Tag: Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams

Brian’s Column: Auburn needs its linebackers to play better in week two

The Auburn Tigers run defense struggled in week one. This week they go up against a Cal team that had 357 rushing yards a week ago.

The Auburn Tigers are coming off a great 59-14 win over UMass in their home opener last Saturday. The offense was efficient, the special teams nearly broke multiple returns, and the defense was solid enough.

That defense relied heavily on their talent and size against the UMass Minutemen. While that worked against an inferior team, Auburn’s defense, specifically the linebackers, is going to have to play more fundamentally sound football if they hope to move to 2-0 after the dust settles on Saturday.

That means the quintet of [autotag]Cam Riley[/autotag], [autotag]Jack Levant[/autotag], [autotag]Robert Woodyard Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]Wesley Steiner[/autotag], and [autotag]Larry Nixon III[/autotag] are going to have to step up against a Cal running attack that just gashed North Texas for 357 yards on the ground.

So what went so wrong for this group in week one and how do they fix it?

It all starts with knowing and staying with your assignments in order to avoid runs like this.

This run by UMass quarterback [autotag]Taisun Phommachanh[/autotag] is one of those plays Auburn defensive coordinator Ron Roberts will want to show to his team once and then burn.

The minutemen run a simple counter. Defensive end #33 [autotag]Mosiah Nasili-Kite[/autotag] gets sucked into the misdirection, creating a need for the filling linebacker, #13 [autotag]Cam Riley[/autotag], to keep outside contain.

Instead of doing that, Riley shoots the c-gap, leaving him in no man’s land next to Nasili-Kite.

That leaves cornerback [autotag]Jaylin Simpson[/autotag] out on an island with Phommachanh, a matchup which the UMass quarterback wins with ease. From there, bad angles by the aforementioned Riley and weakside linebacker, #6 [autotag]Austin Keys[/autotag], allow Phommachanh to rumble for 31 yards.

Being out of position was a common theme for Auburn’s linebackers, even on simple play designs.

UMass runs a simple inside concept here, with the offensive line blocking straight up before the left guard comes off his double to the second level.

Again, [autotag]Cam Riley[/autotag] shoots the wrong gap, taking himself out of the play almost immediately.

Austin Keys is late to recognize the run, allowing UMass guard Marcellus Anderson to serve him up a fresh pancake. After Keys goes to the ground, Auburn is left with nobody on the outside, allowing running back [autotag]Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams[/autotag] to pick up a long gain.

Key’s and Riley weren’t the only Auburn linebackers that struggled in the opener.

The Tigers lose contain again on this run play, as [autotag]Elijah McAllister[/autotag] cheats too far inside, allowing [autotag]Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams[/autotag] to bounce his run outside for another large gain.

Again, the job of containment is passed on to a member of the secondary. Although cornerback [autotag]D.J James[/autotag] is a good tackler for his position and makes a nice read, he takes a bad angle and Lynch-Adams has an easy first down.

Bad reads, blown assignments, and missed tackles simply cannot happen often against a good Cal rushing attack. Auburn can’t rely on it’s speed to make up mistakes, as Cal running back [autotag]Jaydn Ott[/autotag] may be the best player on the field on Saturday.

The key for Auburn to win this game is simple.

The run defense just has to be decent enough to hold Cal to one or two big plays. If Jaydn Ott has green grass in front of him, he’s going to back up his trash talk and make the Tigers pay.

Saturday’s game should be a ton of fun, and it kicks off at 9:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.

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Auburn vs UMass: Tale of the Tape

Auburn enters Saturday’s game with UMass as major favorites, but how do they stack up against the underdogs?

The college football season finally kicks off for Auburn on Saturday against 1-0 UMass. The Minutemen are coming off an excellent performance on the road vs. New Mexico State, winning 41-30 on the back of great play from Clemson transfer quarterback [autotag]Taisun Phommachanh[/autotag] and a stout showing from their defensive line.

While the Minutemen surely have momentum coming into this game, there is a reason BetMGM has them as 35.5-point underdogs against the Tigers in Jordan-Hare. The talent gap is wide, but do the direct comparisons support the overwhelming idea this game will be a blowout?

Most football teams’ success is contingent on the play of their quarterback, and both of these teams have a good one.

The aforementioned [autotag]Taisun Phommachanh[/autotag] had an efficient, well-rounded, performance in week one. Phommachanh completed 10 of his 17 passes for 192 yards and was also his team’s leading rusher, compiling 96 yards on the ground on 17 carries.

Still, it’s hard not to give the edge to Auburn quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] here. Although he does not nearly pose the threat on the ground that Phommachanh does (He had 270 rushing yards in three seasons at Michigan State), Thorne is clearly the more established passer.

Over three seasons for the Spartans, Thorne racked up 6,501 passing yards to go along with 49 touchdowns.

Phommachanh on the other hand, played sparingly for Clemson and Georgia Tech before transferring this season. The UMass QB has only thrown 70 passes in four-plus years, completing 34 of them for 409 yards and one touchdown.

The Quarterback edge clearly goes to [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] and Auburn.

Experience gives the Tigers the edge in the quarterback battle, and the same goes when looking at the running backs as well.

Auburn running back [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] is expected by many, including myself, to have a monster season for the Tigers. The junior has averaged a magnificent 6.5 YPC over the past two years, rushing for 1,261 yards and 10 touchdowns on 193 career carries.

Conversely, UMass starter [autotag]Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams[/autotag] came into the season with only 206 carries for 731 yards in four seasons at Rutgers and UMass. Lynch-Adams had a very nice game in his team’s opener last weekend, rushing for 79 yards and scoring twice. Still, Auburn’s All-SEC third-team back has the clear edge here.

As for the final skill position group on offense, the wide receivers, it is hard to gauge which team has the upper hand, at least for now. UMass ran the ball more than twice as much as they threw it in week one, leaving some mystery as to how explosive their pass catcher can be.

Auburn’s receiving core also has a great deal of mystery heading into the season. The team is starting two transfers at the X and Z positions, [autotag]Shane Hooks[/autotag] and [autotag]Jyaire Shorter[/autotag], respectively. Although both have had great camps, it is hard to tell how either will adjust to a talented SEC after transferring from smaller schools.

It is too early to give either team an edge in this department.

The one area on the field where the huge underdogs could give Auburn a run for their money is the defensive front. The Minutemen front seven wreaked havoc against the New Mexico State offensive line in week one, sacking New Mexico State quarterback Diego Pavia three times.

Auburn’s defensive line has struggled in recent years, particularly against the run. This year’s down lineman rotation features three transfers, [autotag]Mosiah Nasili-Kite[/autotag], [autotag]Justin Rogers[/autotag], and [autotag]Lawrence Johnson[/autotag], as well as freshmen, [autotag]Keldric Faulk[/autotag].

The Tigers are also starting two transfers at the linebacker spots in jack [autotag]Elijah McAllister[/autotag] and MLB [autotag]Austin Keys[/autotag].

It may take some time for these new Tigers to get their footing, and that could lead to some early gaping holes for a UMass team that has made it clear they want to run the ball.

I’m giving the ever-so-slight edge to UMass in this category just because of the unknown surrounding Auburn’s front seven.

Despite the surpassingly close comparisons across the defensive front and receiver groups, Auburn still has the clear edge as a team in their home opener. They will attempt to show the Jordan-Hare crowd that edge when the teams kick off at 2:30 CST on Saturday.

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Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on  X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter @TheRealBHauch