Tag: tale of the tape

Tale of the Tape: Examining Auburn and Kentucky ahead of Saturday’s game

The No. 12 Auburn Tigers host No. 20 Kentucky for a key SEC showdown on Saturday. Who has the upper hand?

The No. 12 Auburn Tigers passed its first test of the week on Wednesday by blasting No. 11 South Carolina, 101-61. Can the Tigers earn another crucial win on Saturday by taking down No. 20 Kentucky?

The game has plenty of pageantry surrounding it. Students are camping in front of Neville Arena, College Gameday will be on the Plains, and ticket prices are through the roof. A win would be valuable to its NCAA Tournament resume, and all of the pieces appear to be on the table.

Kentucky has not lived up to the hype to this point in the season, as they enter the game with a 17-7 record with a 7-4 mark in SEC play. They have also had a rough time playing in Neville Arena recently as losers of three-straight games in the venue.

Despite the rough patch, Auburn will still need to play its best game on Saturday to earn a win. Can they get it done? Here’s a look at how Auburn stacks up with Kentucky ahead of Saturday’s showdown.

Tale of the Tape: Comparing Auburn and South Carolina ahead of Wednesday’s showdown at Neville Arena

Both teams will have plenty to prove on the hardwood Tuesday. How many advantages does Auburn have over the Gamecocks?

The No. 12 Auburn Tigers host No. 11 South Carolina on Wednesday in what will be its most notable home game of the season.

The Tigers still have dreams of winning the SEC, and their performances in the upcoming stretch of games featuring South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi State over its next five games will determine if they are indeed the kings of the conference.

The first game in the stretch will be a home tilt with South Carolina, winners of seven straight games and the current leaders of the SEC standings. The Gamecocks are a team that enjoys getting ahead quickly and will look to quiet a rowdy crowd inside Neville Arena from the beginning.

Can Auburn keep its unbeaten home winning streak alive on Wednesday against a challenging opponent in South Carolina? Here’s a look at how the teams compare heading into this pivotal SEC matchup.

Tale of the Tape: Auburn hosts Alabama for round two

Auburn fell to Alabama on the road two weeks ago. Will their luck change Wednesday at Neville Arena?

Who is ready for an encore?

The first meeting between No. 11 Auburn and No. 16 Alabama was a classic game that ended with a Crimson Tide win, 79-75. The two meet again on Wednesday, this time at the home of the Tigers, Neville Arena.

Since the loss to Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Auburn has rattled off two wins including a convincing quad 1 victory in Oxford over the Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford. The Tigers look to gain momentum as they begin a challenging stretch of four quad 1 games over its next six.

Can Auburn knock off its bitter rivals and keep an undefeated home record alive? Here is what the numbers say.

Tale of the Tape: Can Auburn earn the season sweep of Vanderbilt?

Auburn proved that it was the stronger team in Nashville on Jan. 17. Can they do it again on Wednesday at Neville Arena?

The No. 16 Auburn Tigers need a “pick-me-up” in a bad way, and could find one on Wednesday night at Neville Arena.

After suffering two tough losses on the road last week, Auburn returns to the homefront to face Vanderbilt before hitting the road again on Saturday to meet up with another quad 1 squad in Ole Miss. The Tigers need confidence, and a win over Vanderbilt could provide enough fire to begin another win streak.

The Tigers defeated Vanderbilt, 80-65, on Jan. 17 in Nashville by outshooting and outrebounding the Commodores, and made the most of its second-chance opportunities. Can they do much of the same on Wednesday?

Here’s the tale of the tape ahead of Auburn’s rematch with Vanderbilt.

Tale of the Tape: Comparing Auburn and Mississippi State ahead of Saturday’s game

The Tigers get another chance at a quad 1 win on Saturday in Starkville. Is Saturday the day they claim their first significant win?

The No. 6 Auburn Tigers sustained a tough loss on Wednesday, dropping a 79-75 decision to Alabama.

