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From sacks to scores to milestones, here’s a look at how former Tigers performed in the NFL in week three.
Each week throughout the NFL season, Auburn Wire will take a look at some of the most notable performances from Auburn Alumni across the League.
It was another quiet week for former Tigers, but there were a few notable performances nonetheless.
Here is a look at several week three headlines from Auburn’s top NFL players.
The Auburn Tigers have gotten off to an undefeated start this season, but the running game has struggled. It needs to be better on Saturday.
For the past decade, the Auburn football offense has run through the running game.
The best player on the offensive side of the ball for the Tigers has always been their running back, whether it’s [autotag]Tank Bigbsy[/autotag], [autotag]Kerryon Johnson[/autotag], [autotag]Cameron-Artis Payne[/autotag], or Tre Mason, the offense has literally run on running the ball.
This year that has not been the case. The team’s leading rusher through three weeks is quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag].
The team’s leader in rushing touchdowns is backup quarterback [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag]
In a year in which starting running back [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] was voted to the preseason All-SEC team, he has rushed for a grand total of 90 yards and 1 touchdown in non-conference play.
If Hugh Freeze’s team is going to be successful in SEC play, the running backs are going to have to start running the ball and running it well.
This week Auburn travels to play a familiar opponent, the Texas A&M Aggies, who are currently giving up just over 4 yards per carry on the ground.
Auburn’s running backs are averaging 4.3, and that number dips almost below 4 if you take away long touchdown runs by [autotag]Jeremiah Cobb[/autotag] and [autotag]Sean Jackson[/autotag] against UMass.
That is simply not good enough for a team that has issues throwing the ball as well. This week the Tigers are going to have to score points against an A&M offense that averages 44 points per game.
If Thorne and the receivers falter in the passing game, the running game has to pick them up.
While Payton Thorne ran free last week, it was mostly due to him being a superior athlete against FCS competition. The run game needs to be more fundamentally sound against A&M and avoid sequences like the one below.
THREAD: If Auburn is going to upset Texas A&M tomorrow, they need to run the ball well and avoid sequences like this…
First down: Simple outside zone goes nowhere. The line gets blown up and Damari Alston goes east-west instead of north-south… gain of 2 pic.twitter.com/7fKRPsCA1N
— Brian Hauch (@TheRealBHauch) September 22, 2023
This sequence is downright brutal from first to fourth down.
Auburn tries to run an outside concept on first down, and it get’s completely blown up. The line of scrimmage immediately shifts to the Auburn backfield, and [autotag]Damari Alston[/autotag] is left with little to do but string out the run as long as he can before hoping a hole develops.
It does not, and Auburn is left with a second and long.
Now for second down.
Second down: Payton Thorne incorrectly hands the ball off in this read-option hybrid.
If he keeps it, this is probably an Auburn touchdown pic.twitter.com/wy6U67G9WQ
— Brian Hauch (@TheRealBHauch) September 22, 2023
Everything about this play is executed perfectly besides the most important part.
#77 [autotag]Jeremiah Wright[/autotag] and #72 [autotag]Izavion Miller[/autotag] execute their pulls perfectly, and have the edge completely locked up for Payton Thorne to follow them to the endzone.
Wide receiver #0 [autotag]Koy Moore[/autotag] does his part as well, taking his defender completely out of the would-be-play.
This should have been 6 points for Auburn. Instead, [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] handed the ball off and the Tigers gained one yard.
Fourth down is just as bad as first and second. Just like they did on the outside run, the Auburn lines gets bullied on this inside run, leaving [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] with nowhere to go.
Fourth Down: After a nice improv pass by Thorne, Auburn has a fourth a short and elects to run the ball up the middle.
The run gets stuff and the Tigers turn it over on downs. Sequences like this weren’t detrimental vs FCS opponent Samford.
They will be vs A&M on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/53XTLEKK9C
— Brian Hauch (@TheRealBHauch) September 22, 2023
Auburn had many drives similar to this one during their 45-13 win last week. They were able to get away with it because of their talent,
That won’t be the case this week.
If Auburn is going to win as 8-point underdogs, the running game has to show up. The offensive line and running backs need to take some of the pressure off of Payton Thorne.
We’ll see if they can when the Tigers kick off SEC play Saturday at 11 CST.
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
Auburn football alumni made waves in week two of the NFL season.
