Following a pair of 2-1 wins over Kentucky in the first round and Missouri in the quarterfinals, No. 7-seeded LSU will make its fifth appearance all-time in the semifinal round at the SEC Tournament when it lines up against No. 6-seeded Texas A&M on Friday night in a match that is set to kick off at 6 p.m. Connecticut on the SEC Network.
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Christian Kirk, WR/PR, Texas A&M: Kirk is only nine yards shy of breaking Texas A&M’s record for freshman receiving yards. Auburn looks set to run the ball against the Aggie defense, much like South Carolina did, but negative plays will put Auburn behind the chains and could kill drives.
5 – The number of 100-yard rushing games by Auburn running back Peyton Barber this season. He’s had three 100 yard receiving games, and he has three special teams touchdowns. Sean White is completing 59.2 percent of his passes for 1,063 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Murray will need to put together another strong performance to keep the starting job away from quarterback Kyle Allen, who opened the season as the first-string quarterback before getting benched for inconsistent performances against Alabama and Ole Miss. Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin told reporters earlier in the week that he considers Lawson an “elite player” in the SEC and compared him to Aggies defensive end Myles Garrett.
While Murray’s athleticism might be the attribute of his game that pops out the most, he’s just as effective delivering the ball in the passing game, another area of weakness for the Auburn defense.
Shon Coleman, OT, Auburn: The Tiger offensive tackle will compete against defensive phenom Myles Garrett Saturday.
The Auburn soccer team advanced to the semifinals of the SEC tournament after defeating No. 16 South Carolina 3-2 in overtime. Coleman has work cut out for him as the lineman that the Tigers will heavily-rely on to contain the Aggies’ 6-foot-5, 260-pound pass rusher. But in the last three matchups, the games have ended in shootouts with both teams combining for a whopping 249 points. The next season, Auburn made its first trip to Kyle Field and got its revenge, 45-41.
The Odds: Texas A&M is a 7.5 point favorite against Auburn. That attitude may have contributed to the result against South Carolina. Texas A&M might be tempted to not take their upcoming competition seriously after the gauntlet they just experienced.
It’s reasonable for the Aggies to hope that Murray’s quickness and ability to avoid taking too many direct shots should help to keep him healthy, but if they try to maintain this pace they’ll be asking for trouble.
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After the referee played advantage on a foul in midfield on Gomez-Junco, the Tigers again almost unlocked the Texas A&M defense with SEC All-Freshman Team defender Alex Thomas attacking down the right side on a sprint to the end line.
