tale of the tape – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Tale of the Tape: Auburn vs New Mexico State

The 6-4 Auburn Tigers have a great chance to win their senior day game on Saturday against the New Mexico State Aggies.

The 6-4 Auburn Tigers have won three games in a row heading into their season-day game against the 8-3 New Mexico State Aggies.

Auburn is coming off its best win of the season, dismantling Arkansas 48-10 in a game that was never close.

New Mexico State meanwhile has been great this season but may be without quarterback Diego Pavia on Saturday.

Pavia’s questionable tag and Auburn’s recent success have the Tigers as 23.5-point favorites according to BetMGM.

ESPN’s FPI agrees with the oddsmakers, as the model gives Auburn a 93.8% chance to send the seniors home happy with a win in their second-to-last game at Jordan-Hare.

Does the tale of the tape tell us this game could be closer than everyone expects?

As always, we’ll start with the most important players on the field, the quarterbacks.

Auburn quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] has become an extremely valuable member of [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]’s offense after a sub-par start to the season.

The junior has thrown for 8 touchdowns during Auburn’s three game win streak, throwing 2 interceptions and scoring another touchdown on the ground.

The Michigan State transfer finally has the keys to the offense, and he is peaking at the right time ahead of the Iron Bowl in Jordan-Hare and an eventual bowl game.

New Mexico State quarterback [autotag]Diego Pavia[/autotag] is one of the best small conference signal-callers in the nation.

Pavia has thrown for 2,257 yards this season. He is also the team’s leading rusher with 703 rushing yards.

The Aggies quarterback has scored 24 total touchdowns this year, making the gap between him and [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] closer than some might believe.

His status is uncertain for this game however, and his health problems as well as inexperience against good competition give Thorne the edge.

Auburn gets the edge on the offensive line and skill positions as well. Running back [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] is far and away the best player on the offensive side of the ball.

Hunter’s 853 scrimmage yards and 7 touchdowns lead all skill players in this game.

As for the big guys up front, the Tigers also have the clear edge, mostly due to the sheer size difference of the two units. The Aggies’ offensive line averages 307 pounds. Auburn’s big men average over 10 pounds more, at 317.4.

Auburn has the edge in every offensive category, although [autotag]Diego Pavia[/autotag] is a great player that Auburn will need to keep in check in he plays.

On the defensive side of the ball, the gap is more massive than my confusion the first time I walked into the Haley Center.

[autotag]Jalen McLeod[/autotag], [autotag]Eugene Asante[/autotag], and [autotag]Jaylin Simpson[/autotag] lead an Auburn unit that ranks second in the SEC in defensive efficiency.

The Tigers give up just 21.3 points per game to opponents, which is 31st in the country.

New Mexico State’s defense has actually been better this season in OPPG, as the Aggies have given up just 20.3 points per game this year. Those number have come in a very below-average Conference USA however.

The Aggies allowed Liberty to score 33 points on them earlier in the season, showing they have struggled against above-average competition.

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Tale of the Tape: Auburn vs Arkansas

The Auburn Tigers go into week 10 as slight underdogs against Arkansas on the road. Does the tale of the tape tell a different story?

The 5-4 Auburn Tigers have a chance to win three games in a row for the second time this season when they travel to 3-6 Arkansas on Saturday.

Auburn is coming off one of its better wins of the season, flashing offensive firepower on the road against Vanderbilt.

Arkansas is also coming off a solid road win, taking down Florida in overtime 36-33 for the Razorbacks’ first win in the SEC.

The big win in the swamp has oddsmakers confident Arkansas can keep it rolling at home, as BetMGM has the Hogs favored by 2.5 points on Saturday.

ESPN FPI lines up almost exactly with the books, giving the home team a 54% chance to send Auburn back to the Plains with a 5-5 record.

Will the tale of the tape show us the wrong team is favored in this SEC matchup, or will it prove Arkansas has the upper hand?