Each week throughout the NFL season, Auburn Wire will take a look at some of the most notable performances from Auburn Alumni across the League.
It was rather quiet week two of the season following an eventful week one, but there were still some notable performances that deserve some recognition.
Here is a look at several week two headlines from Auburn’s top NFL players.
There are a few interesting storylines surrounding Auburn Alumi in the NFL going into the 2023 season.
Each week throughout the NFL season, Auburn Wire will take a look at the some of the most notable performances from Auburn Alumi across the League.
Although the season doesn’t kick off for another nine days, there still are a multitude of interesting storylines with the preseason wrapped up and the infamous “cut day” behind us.
Here are some of the most interesting storylines surrounding Auburn players after week 3 of the preseason.
Six former Tigers are among the 319 players invited to attend the event Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana.
After having just one player taken in last year’s NFL draft, Auburn will be well-represented at the 2023 NFL Combine with six former players invited.
Running back [autotag]Tank Bigbsy[/autotag], kicker [autotag]Anders Carlson[/autotag], edge rushers [autotag]Derick Hall[/autotag] and [autotag]Eku Leota[/autotag], linebacker [autotag]Owen Pappoe[/autotag], and defensive lineman [autotag]Colby Wooden[/autotag] have all been invited to the prestigious event in Indianapolis, Indiana. The event is scheduled to take place from Feb. 27 to March 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Hall is Auburn’s top prospect and has a chance to hear his name called in the first round. Bigsby and Pappoe are looking to play their way into the second or third round of the draft.
Pappoe missed the Senior Bowl with an injury but is expected to be ready for the combine and Auburn’s pro day.
The 2023 NFL Draft will take place from April 27-29.
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Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow JD on Twitter @jdmccarthy15.
Auburn fans know just how big of an impact Tank Bigbsy can make.
[autotag]Tank Bigsby[/autotag] has been Auburn’s best offensive player for the past few seasons but some people believe he still isn’t getting the respect he deserves.
Pro Football Focus named Bigsby as one of their five “under-the-radar prospects” for the 2023 NFL Draft.
The former Auburn Tiger rushed for 2,903 yards and 25 touchdowns in his three seasons on the Plains. While that is good for the seventh most yards ever by an Auburn running back, Bigsby suffered from poor offensive line play throughout his career.
While this clearly impacted his stats, it did allow him to showcase his ability to make defenders miss and to break multiple tackles. Of his 970 rushing yards this season 740 of them came after contact according to PFF.
One area that Bigbsy will need to show he can make an impact in is the passing game, he averaged just 1.8 receptions per game at Auburn for 13.8 yards. He will need to become a better receiver out of the backfield if he wants to become a three-down back in the NFL.
Five under-the-radar prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft🤫 pic.twitter.com/BwwUaHWghu
— PFF College (@PFF_College) January 23, 2023
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Cadillac Williams has his first win as Auburn’s head coach.
On a night when Auburn’s offense was unable to get anything going the Tiger’s defense took over and led them to a 13-10 victory over Texas A&M Saturday night in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
With the win, Auburn (4-6, 2-5 SEC) snapped a five-game losing streak and gave [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag] his first win as head coach of the Auburn Tigers.
Despite giving up 0 points in the first half, Auburn’s defense kicked it up in the second half. They forced five consecutive three-and-outs and held the Aggies to -2 yards in the third quarter.
The Aggies were without star running back Devon Achane and were unable to get anything going on the ground, they averaged 3.9 yards per carry and were forced to keep turning to true freshman quarterback Conner Weigman to bail them out.
Auburn’s defensive line made sure that did not happen. They may have with 3.0 sacks but they kept Weigman under constant pressure. He never looked comfortable and at one point he missed on 13 straight pass attempts. He finished the night 14-for-36 for 121 yards.
After Auburn nearly committed their fourth turnover of the game, they were clinging to a 10-3 lead late in the fourth quarter and Texas A&M had a chance to tie it up.
[autotag]Colby Wooden[/autotag] had other plans. He beat the left tackle and stripped Weigman and [autotag]Morris Joseph Jr.[/autotag] recovered to give Auburn the ball at the Texas A&M 32-yard line.
Auburn was once again unable to finish the drive with a touchdown but [autotag]Alex McPherson[/autotag] made a 26-yard field goal to give Auburn a 13-3 lead with 3:02 to play.
