Auburn football: Projecting the rest of the 2021 season game by game
There’s a few different ways you could look at the 2021 Auburn football season so far through six games.
You could celebrate the fact that the Tigers have only lost to the #1 and #7 teams in the country as part of their 4-2 record. In that same vein, you could salute AU’s first victory in Death Valley since 1999 as one of their wins.
On the flipside, you could be quite disappointed with Auburn’s defense, whose #32 national rank is buoyed by blowout wins over Group of Five basement dweller Akron and Alabama State of the FCS. Max Johnson, Stetson Bennett, and Sean Clifford all amassed 230+ passing yards in the process of torching Zac Etheridge’s secondary. Offensively, the receiving core has been disappointing, leading to the early dismissal of Cornelius Williams as WR coach.
And this is all without mentioning the fact that Bo Nix has been benched in two different games this season.
It’s been an up and down year that would be looked at a lot differently without Auburn’s first victory at Tiger Stadium in the new millennium Week 5. It followed a last-second comeback victory against 27-point underdog Georgia State after all.
We’re officially halfway through the regular season and the Tigers are 4-2. Now that we’re in the thick of SEC play, we are set to learn where this team stands in the national conversation.
How does this season finish out? Let’s take a look:
Arkansas gets back on track at Auburn’s expense this Saturday
Auburn football is making the trek to Fayetteville, Arkansas this Saturday for an 11 am matinee against the #17 team in the country. Both teams will be coming off a loss, with the Razorbacks reeling from two straight losses in SEC play.
Losing 52-51 against Ole Miss in Oxford, Arkansas showed the ability to keep pace with one of the best offenses in the entire country led by Heisman favorite Matt Corral.
The Hogs defense showed plenty of exploitable holes, but the explosive offense of Raheim Sanders on the ground (139 rushing yards) and KJ Jefferson through both the ground (85 rushing yards, three touchdowns) and through the air (326 yards, three touchdowns) could spell trouble for Auburn.
Should the run game open up the passing game, it’s hard to see a Tigers pass defense contain Jefferson after ceding 600+ passing yards to Max Johnson and Sean Clifford in their two road contests.