The quarterbacks were running for nice gains, the tailbacks were churning out yards and all that rushing success translated to big numbers on the scoreboard. Malzahn’s team started the season off hot, looking like one of the top team’s in the country for much of the season. Texas A&M features some of the league’s top receivers while Auburn has built a balanced attack behind sophomore quarterback Sean White. The Tigers used a fast tempo, stayed ahead of the chains, and rolled up over 700 yards of offense.
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White was coming off a so-so performance against Clemson when he was only 10-of-21 passing with an interception and had to share time with senior Jeremy Johnson and junior college transfer John Franklin III. He had 10 rushes for 60 yards in his last game against Arkansas State. “Obviously, Arkansas State wasn’t as good as Clemson was, but I was proud of the way we responded from week one to week two, and hopefully we can continue growing as a unit and developing as an offense”.
Throw in the fact that Auburn’s defense has been very good at stopping the run this year and I believe the game plan for the Aggies is going to be centered around distributing the ball to their talented recievers. “That’s kind of got to be the mindset”. White’s running ability hasn’t been on display all that much, but he’s hoping to change that.
The 2015 loss to Auburn played no part in his move to revamp his staff, Sumlin said.
“I don’t think anybody pays attention to that to be dead-honest”, he said. It would also take some of the heat off Malzahn, allowing him to coach more freely and not feel like he’s coaching for his job every time he steps on the field.
Auburn was a decided favorite this past weekend, but in winning, the Tigers amassed 706 yards, including 462 on the ground.
This is not the first time a sports journalist has been dumb enough to draw comparisons to some of the best defenses in the nation that formerly resided in College Station; anybody who made those comparisons were only routinely disappointed to see that no Crew since 2000 came close to equaling the days of Ray Mickens, Keith Mitchell, Brandon Mitchell, Patrick Bates, Sam Adams, Aaron Glenn, Quentin Coryatt or Dat Nguyen. However, the Aggies haven’t faced a run scheme like Auburn’s and under an offensive coach like Malzahn. The guy coached in a national championship game. Auburn had 2 possessions at the end of the game, with a chance to tie or win. “I would be wrong if I ventured out and said that because I don’t see the west coast teams, but I will say this: they’re a very, very impressive group”. He has rushed for 218 yards in his first two games as a starter. He converted from fullback in the spring and had a 64-yard ramble among his 15 carries against Arkansas State.
“It’s just like I jumped right back in the groove again”, the former tailback said.
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