Auburn football’s second-to-last SEC matchup of the regular season will take place this weekend on the road versus South Carolina. The Tigers will be playing without their starting placekicker and quarterback while the Gamecocks will be aiming to become bowl eligible.
While head coach Bryan Harsin’s first-year team was racing towards the SEC Championship before their last two losses, the Gamecocks are sitting at 6th place in the SEC East and have won only two conference games against Vanderbilt and Florida. Both Auburn and South Carolina play football in the most competitive conference in the nation, and here’s how they stack up in terms of SEC stats.
Auburn football ranks ninth in total offense with 4,327 yards, while South Carolina sits at 13th place with 3,333 yards. The Tigers’ 2,569 passing yards put them in 5th place in the conference, and the Gamecocks rank 13th yet again in the passing game with 2,053 total yards. South Carolina moves up to 11th place in the SEC in rushing yards with 1,280 total, and Auburn’s rush game ranks eighth with 1,758 yards.
On the defensive side of things, the Tigers have the sixth most tackles in the conference with 690, and the Gamecocks rank 12th with 618. South Carolina has recorded 21 sacks on the season for 12th place, while Auburn’s 24 sacks earned them the ninth place.
Although Auburn football looks better than South Carolina statistically, the Tigers will still be adjusting to a new quarterback and a different offensive game plan. TJ Finley will start for the first time in orange and blue this weekend from Williams-Brice Stadium in South Carolina.