As always, we’ll start by looking at the quarterbacks.

Tigers quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] is playing his best football of the season at the right time.

Thorne has averaged 212 passing yards over the past 2 weeks, throwing for 5 touchdowns in that span. Most importantly, Thorne has only turned the ball over once, although that one turnover did turn into 6-points.

The two wins have significantly helped Thorne’s season stats. The junior has now passed for 1,269 yards this season in 9 games. He’s thrown 10 touchdowns, rushed for 2, and thrown 6 interceptions.

Arkansas quarterback [autotag]KJ Jefferson[/autotag] has been solid this year for the Razorbacks, throwing 16 touchdowns on his way to 1,802 passing yards.

The senior has been careless with the ball, turning it over at least once in every SEC game so far.

The long-time Razorback gets the edge in the quarterback battle because of his experience and leadership of the offense. He’s been the guy for Arkansas for three years now, while Thorne has only been “the guy” for Auburn in the last two weeks.

Arkansas may have the quarterback edge, but it’s Auburn that gets the edge on the rest of the offensive side of the ball.

Jefferson is the Razorbacks leading rusher this season. That would be fine if he were lighting it up on the ground like LSU quarterback Jalen Daniels, but Jefferson actually has fewer rushing yards (292) than Payton Thorne (337) does this year.

Arkansas employs a three running back committee featuring [autotag]AJ Green[/autotag], [autotag]Rashod Dubinion[/autotag], and [autotag]Raheim Sanders[/autotag]. The trio have combined for 740 yards on 183 carries this season. If those numbers don’t look great, that’s because they are.

Auburn’s top running back [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] missed the first game of the season but has ran for almost as many yards (636) on 75 less carries.

The Tigers have also been better in pass protection, as [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] has been sacked a total of 19 times this year. KJ Jefferson on the other hand has hit the turf 36 times.

[autotag]Hugh Freez[/autotag]e’s team gets the edge in offensive line play and skill position play.

On the defensive side of things, Auburn’s 13th-ranked defensive efficiency gives them a slight edge over a solid Razorbacks unit.

The Tigers are giving up 22.8 points per game to opponents this season, which ranks, 41st in the FBS.

The Arkansas defense isn’t too far behind, giving up an average of 25.8 points per game, which ranks 55th.

Auburn gets the slight edge, but things become even considering the game is being played in Fayetteville.

After looking at the tale of the tape, it’s hard to argue with the experts this week. This game is going to be a toss-up. The home team gets the ever-so-slight edge in this one.

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Oregon vs. USC: ‘Tale of the Tape’ for No. 6 Ducks vs. Trojans

There’s an interesting vibe surrounding this game between the Oregon Ducks and USC Trojans heading into Saturday. These are the two biggest teams on the West Coast, and it will be the first time that they’ve played each other since 2020. However, because of the recent struggles from the Trojans, there’s a bit of a lack in fanfare prior to kick-off.

It may be the recent firing of USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch that is taking the lead spot in a list of storylines or the fact that the Trojans are already out of the College Football Playoff race after being ranked No. 6 in the nation at the start of the season. For whatever reason, though, this matchup is not receiving the hype that we’ve seen in years past.

That doesn’t mean that we are going to treat it any differently, though. While Oregon is favored to win the game. it should be highly entertaining with a pair of potent offenses. Let’s take a look at the numbers and see where the biggest advantages lie for either team.

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

Penn State’s defense will have its job cut out for them slowing down this Michigan offense.

After a get-right performance against Maryland on the road last weekend, Penn State’s defense proved that the Indiana game, where they gave up a season-high 6.6 yards per play, was just a fluke. With Michigan coming into Beaver Stadium Saturday afternoon, the Nittany Lions will have their work cut out for them with the Wolverines’ number one-ranked offense.

