The Auburn Tigers have a sneaky Week 3 matchup with the South Alabama Jaguars at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday. Yellowhammer News' Michael Brauner believes a lack of focus from Hugh Freeze's team can quickly result in an uncomfortable 60 minutes on the Plains against a tough in-state foe that's a "different category of cupcake opponent" than the Ball State Cardinals.
South is coming off a near-upset of the Tulane Green Wave in a massive non-conference matchup at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile. Tulane snuck out of the Gulf Coast with a 33-31 win.
"Handling Ball State is one thing, however South Alabama is a much more formidable opponent who Hugh Freeze and his team must be taking with the utmost seriousness. The Jaguars drive up I-65 from Mobile fresh off a very close loss against one of the best teams outside of the Power Four in a Tulane Green Wave team many have in the College Football Playoff," Brauner wrote.
"Auburn is more than a three touchdown favorite as they should be, however in comparison to Ball State, the Jaguars are in a different category of cupcake opponent. It would take a Herculean effort by South Alabama to have any real chance at keeping the game close, but this is the kind of game where a few mistakes and miscues can have it a whole lot closer than it should be."
Auburn blasted Ball State 42-3 in Week 2, tallying 495 yards of total offense. There have been calls for the Tigers to get their two seven-figure receivers, Eric Singleton Jr. and Cam Coleman, more involved.
It's not hard to see Jackson Arnold and the team's play-calling brain trust aiming to air it out more before SEC play the following weekend in Norman against the Oklahoma Sooners. Naturally, that could lead to less dominance as Auburn moves away from its strong suit, the run.
Maybe that's what Brauner fears. Then again, Tiger fans everywhere instinctively fear an in-state team coming to town after the Jacksonville State Gamecocks had AU tied up in the last minute a decade ago. And some will always instinctively fear any Group of Five team coming to town after the New Mexico State Aggies did the unthinkable in November 2023.
As long as the worst case scenario is avoided against South Alabama, these fears will evaporate for future games of this kind.