Auburn Football vs. Arkansas State: 5 Keys to the Game

No. 5 – Auburn’s Wide Receivers Getting Open

As we already mentioned earlier, Arkansas State will most likely stack the box to stop the run against Auburn.

With that, it really opens up the passing lanes for the Auburn offense.

Arkansas State has a solid secondary that is led by senior Strong Safety Cody Brown who had 9 pass break-ups and 3 interceptions a year ago.

However, they were left on an island against Toledo, and as a result they were torched by the Rockets talented receivers. The Toledo quarterback finished the game with 371 passing yards and 3 touchdowns.

Toledo’s speed wide receiver, Cody Thompson, caught 5 passes for 174 yards! That’s an average of 34.8 yards per catch, which is not far above his 2015 average of 22.3.

I know Sean White doesn’t possesses a great deep ball, but Auburn football certainly has the receivers to beat Toledo deep. Look for Kyle Davis and Jason Smith to get loose in the secondary for some big plays.

However, don’t forget about the short passes. I also think Marcus Davis could have a huge day with the extra space across the middle.

I could easily see him catching six or seven passes in this game for 80 yards and a touchdown.

We didn’t get to see much of the young receiving core against Clemson, but I think they’ll be on full display against Arkansas State this weekend.

Next: Game 2: Auburn vs Arkansas State Matchup and Predictions

If the Toledo defense continues to stack the box and play loose coverage, the Auburn receivers have to be able to get open in the middle of the field.