Don’t get it twisted: Michigan’s offense has been dominant so far this season, but they have not seen an animal like the Penn State defense yet. In fact, their schedule ranks 111th out of 133 teams, so no team has been even remotely close to the step up in competition the Wolverines will face on Saturday. Michigan has steamrolled lesser competition and has the number-one-ranked defense to show for it. But on the offensive side, the Wolverines are more toward the middle of the pack (43) in total yards per game.

How will Penn State’s top-3 scoring defense disrupt Michigan? The answer lies in making them as one-dimensional as possible and trying to generate takeaways.

Tale of the Tape: Auburn vs. Vanderbilt

The heavily favored Auburn Tigers travel to Nashville this week to take on Vanderbilt this week. Will this game be closer than expected?

The 4-4 Auburn Tigers will put on their dancing shoes on Saturday when they travel to Broadway to take on the 2-7 Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville.

Quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] and the Auburn offensive line look to keep the good times rolling in Music City after coming off arguably their best game of the season.

Vanderbilt on the other hand could really use somebody to step up, as the Commodores have lost 7 straight games after starting 2-0.

The different directions of these two teams explain why Auburn is favored by a 12.5-points on the road in this one, according to BetMGM.

ESPN FPI also believes in the Tigers’ chances to take a wrecking ball to the Commodores. The Index is giving Auburn an 84.1% chance to win.

That is by far the highest Auburn has been favored in FPI since their game against Samford all the way back in September.

Will the tale of the tape show us Auburn will set the world on fire and take care of business, or does a closer look show us this game might be closer than expected?

As always, we’ll start with the quarterbacks.

Starting quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne [/autotag] played his best as an Auburn Tiger last week in the win over Mississippi State.

The transfer has struggled most of the season, but threw for 230 yards and 3 touchdowns in last week’s victory, putting his season totals at 1,075 yards and 8 touchdowns in 8 games.

Auburn’s “QB1” has also been a threat with the legs, rushing for 297 yards and 2 touchdowns this season.

Vanderbilt’s quarterback situation on the other hand has been more disgusting than the floors at Tootsie’s.

The Commodores started the season with sophomore [autotag]AJ Swann[/autotag]. Swann went on to start Vanderbilt’s first 5 games of the season, throwing for 1,290 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions before going down with a shoulder injury.

Senior [autotag]Ken Seals [/autotag] took over as the de-facto starter and threw for 740 yards and 5 touchdowns in his first 3 starts before getting benched in favor of redshirt freshman [autotag]Walter Taylor[/autotag] last week against Ole Miss.

I’m giving the edge to Thorne and Auburn in this category due to the simple fact Vanderbilt’s quarterback situation is a mess.

The skill position battle is a little bit murkier. Vanderbilt has the best receiver in this game, [autotag]Will Sheppard[/autotag], but it’s hard to judge how much of his output is attributed to the Commodores always playing from behind.

I will say Auburn running back [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] is the most talented player for either team on the offensive side of the ball. That fact alone gives the Tigers the edge in the skill position battle, although it’s close.

Auburn also gets the edge up front. [autotag]Gunner Britton[/autotag] is not only the best lineman in this game, but he has also become one of the premier blockers in the SEC.

The Tigers has the edge across the offensive side of the ball.

On the defensive side of things, it’s not even close. Auburn boasts one of the best defenses in the SEC (22.5 opponents PPG), while Vanderbilt has arguably the worst (36 opponents PPG).

The talent gap on the defensive side of the ball is bigger than Dolly Parton’s Brentwood mansion.

After taking a closer look at this game, it’s clear why Auburn is favored by 12.5 points. The Tigers have an incredible chance to come out of Nashville one win away from being bowl-eligible.

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Oregon vs. California: ‘Tale of the Tape’ for No. 6 Ducks vs. Golden Bears

A breakdown of the numbers and specific matchups that will be important when the Oregon Ducks face the California Golden Bears this weekend.