The loss snapped an 11-game losing streak and has dropped Auburn’s record against quad 1 teams to 0-3. Auburn gets another opportunity to earn its first quad 1 win on Saturday when it faces Mississippi State at Humphries Coliseum. The Bulldogs check in at No. 43 in the latest NET rankings and Auburn will have its best opportunity to claim that much-needed item for its NCAA Tournament resume.

Does Auburn have a clear path to a road victory? When examining both teams’ records, stats, and resumes, we discovered that both teams are more similar than we first thought.

Who has the upper hand in Saturday’s game in Starkville? Take a look at the latest edition of “Tale of the Tape” to decide.

Tale of the Tape: Comparing the Tigers and Tide ahead of Wednesday’s showdown

Auburn and Alabama are very similar heading into Wednesday’s game. Can the Tigers escape Coleman with a win?

One of the most anticipated showdowns of the SEC slate will take place on Wednesday night in Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa.

The No. 6 Auburn Tigers will put its 11-game win streak on the line when they face Alabama for the first time during the 2023-24 season. The Tigers also have another opportunity to earn its first quad 1 victory after failing in its two previous attempts.

The Tigers sit atop the SEC standings as the conference’s lone unbeaten team since league play began on Jan. 6. The Crimson Tide suffered its first loss last Saturday to No. 5 Tennessee. Both teams have solid shooters and players who are tough to score on. Which team has the advantage?

Ahead of Wednesday’s action, we have broken down each team’s resume, as well as key stats and records for Auburn and Alabama. Here is the “Tale of the Tape.”

Tale of the Tape: Penn State offense vs. Ole Miss defense

Let’s see how the numbers compare between the Penn State offense and the Ole Miss defense.

When Penn State and Ole Miss collide for the first time ever on Saturday afternoon, the Nittany Lions will be hoping to have their offense ready to go. After a tough year on offense, Penn  State has a bright future ahead of itself after the Peach Bowl, but it will have its work cut out for it against an Ole Miss defense that may be better than it is given credit for.

The more interesting matchup may be Penn State’s defense against the Ole Miss offense, but this battle will be instrumental in determining who will celebrate a Peach Bowl victory in Atlanta on Saturday.

Here is a look at how the numbers compare between Penn State’s offense and the Ole Miss defense heading into the Peach Bowl.

Tale of the Tape: Auburn vs. Alabama

The Alabama Crimson Tide are nearly two-touchdown favorites to win the Iron Bowl. Does the Tale of the Tape say this game will be closer?

The 6-5 Auburn Tigers finish the regular season on Saturday when they play host to the 10-1 Alabama Crimson Tide in the Iron Bowl.

Auburn is coming off its worst loss of the season, and maybe the decade, last week in a 31-10 beatdown against New Mexico State.

On the other side, [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] and the Tide have been playing great football since an early-season loss to Texas, giving them an outside chance at the College Football Playoff.

Despite the last three Iron Bowls at Jordan-Hare being decided by an average of 6 points, [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag]‘s squad is a 13.5-point favorite to improve to 10-1 according to Bet MGM. 

ESPN FPI seemingly agrees with the oddsmakers, as the model gives Alabama an 85.8% chance to keep their playoff hopes alive on Saturday.

Will the tale of the tape tell us this game is going to be closer than expected, or is Alabama going to roll to another Iron Bowl victory?

As always, we’ll start with the quarterbacks.

Auburn quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] has had himself a roller coaster season more inconsistent than the food truck locations on campus.

The junior played well in team’s 3-game win streak to open the year, then struggled for about a month before finding his footing at the end of October.

Thorne averaged nearly 213 yards and 3 touchdowns per game in Auburn wins over Arkansas, Vanderbilt, and Mississippi State, leading many people to believe the offense had found life heading into the home stretch of the season.

That belief fizzled last week, as Thorne threw for just 148 yards and 1 touchdown in the team’s loss to New Mexico State. The Tigers quarterback was also sacked 4 times.

