Tag: Mark Anthony-Richards

Three reasons why Auburn could beat Alabama

Auburn will need to play nearly a perfect game on Saturday if the Tigers want to upset top-ranked Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

In the year of 2020 anything is possible. No. 19 Auburn travels to Tuscaloosa this weekend to take on Alabama. Currently, Alabama is favored to win by 25.

The major storyline that developed this past week was that Alabama head coach Nick Saban tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday and will not be coaching during the Iron Bowl. That’s not really going to matter as Auburn still has to face Heisman front-runner quarterback Mac Jones and Heisman hopeful running back Najee Harris. The Tigers are outmanned in personnel on both sides of the ball, but there are a few things we can cling to in hopes of securing the win. Here they are.

1. Tank Bigsby returns

The Tigers’ phenomenal freshman running back left the Tennessee game with an undisclosed lower body injury. As of today, Bigsby is still listed as questionable and has not practiced this week. Through seven game,s Bigsby has rushed for 527 yards and 5 touchdowns. He’s a huge catalyst for Auburn’s momentum offensively. Just look at his performances against Ole Miss and Arkansas. If Tank is unable to return, the Tigers will need players like DJ Williams, Shaun Shivers, and Mark Anthony Richards to step up. Don’t be surprised if we see a JJ Pegues wildcat package to shake things up a bit (I really hope we get to see that, PEGUES FOREVER)!

2. The Tigers negate Bama’s passing offense

The Tide ranks third overall in NCAA passing offense this season. Per play Alabama picks up an average of 11.81 yards and they amass 380 passing yards per game. There’s a reason Mac Jones is the Heisman front-runner and its because his passes are fast and accurate, and he’s improved dramatically since his mistakes in last year’s Iron Bowl. Mac Jones has only thrown two interceptions all season and is playing perfect football right now while wide receivers Devonta Smith and John Metchie have been unstoppable since Jaylen Waddle’s injury against Tennessee. Auburn’s secondary will have their hands full with this unit.

3. Auburn’s offense regains efficiency, become masters of the clock

I really thought after the two-week bye that Auburn would be able to regain some of that offensive finesse we saw them showcase against LSU, but I was wrong. The Tigers were just straight up sloppy coming out of the gate against the Volunteers and kept that game close up until the fourth quarter.

Out of Auburn’s 25 red zone trips this season they have left with 10 rushing touchdowns, 6 passing touchdowns, and 5 field goals. Not bad, but what’s killing Auburn on both sides of the ball is quick non-sustainable drives. Last week against Tennessee the Volunteers dominated time of possession leaving Auburn’s defense absolutely gassed. The Tigers are going to have to slow the game down against Bama and give their defense plenty of time to regroup, otherwise they’ll get whipped on both sides.

These three things sound much easier said than done, but they aren’t impossible. Tank will most likely not return against Bama, so Gus Malzahn and running backs coach Cadillac Williams will need to adjust accordingly. It will be most interesting to see how Kevin Steele schemes against that passing game. I’m not expecting Auburn to win by any means, but if they shock the country by doing these three things successfully I like their chances.

DJ Williams added to Doak Walker Award Watch List

Williams rushed for 400 yards as a freshman in 2019.

Auburn sophomore D.J. Williams has been named as one of the preseason candidates for the 2020 Doak Walker Award. The SMU PwC Athletic Forum released the list on Wednesday and Williams is one of 76 running backs eyeing the annual award presented to the nation’s top college running back.

As a freshman Williams recorded 400 rushing yards and two touchdowns within the span of eight games. He established himself as a valuable running back against No. 1 LSU when he rushed for a career-high 130 yards.

His freshman year performance ranks him 16th all-time among Auburn freshman running backs. This season he’ll return as Auburn’s top rusher and will lead a talented running back corps consisting of fellow sophomores Shaun Shivers and Harold Joiner, redshirt freshman Mark-Antony Richards,  and incoming 5-star freshman “Tank” Bigsby.

The Doak Walker Award was established in 1990, but in its 30 year history no Auburn player has won. In the last 16 years eight Auburn players have qualified as semifinalists including Kerryon Johnson, who is the most recent running back to be nominated (2017).

Per Greg Ostendorf of AuburnTigers.com the procedures behind selecting a winner are as follows:

For this year’s award, the PwC SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will name ten semifinalists in November, and three finalists, as voted on by the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee, will be announced in November. The committee will cast a second vote in December to determine the recipient. The National Selection Committee consists of past recipients, former NFL All-Pro and college All-America running backs, media members and selected special representatives.

The 2020 Doak Walker Award winner will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards.

Will D.J. Williams be the first running back in Auburn history to bring home the Doak Walker Award? More importantly, will Auburn finally have a 1,000 yard rusher again? Tell us your thoughts.