Few teams in the nation are being talked about as much as the Oregon Ducks right now. After their dominant blowout win over the Utah Utes last week, many analysts and TV personalities are claiming that the Ducks not only are the best team in the Pac-12 and should be the favorite to win the conference title in Las Vegas but they should also be heavily considered as a threat to win the national championship.

Of course, there is a long road between here and there, and the Ducks have a lot of business to take care of before fans can start to consider all of that. It all starts this week with a return home for the game against Justin Wilcox and the California Golden Bears.

While thought of as a primarily defensive team over the past several year, the Golden Bears have one of the better offenses in the conference this year, averaging over 30 points per game. If the Ducks want to reach those championship heights, they will need to focus first on shutting down the Cal offensive attack.

Are they equipped to do so? Let’s take a look at the numbers in order to find out in this week’s edition of ‘Tale of the Tape:’

Tale of the Tape: Auburn vs Mississippi State

The Auburn Tigers have lost four straight games in the SEC and are in danger of missing out on a bowl. How do they stack up against MSU?

The 3-4 Auburn Tigers are finally favored to win a football game this week when they host the 4-3 Mississippi State Bulldogs at Jordan-Hare Stadium this Saturday.

The Tigers are currently favored by nearly a touchdown to win this game according to BetMGM and ESPN FPI agrees with the oddsmakers, as the model gives [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]’s team a 62.7% chance to snap their four-game losing-skid come Saturday.

Will the tale of the tape agree that Auburn will win their first game in over a month, or does a further look into the matchup show us this game will be closer than expected?

As always, we’ll start by looking at the quarterbacks.

Mississippi State faces uncertainty at the quarterback position heading into this one. Starter Will Rogers is dealing with a shoulder injury that forced him to miss last week’s game against Arkansas.

Head coach [autotag]Zach Arnett[/autotag] was ambiguous talking about his quarterback’s status, saying “he is progressing well” but refusing to label Rogers in or out for Saturday.

If Rogers is unable to go, the offense will be left in the hands of senior [autotag]Mike Wright[/autotag].

In limited work this year, Wright has thrown for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns. He has also added 106 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns.

As for the Auburn signal-callers, they are still struggling.

Through 7 games, starter [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] has thrown for 845 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions.

The Tigers top option is averaging just over 120 passing yards per game to go along with 0.7 touchdowns and interceptions per game.

That is not good.

Once again, Auburn loses the quarterback battle. It is much closer than it has been in previous SEC games however, and it’s almost even if [autotag]Will Rogers[/autotag] is forced to sit on the bench.

The battle of the skill positions is even closer.

Neither team boasts a top-notch playmaker that give a defensive coordinator a worse headache than a night out at Quixote’s, nor do they do anything on offense particularly well.

Mississippi State’s best player on the scoring side of the ball is probably running back [autotag]Jo’Quavious Marks[/autotag].

The senior back has been a workhorse for the Bulldogs offense. The senior from Atlanta is averaging 14 carries for 71 yards a game and has scored five total touchdowns.

Auburn’s best playmaker is also their number one running back, junior Jarquez Hunter.

After a slow start to the season for Hunter, he has come alive of late, and now leads all Auburn rushers with 309 yards and 5 rushing touchdowns. He has also added 61 receiving yards.

Neither receiving core is worth mentioning ahead of the other, although Mississippi State receiver [autotag]Lideatrick Griffin[/autotag] has the most yards out of any pass catcher in this game with 494.

The skill position battle is a wash.

Auburn does finally get an edge in the defensive department, although it is closer than you might think.

[autotag]Jaylin Simpson[/autotag], [autotag]Eugene Asante[/autotag], and the Auburn Tigers defense have been great all year long.

Unfortunately for them, Mississippi State has been pretty much just as good, at least according to the numbers.

Auburn’s defense has given up 25.7 points and 397.3 yards per game this season.

Mississippi State has given up 28.8 and 393.8, respectively.

As good as Auburn linebacker [autotag]Eugene Asante[/autotag] has been, linebacker Nathaniel Watson has been even better.