Alabama quarterback [autotag]Jalen Milroe [/autotag] has had a similar type of “roller coaster” season. The sophomore opened the season with accuracy issues, and while he’s figured out some, Milroe still struggles to throw the ball at times.

The difference between Milroe and Thorne lies in their rushing ability. While the Alabama quarterback has only rushed for 332 yards, he’s collected 12 rushing touchdowns to go along with 19 passing scores.

Those 31 total touchdowns account for nearly double of [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag]’s 17 total scores.

The clear quarterback edge goes to Milroe and the Crimson Tide.

Alabama also holds the edge in the position player battle.

While Auburn running back [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] has been great this season, rushing for 772 yards and 7 scores, his presence isn’t enough to break through the rolling tide of offensive firepower on the Alabama side.

Quarterback [autotag]Jalen Milroe[/autotag] has done much of the heavy lifting in the red zone, but Tide running backs [autotag]Jase McClellan[/autotag] and [autotag]Roydell Williams[/autotag] have been great in-between the 20s.

The tandem has rushed for 1,204 yards this season, on nearly 5.3 yards per carry. The duo gets the slight edge over Hunter.

The real difference lies in the receiving core on the offensive side of the ball, as Alabama senior [autotag]Jermaine Burton[/autotag] is easily the best pass-catcher in this game.

Burton’s 642 receiving yards just about equal the recieving yards of the top 2 Tigers pass catchers, [autotag]Rivaldo Fairweather[/autotag] (349) and [autotag]Jay Fair[/autotag] (300).

The Crimson Tide get the edge across the offense.

The gap is closer of defense, but Alabama still gets the edge.

[autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag]’s defensive unit is about as stout as stout can get. They’ve held opponents to just over 17 points per game this season which has led them to the fifth-highest defensive efficiency ranking according to ESPN FPI.

Auburn’s unit has been great for much of the season too, but struggled mightily against New Mexico State last week.

[autotag]Eugene Asante[/autotag], [autotag]Jalen McCleod[/autotag], and the Tigers defense have held opponents to just under 21.5 points per game and they rank 19th in defensive efficiency.

The defensive gap is close, and with Auburn having the home field advantage, I’m going to call it a wash for this Iron Bowl.

 

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Tale of the Tape: Penn State offense vs. Michigan State defense

Penn State’s offense gets one final game this regular season to find some explosive plays and opportunities.

The struggles of the Penn State offense have led to a rare in-season staff change for head coach James Franklin. After removing Mike Yurcich as offensive coordinator following a loss to Michigan, the Penn State offense still lacked the desired explosiveness and quick passing fans had hoped to see against Rutgers. And an injury to quarterback [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] may have prevented any further development in last week’s game with Ja’Juan Seider and Ty Howle handling the offensive playcalling.

Penn State’s offense looks to have Allar available this week as they play Michigan State in Detroit on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Will the Nittany Lions end the year with a bang against the Spartans and retain possession of the Land Grant Trophy? Or will the offense still have their moments of agony that will be sure to frustrate fans?

Here is a look at how Penn State’s offense stacks up according to the numbers this season against the Michigan State defense.

Tale of the Tape: Penn State defense vs. Michigan State offense

Will Penn State’s defense turn in one final impressive performance against Michigan State’s offense?

Simply put, Penn State’s defense has been one of the best in the nation this season. Penn State’s defense has been consistently dominant since Week 1 and has helped to give Penn State chances to remain in striking distance of Ohio State and Michigan only to be failed by a struggling offense in those matchups. The defense will be a big reason why Penn State is a favorite in the regular-season finale on Friday against Michigan State in Detroit.

Defensive coordinator [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] is a semifinalist for this year’s Broyles Award and could be a name to watch as the coaching carousel continues to spin this offseason. He will have one more matchup to flex some muscle against a Michigan State offense that has had its struggles this year but seems to have found some energy with a young quarterback taking over.

Here is a look at how Penn State’s defensive numbers stack up against the Micigan State offense going into this year’s battle for the Land-Grant Trophy.