Positives & Negatives of two tune-up games before Auburn

Have to agree. If the O-line gets in some work against the magnificent 7 (LSU's starting defensive front), they will have experience against the best there is. Not much better preperation than that.

Would like to see the QB's work under some pressure and have some more experience in general. It might take some creative blitzing packages to see it but they will see some pressure before the year is over.

:geaux:

 

Right. And considering LSU's defense practices against a very good LSU offense that has many spread packages, I don't think the style of offense really matters all that much. The spread is no longer surprising teams. It's now a staple and coaches have seen enough of it to know how to defend it. This, in my opinion, is why Crowton's offense is so effective given the right personnel. Can't exactly pin it down.

 

I'm sorry in advance to the Auburn fans, but I'm not sold on their new offense. In two games against cupcakes, they have scored exactly 5 touchdowns. LSU scored four in the first half of their game against a team of arguably similar caliber...with virgin QBs.

Their D might be different story, as it is ALWAYS good, but is it good enough to completely shut down LSU's offense? They'll have to force turnovers to win that game, because I don't see Auburn scoring more than a touchdown against our D.

 

With our QB situation I would actually say yes. Not shut us down like the other teams they have played but it will be tough for us to score 21 going the length of the field. Our defense should have a great game and hopefully they can give us a short field most of the time -- I think we will see a lot of punting.

 

That's kind of what I was saying. We should hold them to 10-13 points while scoring 14-17, barring turnovers.

 

I agree with everything you are saying except Southern Miss is not a cupcake. Southern Miss has a pretty solid team with good athletes on both sides of the ball. They will be dangerous before the years out, mark it down.

 

On the contrary, there have been many threads on the AU boards discussing LSU's three opening opponents, all of which run similar versions of the spread. I don't think anybody's going to be surprised by AU's offense, ..... we're still a running team, as clearly evidenced thus far.

IMHO, the majority of AU fans recognize that the LSU/AU matchup will likely decide the SECW again, Alabama's recent success notwithstanding.

I do agree with you that Auburn and it's staff are not fully comfortable with CTF's scheme just yet. There were fundamental mistakes against USM, but the outcome was never in doubt and there is room for considerable optimism.

The defensive transition under CPR is IMHO ahead of schedule. This is a fast, deep, and salty bunch that has only one minor weakness .... skinny depth at the CB position. Still, this is likely the fastest D Tubs has ever fielded.

AU's special teams has improved immeasurably this season, perhaps the most improved unit in the organization. The current SEC stats are reflecting only a glimpse of that improvement. I expect this to be the unit that can make a significant difference in the big games on Auburn's schedule ....

If forced, I'd make LSU a 3.5 pt. favorite ..... but, it's still too early to properly review the LSU/AU matchup ..... this week's action should tell both teams a lot more.