Overall, these two teams are extremely similar and a 6.5-point spread only makes sense if Will Rogers can’t go. If he does, Auburn may be in some trouble come Saturday.

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Tale of the Tape: Auburn vs Ole Miss

Ole Miss is favored in week seven, but does the tale of the tape say this game will be closer?

The 5-1 Ole Miss Rebels travel to Jordan-Hare stadium to take on the 3-3 Auburn Tigers in a week 7 SEC matchup on Saturday.

Auburn comes into this one a loser of three straight games, while Ole Miss has only lost once all year. That loss came in Tuscaloosa to Alabama.

The high-octane offense of Ole Miss and their ability to win SEC games has the Rebels coming in as 6.5-point favorites on the road in this one, giving them an implied 71.43% chance to win outright.

ESPN’s Football Power Index doesn’t give the Tigers much of a chance either, as [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]’s team has just a 22.8% chance to upset the Rebels according to FPI.

Most of the public would agree Ole Miss is likely to win this game, but will a look at the tale of the tape show us Auburn has a better chance at breaking their losing streak than the surface suggests?

As always, we’ll start by examining the quarterbacks.

[autotag]Lane Kiffin[/autotag]’s offenses are always high-powered, and this year is no outlier. The team averages 42 points per contest this season, led by the arm of quarterback [autotag]Jaxon Dart[/autotag].

Dart has been amazing this year, as the junior has thrown for 1,638 yards and 12 touchdowns. He has thrown only two interceptions.

On the Auburn side, [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] and [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] have continuously struggled.

The tandem has thrown for just 935 yards in 6 games, accumulating 6 touchdowns through the air.

The clear edge in the quarterback battle goes to Ole Miss.

In terms of the skill players, Ole Miss once again has the edge,

Running backs [autotag]Quinshon Judkins[/autotag] and [autotag]Ulysees Bentley[/autotag] have combined to rush for 718 rushing yards and 9 touchdowns this year behind a very good Rebels offensive line.

The pass catchers have also been great, with the trio of [autotag]Jordan Watkins[/autotag], [autotag]Dayton Wade[/autotag], and [autotag]Tre Harris[/autotag] combining for over 1,000 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.

When compared with Auburn’s top skill position players like [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag], [autotag]Jay Fair[/autotag], and [autotag]Brian Battie[/autotag], the comparison is not close.

Ole Miss as an offense is much better than what Auburn has to offer.

The defensive battle is much closer, however.

Despite Auburn getting torched by Jayden Daniels and LSU last week, the Tigers still rank in the top 60 in points per game allowed and the top 70 in yards per game allowed.

While those numbers are much worse than what they were earlier, they are great compared to an Ole Miss defense that ranks outside of the top 100 in both categories.

If Auburn is going to win this game, they need to take advantage of their better defensive unit. That is something they were not able to do a week ago, but the home game may change the tide.

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

Tale of the Tape: Auburn vs. LSU

Auburn is a major road underdog this week, but what does the Tale of the Tape say about their chances?

A pair of two-loss teams face off this weekend in Death Valley, as the 3-2 Auburn Tigers travel to take on the 4-2 No. 20 LSU Tigers in a SEC West showdown.

Auburn is coming off its bye week after nearly upsetting No. 1 Georgia two weekends ago.

LSU avoided a scare in Missouri last week, taking down the then-undefeated Missouri Tigers 49-39 in a game that saw a combined 1,060 yards of total offense.

LSU’s offense has been humming all year, led by Heisman candidate [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] and wide receiver [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag]. Their defense has been the Achilles heel for the team, however, as they’ve allowed nearly 47 points per game this season.

Auburn’s story of the season is nearly the exact opposite, as the offense has struggled mightily while the defense has become a top unit in the country.

Auburn’s inept offense is one of the main reasons why they are 11.5-point underdogs in this game according to BetMGM.

