Here are the Tigers to keep your eye on at this year's homecoming game on The Plains.
QB Jarrett Stidham
Auburn’s offense has struggled of late to execute consistently, and a big part of that is Stidham’s struggles early on. The second-year quarterback came into the season with All-SEC hype but has shown that he has taken a step back from last season.
Stidham has shown a lack of a consistent rhythm throwing the ball and that could partly be blamed on the amount of third-and-longs the Tiger offense has faced. On third down with seven yards or more, Stidham is only completing 38 percent of his passes, compared to last season when he completed 56 percent of those types of passes.
If the Tigers want to have a powerhouse offense once again, it begins and ends with Stidham’s ability to get into a rhythm and convert on those third-and-longs when the Tigers get into those situations. Gus Malzahn said that they plan on turning Stidham loose against Southern Miss and it will be interesting to see if the signal-caller can get back on track.
C Nick Brahms
The Auburn offensive line had a slight regression against Arkansas giving up four sacks to the Razorbacks after entering the game with only three on the season. The lack of pass protection could be easily blamed on first-time starter Nick Brahms, but it turns out that Brahms was one of the highest-graded linemen out there, according to left tackle Prince Tega Wanogho.
Brahms got the nod for his second straight start against Southern Miss and the more playing time he sees, the better he will get to maybe turn Auburn’s offensive line struggles around.
Buck Richard Jibunor
Jibunor already looks like the future at the Buck position with his incredible ability to rush the passer as a freshman. In a limited role so far this season, Jibunor has taken advantage of his time on the field, being tied for the team’s sack leader with two.
Against Southern Miss, Jibunor should get a good bit of playing time and that means the stage is set for him to have a breakout game.
Keys to victory
- The Southern Miss team that will step onto the field Saturday is arguably more talented than Arkansas. The Golden Eagles are ranked inside the top 30 among total offenses in the country and a good bit of that comes from the air. Auburn’s defensive backs did a good job limiting explosive plays and not committing pass interference penalties. This week’s test will be a good tune up for the secondary before heading to Starkville.
- Auburn dropped Ty Storey just twice last game but had nine quarterback hurries against Arkansas. The Tigers need to use Southern Miss as a test to see if they can get to the quarterback, especially since the Golden Eagles quarterback is less mobile than Storey.
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