No. 8 Auburn is 3-0 entering its first conference game of the season. That’s where it wanted to be, but the unblemished start hasn’t come without adversity.
It took strong second halves for the Tigers to come away with victories in the first two weeks against Oregon and Tulane after sluggish starts, and in the 55-16 victory over Kent State last weekend, they were without three impact players who are all considered day-to-day for this weekend’s matchup at Texas A&M.
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn acknowledged Tuesday that he’s happy with where his team is at right now, but also noted that the real season starts Saturday and that Week 4 of the season is what they’ve been gearing up for all year.
“Playing a very talented Texas A&M team,” Malzahn said. “A team that played Clemson really closer than the score if you watch the game…They did a very good job against us last year defensively and everything that goes with that. We’re really playing one of the better teams in our league we feel like on the road. This will be our first road test as far as the league goes with our freshman quarterback. We’re excited for the opportunity.”
After struggling in the first two weeks of the season to establish a running game, the Tigers got back to their roots versus Kent State, running for 467 yards and six touchdowns. Auburn will bring the second-best rushing attack in the SEC to Kyle Field on Saturday, averaging just over 280 yards on the ground per game. The Tigers also boast the No. 2 rusher in the conference in JaTarvious Whitlow, who has run for 341 yards in three games.
The Aggie defense, on the other hand, comes into Saturday’s tilt ranked third in the SEC in total defense allowing just 11.33 points per game and 87.7 yards per game on the ground.
“Yeah, their run defense is very good,” Malzahn said. “What stood out to me last year and this year is their run fits. Their linebackers know their gaps. Their gap integrity on defense in run fits is very impressive. They do a good job of setting the edge. They do a good job on the back end. They mix up their coverages with their pressures and everything. Last year they did a very good job against us. I think we were fortunate to win that game the way we played offensively.”
On the offensive side of the ball, there is familiarity. Malzahn recruited Aggies starting quarterback Kellen Mond out of high school back in 2017 when he was at IMG Academy. Mond is fourth in the conference with 747 passing yards coming into Week 4, behind LSU's Joe Burrow, Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa and Mizzou's Kelly Bryant.
“He looks like a veteran quarterback,” Malzahn said of Mond. “He looks like a guy that’s been in the offense for two years. He can flat-out throw it and when he tucks it and runs It, when he goes North-South, he can really run. He presents a lot of challenges, and offensively they do a lot of different things. Like I said, they mix up the run and pass with different formations, different personnel groups. He looks like he’s in command of his offense this year.”
For the Tigers, true freshman Bo Nix, who has shown he isn’t afraid of the moment, will take the field Saturday against a top-20 team for his first road game in the SEC. Nix has had his ups and downs this year, but showed his ability to capitalize when the lights are brightest with the last-second touchdown throw to Seth Williams in Week 1 that completed a 27-21 comeback win over Oregon. The freshman quarterback enters SEC play 44-of-84 (52.4 %) for 545 yards passing with four touchdowns and two interceptions.
Malzahn alluded to the Oregon game as proof that Nix is ready for this weekend in one of the loudest stadiums in the country.
“I think the fact that we had the first game on the road,” Malzahn said. “Now, we had more fans than they had, but it was still an exciting atmosphere and a big game. Now, he has that in his back pocket as far as experience. … We’ll do a good job with the crowd noise, and we’ve done that really the last three weeks, even when we were playing at home. I think it’s like anything else, it’ll be his first experience, but I know that he’s a great competitor. The moment won’t be too big.”
Malzahn kept reminding the media at his Tuesday press conference that Nix, however talented, is still just a freshman, and these learning curves are to be expected.
“I really feel that each week the game will slow down for him a little bit more,” Malzahn said. “But I’m very confident in his abilities. You’ve got to keep in mind, that was his third game to play college football. He’s still a freshman. We’ve got to keep that in mind. He’ll keep improving. He’s going to be an outstanding quarterback in this league for a long time, I’ll tell you that.”
No. 8 Auburn will kick off with No. 17 Texas A&M at 2:30 p.m. CST on Saturday at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas. The game will be televised on CBS.
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