ESPN’s FPI doesn’t love Auburn’s chances at an upset either, as the model gives the unranked Tigers a 24.1% chance at stealing one in Death Valley.

Will a deeper dive into the tale of the tape show Auburn has a higher chance of ending its two-game losing streak than the experts believe? As always, we’ll start by looking at the quarterbacks.

Auburn has struggled to throw the ball all season with quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag]. Through the first five games, Thorne has thrown for 643 yards (128.6 YPG), 4 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions.

The junior transfer has also run the ball 45 times, collecting 195 yards on the ground and scoring twice.

LSU quarterback [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] has more than tripled that production. In six games, Daniels has thrown for 1,969 yards and 19 touchdowns. He has thrown just 2 interceptions.

The senior has also done damage on the ground, rushing the ball 75 times for 422 yards and 4 touchdowns.

LSU has the clear advantage at quarterback, and it’s not anywhere close. The offensive skill position-player difference tells much of the same story.

Auburn has failed to get much of anything from pass-catchers not named J[autotag]ay Fair[/autotag] or [autotag]Rivaldo Fairweather[/autotag], while LSU has arguably the best receiver in the nation in [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag] and a contingent of solid players behind him.

Nabers alone has tallied 771 yards and 6 touchdowns through 6 games. The 771 yards are just 10 less than all Auburn pass-catchers combined, albeit in one extra game.

[autotag]Brian Thomas Jr.[/autotag] has been the preferred second option for [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag], as the junior has collected 603 yards and scored a team-leading 9 touchdowns this season.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag]’s team has also been better rushing the ball, as they’ve rushed for 5.7 yards per carry compared to Auburn’s 4.8 this season.

LSU is leaps and bounds better than Auburn right now on the offensive side of the ball.

The same can’t be said for the defense, as the road team has the clear advantage in this one.

Even after getting pounced by [autotag]Carson Beck[/autotag]and [autotag]Brock Bowers[/autotag] in the fourth quarter two weeks ago, Auburn’s defense still ranks 31st in the country in total yards allowed per game (349) and 26th in points allowed per game (19.5).

LSU’s defense, on the other hand, is not good. The Tigers are giving up an outrageous 36.8 points and 470.8 yards per game.

Auburn’s contingent of playmakers on the defensive side gives them a clear advantage in this one.

The LSU offense is elite, the defense is not.

The Auburn defense is elite, the offense is not.

This game is going to come down to which team takes advantage of the other side’s weakness first. If the Auburn defense can play the way they’ve been playing, and the offense can take advantage of a bad LSU defense, they have a chance to end their losing skid at two games.

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Tale of the Tape: Auburn vs Georgia

Georgia is the more talented team, but does the tale of the tape show the Tigers have a chance?

The top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs travel onto the Plains this week to take on the 3-1 Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

UGA comes in as the consensus #1 team in the nation, led by a tough-nosed defense and sparkling offensive attack. The Dawgs are coming off a 49-21 thumping over UAB last week, although they did give up their most points of the season (21) in the win.

Conversely, the Tigers played their worst game of the season last week, losing at Texas A&M 27-10.

Auburn’s offense is in a state of flux, and that is not good heading into a matchup with a UGA defense that produces NFL first-round talent on a yearly basis.

These two factors are probably why Auburn is a 14.5-point home underdog on Saturday according to BetMGM.

ESPN’s FPI doesn’t like the home team’s chances either, as the Football Power Index gives Auburn an 18.1% chance to upset the Bulldogs.

Will a deeper dive into the tale of the tape show Auburn has a higher chance of shocking the college football world than the experts believe? As always, we’ll start by looking at the quarterbacks.

Georgia came into the season with a major question mark at the quarterback position.

Kirby Smart and Co. were tasked with finding a replacement for [autotag]Stetson Bennett[/autotag], and they eventually landed on junior [autotag]Carson Beck[/autotag].

