Auburn showed everyone that they have a defense as well as an offense in their Thursday night victory against Kansas State.
A defense that has allowed just 258 yards rushing in their first three games, has 19 interceptions in its last 17 games, and has not allowed a third quarter touchdown this season has definitely improved compared to last season's statistics. And head coach Gus Malzahn thinks so too.
"We're very good right now at stopping the run," Malzahn said. "We're just working on improving in all areas and putting a little more pressure on the quarterback in pass situations. I like the direction we're going, and I think we're improving."
The Tigers' defense has improved from the first half to the second half in its first three games significantly by allowing a total of 10 points, 54 rushing yards, 263 passing yards and 317 total yards.
Having a defense that is playing well will help the Tigers' in Saturday's matchup against Louisiana Tech.
The Bulldogs have an offense that likes to throw the ball a lot and does it well, Malzahn said. They also have junior running back Kenneth Dixon, who is ranked 21st in the country in rushing.
A lot of Auburn's defensive success last Thursday came from junior Josh Holsey.
Holsey took over the calls and checks at free safety last Thursday after senior Jermaine Whitehead was suspended for an altercation with an assistant coach.
"I was well prepared for the job," Holsey said. "I know the secondary pretty much like the back of my hand so it wasn't really hard."
Eleven tackles against Kansas State earned him SEC defensive player of the week honors.
"I didn't even know I had that many tackles at the end of the game until they told me, but as the game went on I was just really focused on doing my job, and make sure we came out with the 'W,'" Holsey said. "I wasn't even focusing on myself as an individual."
The Tigers' defense went into Manhattan ready to let people know that Auburn has a defense as well as an offense, Holsey said
Being in the same system for the second year has helped the defense perform better this season, Holsey said.
"There's really no excuses not to know your job," Holsey said. "Especially when we are doing our base defense. It gives us a big advantage. You know your base calls. That's when you can start adding the exotic blitzes, and start doing different things for different people."
Junior Jonathon Jones, who had an interception against the Wildcats last Thursday, said the Tigers' defense did a solid job to hold Kansas State's offense to 14 points.
"Obviously the offense is going to do what they do every week, but as a defense we want to kind of make a name for ourselves and show we can hold people, and the offense can score," Jones said.
The SEC Champions are seeking their 300th all-time win at Jordan-Hare Stadium Saturday in the Tigers' homecoming game against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. The defense will continue to be a major factor in Auburn's success.
"We talk every week about improving our defense," Jones said. We obviously made mistakes, but we definitely got better."
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
