The term trap game is a cliche. I try to avoid using cliches, but I'm breaking my own rule in this case because that's exactly what Auburn has Saturday, Nov. 8, against Texas A&M.
Auburn is in the middle of a national championship push and is running through one of the tougher schedules in the country, while the Aggies are having a down year after dominating South Carolina in the season opener and falling victim to a substantial amount of overhyping. It's the classic recipe for a trap game, but here are five things the Tigers can do to avoid an upset.
1. Rattle Kyle Allen
For the second time this year, an Auburn opponent will feature a quarterback making his first conference start in Jordan-Hare Stadium. That didn't work out too well for LSU, and I don't see it helping A&M much either. The Tigers' pass rush finally showed up against Ole Miss, pressuring Bo Wallace into a few early throws and ultimately putting him on the ground in the backfield four times. If the Tigers can put pressure on Kyle Allen, they will not lose this game.
2. Run the dang ball, and pass it too
Did you watch A&M play Alabama? I did. In fact, I watched it with a few A&M fans. It felt a lot like being at a funeral. The Crimson Tide did whatever they wanted on offense all day, beating the Aggies 59-0. If a Lane Kiffin offense can put up 59 points on a team, then imagine what Gus Malzahn's offense is going to do. The Tigers showed in Ole Miss that they are capable of offensive balance, rushing and passing for more than 250 yards. If they can exploit A&M's defensive weaknesses - which they have a lot of - then they should be able to beat the Aggies easily.
3. Break the hangover
The win against Ole Miss was hard-fought and emotional. At times, coming off a last-second win like that has led to emotional hangovers that can plague a team. That's another classic trap game element. The Tigers need to forget about what happened in Oxford and focus on the Aggies.
4. Play clean
That's not to say the Tigers have been playing dirty. What I mean by that is play has been sloppy recently. Against Ole Miss, the Tigers racked up 145 yards of penalties. There were multiple late hits on players well out of bounds- on the Ole Miss sideline, no less. That's going to be called every time. You aren't going to win many games when you commit nearly 150 yards worth of penalties.
5. Erase the following from your vocabulary: Georgia, Bulldogs and Gurley
The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry is just two weeks away. It's a huge game for both teams and just may have major playoff implications. It will be Todd Gurley's first game back from his suspension. Right now, none of that matters to Auburn. What matters now is Kyle Allen, Kevin Sumlin and an Aggie team coming to Jordan-Hare looking to make a statement. Worry about Athens later.
David McKinney is a sports reporter for The Plainsman. He can be reached at sports@theplainsman.com.
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