The Jacksonville, FL native has done well so far for the Dawgs, taking over the game manager role that helped his predecessor win two national championships.

Beck’s numbers through four games are actually eerily similar to Bennett’s numbers through four weeks in 2022.

At the week 5 mark last year, [autotag]Stetson Bennett[/autotag] had thrown for 1,224 yards, rushed for 44 more, and scored 9 total touchdowns (5 passing, 4 rushing).

At the week 5 mark this year, [autotag]Carson Beck[/autotag] has thrown for 1,184 yards, rushed for 38 yards, and scored 8 total touchdowns (6 passing, 2 rushing).

Perhaps most importantly, Beck has only turned the ball over one time.

On the other side, Auburn starter [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] has had a troubled start to the season.

The Michigan State transfer ended up with only 44 passing yards in last week’s losing effort in College Station, pushing his season total to a mediocre 561 yards in four games.

In two games against Power 5 opponents, Thorne has collected just 138 passing yards and two touchdowns.

The Michigan State transfer has been able to find the end zone this frequently this year (6 total touchdowns) but his 4 turnovers in 4 games are alarming.

The clear edge in quarterback play goes to [autotag]Carson Beck[/autotag] and the UGA Bulldogs.

The skill position battle is almost as lopsided as the quarterback comparison.

Not only is UGA loaded at running back and receiver, but their best player on the offensive side of the ball is their tight end, [autotag]Brock Bowers[/autotag].

Standing at 6 4″ tall and 240 pounds, Bowers is coming off a dominant year in which he racked up over 1,000 all-purpose yards and 10 touchdowns in 15 games.

Bowers is picking up right where he left off so far this season, as the junior already has 260 yards and 3 touchdowns.

While Auburn wide receiver [autotag]Jay Fair[/autotag] has had himself a decent year and Georgia’s wide receiving core is nothing to scoff at, Bowers is clearly the best pass catcher in this game.

Georgia gets the advantage in the running back room as well.

Auburn’s top option, [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag], has struggled this year due to minor injuries, a suspension, and inconsistent o-line play.

His backup, [autotag]Damari Altson[/autotag], was injured in the Texas A&M game and is unlikely to play this week.

Third-stringer [autotag]Brian Battie[/autotag] was arguably the Tiger’s best offensive player after Alston went down last week, but his youth and inexperience make him too hard to judge just yet.

Georgia’s running backs are also dealing with some injuries, but they still get the edge because of their experience in big games. UGA’s top two rushers, Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton, are both seniors who were on the team for both of the Bulldogs championship runs.

Georgia’s talent and experience give them the edge over Auburn in every facet of the offensive game.

That is the case on the other side of the ball as well, although Georgia’s advantage is smaller.

The Auburn defense was the only thing that kept the Tigers afloat on the road last week, as the unit scored the team’s lone touchdown and kept Auburn in the game for three and a half quarters despite the offense failing to do much of anything.

Auburn’s defense has held opponents to just 16 PPG and 298.5 YPG this year. The 16 PPG is tied for 22nd in the nation, and the 298.5 YPG is tied for 24th.

Auburn’s defensive unit is also ranked 6th in the nation in defensive efficiency by ESPN FPI.

These numbers are all great. The only issue is that UGA’s are better.

The Dawgs are giving up 11.25 PPG and 282 YPG, good for 10th and 17th in the nation, respectively.

Auburn may have the best player on the defensive side of the ball in [autotag]Eugene Asante[/autotag], but Georgia is just a little bit better as a whole.

This game is probably going to be about as close as the experts believe, with UGA possibly blowing out Auburn early in this game.

The fact is, Auburn’s just not on the same talent level as the Bulldogs right now.

With that being said, the Tigers could still win this game, but it would take an amazing effort by the defense and a monster bounce-back performance by [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag].

We’ll see if the Tigers can shock the world when things kick off at Jordan-Hare at 2:30 PM CST on Saturday.