On a night when Auburn’s defense took over, Wooden led the way. His strip sack was his only tackle but he finished with three quarterback hurries and was constantly in the backfield.
Auburn’s offense was able to move the ball throughout the game but once again failed to finish their drives. They averaged 4.9 per play and crossed the 50-yard line on their first five drives. However, they managed just seven points on those drives.
The biggest missed opportunity came in the third quarter when Auburn started the ball at midfield after a short punt by the Aggies. [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] ripped off a 25-yard run to get Auburn right outside the red zone. Two plays later a miscommunication between [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] and [autotag]Tank Bigbsy[/autotag] resulted in a fumble and the Aggies recovered to end the scoring opportunity.
After Texas A&M opened the game with nine straight punts, Ashford was picked off by Edgerrin Cooper to give the Aggies the ball at Auburn’s 39-yard line.
Auburn’s defense once again stood up though and they held the Aggies to a field goal to keep it a 10-3 Auburn lead with 10:38 left to play.
The Aggies had their best drive of the game after falling behind by two possessions with 3:02 left to play. They scored their first touchdown of the game with 1:33 left to play but failed to recover the onside kick and it was over.
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Auburn’s offense should be to much for the Spartans but here are five things they need to work on.
Auburn is set to have their second test of the season Saturday night against the San Jose State Spartans.
The Tiger’s offense had a good but far from perfect showing in Week 1 against Mercer and has several things they need to improve on this weekend. [autotag]Tank Bigbsy[/autotag] and [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] looked as good as advertised, combining for 184 yards and five touchdowns, but will be facing a tougher test this weekend.
The Spartans held Portland State to 17 points and just 3.57 yards per carry. They also limited any big runs, Portland State’s longest run was for 14 yards.
While the rushing attack looked to be in midseason form against Mercer, the same was not true for the passing offense. [autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag] and [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] and the receivers will have a great chance to work on protecting the football, creating explosive plays, and getting more experience before Auburn’s schedules gets significantly more challenging.
Here are five areas Auburn’s offense needs to work on in their game against the Spartans. The game is set to start at 6:30 p.m. CT Saturday and will be on ESPNU.
Auburn fans have known this for a while.
There is no doubt about Auburn’s strength on offense is, it is all about [autotag]Tank Bigbsy[/autotag].
Bigsby was voted as the best running back in the SEC by the USA Today Sports Network on Saturday. The junior received seven of 16 possible first-place votes and finished with 139 points. He edged out Kentucky’s Chris Rodriguez Jr., who had 134 points.
Here is what they had to say about Bigsby:
Bigsby’s combination of skill and power makes him the centerpiece of Auburn’s offense and one of the top running back prospects for the 2023 NFL Draft.
Bigbsy rushed for 1,099 yards and 10 touchdowns on 223 carries. He also caught 21 passes for 184 yards as he works to become a more complete running back.
With questions about who will be Auburn’s quarterback and at the wide receiver position, the offense is expected to lean on Bigsby at the beginning of the season. He has proven he can run the ball effectively, 8.4 yards per carry in his career, but is working to be a weapon in the passing game as well.
That was shown in Auburn’s A-Day game when he was targeted six times in the first half of the scrimmage. It is always challenging to make opinions from a glorified practice but that will be something to monitor this season.
Here is a look at the full list.
Were any Auburn players snubbed?
Athlon Sports announced its preseason All-SEC Team for the 2022 season, and nine Auburn players made one of the four teams.
The Tigers had two first-team selections, running back [autotag]Tank Bigsby[/autotag] and defensive lineman [autotag]Derick Hall[/autotag]. Defensive lineman [autotag]Colby Wooden[/autotag] and punter [autotag]Oscar Chapman[/autotag] were named to the second-team.
Linebacker Owen Pappoe, offensive lineman Keiondre Jones, and kicker Anders Carlson each made the third-team. Tight end John Samuel Shenker and safety Zion Puckett were fourth-team selections.
Check out the full teams below.
A message from Athlon Sports on how they select the teams.
These are based on how players will perform in 2022. Career statistics and awards matter in the evaluation, but choosing players for the 2022 all-conference team is largely based on predicting and projecting the best for the upcoming year. Also, team strength does not play a role in selections. These are the best individual players at each position in the league for ’22.
