After a grueling early schedule that saw the Tigers face three ranked teams (two of which remain undefeated) and travel to play Mississippi State in Starkville, Auburn is ready for some down time. With the offense starting to click, the defense rolling on all cylinders and a physical Arkansas team coming to town in two weeks, the Tigers are using the downtime to focus on themselves.
“We’ve had a long, hard six weeks," said offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee. "We’ve played as good a schedule as anybody and we’ve got just about as good a back end as anybody. We’ve got to get healthy first."
The bye week comes at a potentially perfect time for Auburn, fresh off a 38-14 rout of Mississippi State that wasn't as close as the score suggests. The offense has found its identity and the defense has been a consistent force all season. The coaches see this week as a chance to make the team even better.
Lashlee said that there are two main focal points for his unit this week: getting everyone rested and bringing the second stringers further up to speed. After running back Kerryon Johnson went down against the Bulldogs, Kamryn Pettway carried it 39 times for 169 yards and a trio of touchdowns. He wants his entire depth chart to be capable of such performances should they be called upon.
"This week’s good for our guys to just kind of refresh their minds a little bit," Lashlee said. "We’re still doing ball, we’re still working, but you don’t have that impending game coming on Saturday that everybody’s grinding toward."
On the other side of the ball, defensive coordinator Kevin Steele said he is proud of the way his unit continues to progress, but he always believes there's room to improve, and there's hardly a better time to do so than a gameless week.
"As coaches, we have started the process for Arkansas," Steele said. "We did not do that with our players yet. We’re totally focused on trying to improve each and every individual in terms of physicality, understanding the game and technique."
Steele's task is coming up with a way to stop Arkansas' offense, which has the SEC's fourth-best offense (448 yards), ranked just behind the Tigers.
The Razorbacks have been known as a powerful running team under head coach Bret Bielema. However, the Hogs also have am explosive attack through the air. In a 49-30 loss to Alabama, quarterback Austin Allen threw for 400 yards and 3 scores.
"(The bye week) came at a perfect time," Steele said. "We need it."
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.
