Auburn is hitting the road this Saturday morning against Mississippi State for an early 11 am C.T. start. Coach Alex Golesh revealed the Tigers' travel plans -- taking the bus ride to Starkville early in the morning -- and cautioned that the early start time is a "real" concern.
"Early kick on the road in the league. Every challenge that you can imagine comes with it. This is a tough travel. I talked about it at length this morning. The morning game piece is real. This is as early start with a legit travel and a bus ride in the morning. We've got to practice what that looks like and that started this morning. Into Tuesday, into Wednesday, into Thursday and into Friday having the right focus and the right detail and the right energy level to go start fast," Golesh said this week.
The Bulldogs have become one of the worst teams in the SEC since losing starting quarterback Kamario Taylor for the season due to a severe toe injury. Still, any SEC team is dangerous, especially on their home field.
Losing to Vanderbilt and falling below .500 certainly makes Mississippi State look like an also-ran. That's when they always get you in this sport, though, and Golesh cannot let his team grow complacent by thinking ahead to the Iron Bowl too much.
Alex Golesh weary of AJ Swann, Mississippi State run defense
Golesh didn't downplay any phase of the Bulldogs in his assessment of the Week 11 matchup on the road.
Offensively, Golesh praised the high tempo for being able to produce points and backup quarterback AJ Swann for settling down in Taylor's stead. Defensively, Golesh praised Mississippi State's ability to stop the run.
Auburn's pass rush came alive against Arkansas, so there's hope it will keep rolling against an even worse Bulldogs offensive line. If not, Swann can make the Tigers' coverage suffer. On the other side of the ball, AU quarterback Byrum Brown will have to keep being shifty out of the backfield to cover for the lack of continuity on the offensive line. Standard run plays meet resistance immediately, but Brown has carried the running game with his elusiveness and unpredictability moving out of the pocket.
Golesh knows how the enemy can win, and with a winning record thus far, he knows what butters Auburn's bread.
We'll see if he can get the most out of a team that'll be shaking out the cobwebs following a four-hour bus ride.
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