Welcome to Thunderdome, Bitch: Auburn/LSU Preview

We now find ourselves three days and some change away from Auburn’s first big SEC test this year. We’ve seen the Auburn bounce back and forth between quarterbacks, show very little life on offense, and put up one of the best defenses in the nation. The first SEC game against Miss. St. proved that the defense was every bit as good as we thought, and that the offense was floundering worse than we had feared.

Meanwhile, LSU comes in with a solid overall team, with their only question marks coming from inexperienced quarterbacks, and potential weaknesses in the secondary. These Tigers are coming off a national championship and are driven to prove that they aren’t going to fall prey to the post-NC slump that has afflicted many teams in the past.

Auburn comes into this game with one huge advantage, and that is Jordan-Hare Stadium. As you’ve probably heard everywhere else, LSU hasn’t won in Jordan-Hare since September 1998. The Auburn fan base is going to come into this game hyped up for the first really big game of the season, while LSU’s fans will smell like corn dogs (Seriously, read that work of genius). Let’s cover both sides of the ball to see who has what going for them:

Offense:
Both teams are suffering at quarterback. Each team has two QBs, neither of whom have been particularly productive for either team. Look for some serious attempts to step up on the part of the quarterbacks to result in a turnover or two, due to how great both defenses are.

LSU has an advantage on the offensive line, with more experience over Auburn’s front four. Auburn’s line proved to be especially penalty prone during the Miss. St. game, and this gives LSU even more of an edge.

Both teams are fairly even in the running game, with Auburn running up 622 rushing yards over three games and LSU having 482 rushing yards over two games. Yes, LSU has only played cupcakes, and 216 of those yards came against a more than pathetic North Texas team, but Auburn also played LA-Monroe and hung 321 on them, so it’s more or less a draw. The one big negative for Auburn’s running corps is that they seem to have trouble holding on to the ball.

Defense:
The defense is where both of these teams shine. Both D-Lines are strong and fast, and have the potential to create turnovers on every down. Both teams are very strong against the run, but the edge on run defense goes to Auburn, simply because they’ve faced a decent ‘back in the form of MS State’s Anthony Dixon. Meanwhile, LSU has had to handle the likes of App. State’s Armanti Edwards and North Texas’ Cam Montgomery. Who? Exactly.

The secondaries may be the stories of the day for both defenses. For Auburn, Walter McFadden has proven to be a suitable replacement at DB for Aairon Savage, but Auburn’s secondary is still fairly inexperienced and allowed Southern Miss. to rack up 268 yards through the air. LSU’s secondary is similarly inexperienced, having given up 187 yards to App. State and 155 yards through the air to North Texas. If either team can get a solid passing game going, they will likely win the game.

Prediction Time:
Look for Auburn to win a very close defensive game that will end up somewhere in the low teens. Also, look for a few surprises (of the good kind) from the Auburn passing attack. Watch for Tony Franklin to glue the ball to the hands of the running corps. On the LSU side, look for their fans to smell like corn dogs.