Auburn Football vs Arkansas State: 5 Things to Watch for in Game 2

Does Gus Malzahn Switch up the Game Plan?

Building off that first point, it will be interesting to watch how Gus Malzahn switches up his game plan against Arkansas State.

He had eight months to prepare for Clemson and it looked like he just spun a wheel to pick a play in that game.

He’ll now have just one week to put together an actual game plan against his former team.

Anyone that watched the Arkansas State-Toledo game Friday night knows that the Red Wolves can be beaten through the air. They gave up 371 yards passing to the Rockets.

A lot of that was because Arkansas State stacked the box to stop Toledo’s strong run game. That worked for a minute, but once Toledo’s quarterback completed a few passes, that front seven backed off.

If Malzahn has any bit of sense left in him, he’ll allow Sean White to get in a rhythm making some short passes.

I’m not talking about simple screen passes as defenses see that coming from a while away when they play us. He needs to complete some passes five to 10 yards down field.

There should be plenty of open space as Arkansas State will likely load the box against us expecting the run. If Sean White can complete some passes early, it will slow down their defensive front and then we’ll be able to gash them on the ground.

Whatever the game plan is, it has to be different then what Malzahn tried against Clemson. I really hope the ‘mastermind’ comes up with a solid game plan against Arkansas State this weekend.

Next: Running Back Depth