 2016.
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The week before the Arkansas game, Auburn will hit the road for the first time all season to take on Mississippi State. After winning 10 of 11 games against the Bulldogs from 2001 to 2011, Mississippi State has won three of the past four matchups.
The combined scores over the past six years is 151-124 in favor of Mississippi State with four of those games being decided by 10 points or less. For some reason these two teams always play each other tough, and while I think the Bulldogs are going to have a down year, I expect this to be another fight.
After the Arkansas game, Auburn has to go back to the state of Mississippi to play Ole Miss. Depending on how the first six games go, the Ole Miss matchup could be the most crucial game of the year. Auburn has to upset either Ole Miss or Georgia on the road for this to be a successful year, and Ole Miss will get Auburn’s first shot.
It would be easy for Gus and Auburn to overlook a possible 3-4, or worse, Arkansas team at home, while thinking about that Ole Miss matchup.
Plus, Gus Malzahn and Bret Bielema aren’t exactly buddies so you know this game is going to be tight, and Bielema is going to be looking to end Auburn’s season and possibly help get Malzahn removed as head coach at Auburn. I’m not sure that Gus could survive a loss to Arkansas this year.
These two teams played a four overtime game in Fayetteville last year in which Bielema beat Gus for the first time since joining the SEC at Arkansas.
I think the Razorbacks are a better team than Vanderbilt, which is why I ultimately think this is a bigger trap game. Plus, you know Bielema is going to bring out his bag of tricks to try and beat Auburn.
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If Gus can’t get the boys ready to play after a tough road and before a huge swing game against Ole Miss, then the Arkansas game could be the one that ends his tenure at Auburn.