Before Auburn takes on South Carolina on Saturday, The Auburn Plainsman's sports editor, Caleb Jones, sat down with The Daily Gamecock's co-sports editor, Michael Sauls, to ask some questions about this weekend's contest.
Jones: What was the big difference in the Florida game?
Sauls: "I can't even pinpoint it to one thing. I try to think that maybe it was the qb change, maybe it was the run game finally getting established. I can't really pinpoint it to one thing.
But if I tried, I'd probably have to give it to the run game because they put up their best performance of the entire season. I think it came down to the fact that all four running backs produced, and produced, well and I think that took pressure off of Jason Brown in his first ever FBS start and kind of took the pressure off from Ty Grant from the blitzing standpoint, let Jason get settled in the pocket and make some plays with his arm."
Jones: What went wrong in the Missouri game the following week?
Sauls: "After the run game appeared, it disappeared. I think that's the main thing there. Coming into that game I think Missouri was second-to-last in the country for rushing defense. So hypothetically, South Carolina should've been able to go in there and just absolutely run all over them.
But the offensive line played sloppy. There was just a lot going wrong from the communication standpoint with the offensive line. I think the offensive line was just getting whooped. There were little mental mistakes, there were fumbles on exchanged handoffs between quarterback and running back. I guess it's just Missouri's defense, just kind of tee'd up and I guess South Carolina wasn't ready for it or wasn't expecting it."
Jones: Who's playing quarterback? What's their strengths and weaknesses?
Sauls: "South Carolina started off, the plan was Luke Doty, then he got hurt. Then they brought up Zeb [Noland] and then Zeb got hurt. And then they brought Luke back and then Luke got hurt. He's done for the season.
Zeb is now No. 2, Jason Brown has been elevated to the starter for the Florida and Missouri game and I'm pretty sure, barring any changes, I think it's safe to say that Jason Brown is going to be the starter for the remainder of the season unless something crazy happens.
Strengths? I mean, he's definitely got the experience. He started at St. Francis for two or three years. When it comes to SEC and just D1 experience, that's where he's lacking a little bit. He's shown flashes of having an arm, I don't think he's really lacking in that department. He can move, I remember a big thing that [Shane] Beamer stressed was he came into camp a little overweight. They asked him to drop a couple pounds so he could get that mobility back.
And he did. That was something we saw against Florida. He was able to extend plays a few times that Florida was able to get in the back field. That was something that didn't really happen that often in Missouri. I think a lot of it, he would try to extend the play too early, when it wasn't necessarily needed at the time.
He's got an arm, he's got the experience, he's a seasoned quarterback, he knows how to play football. He can move, I think it's just that he left the pocket too early a couple times. He's a good quarterback and he's got a chance to go out against Auburn to get back in the groove that he was in for Florida."
Jones: Where is South Carolina vulnerable on defense?
Sauls: "Their run defense the last couple weeks has not been good. Tyler Badie ran for 200-plus on them. I wouldn't even say that there's not a specific position group that's lacking. The linebacker group has been absolutely injury-ridden and that's definitely affected them but I think the defensive unit as a whole has vastly improved from last year under Clayton White.
I think it's just the execution as a whole can be inconsistent at times. Especially against the run game."
Jones: How much will the absence of Bo Nix affect South Carolina?
Sauls: "Bo Nix is a great player, he knows what he's doing and he's talented so that's gonna suck for Auburn. But Auburn's also a talented football team and it's an SEC football team and it's next-guy up. There's going to be a talented guy behind Bo Nix regardless.
It definitely does affect it with the fact that they're coming in with their backup quarterback but it's also a team that came into Columbia last year and loss and is coming off of two ranked losses. So it's going to be a hungry Auburn team, I'm thinking.
But it's also a night game in Williams-Brice, which I'm a firm believer in the atmosphere plays into games like this. I think South Carolina will definitely take advantage of the fact that Auburn is missing Bo Nix. But I also think that backup quarterback will have a tough time considering it's a night game at Williams-Brice.
But at the same time, it's a hungry Auburn team. I'm not expecting Auburn to come in and exactly lay down, I'm expecting Auburn to come in fighting."
Jones: Who are some players that Auburn should look out for on South Carolina?
Sauls: "The running back room is loaded. All four of them. If Kevin Harris gets going, he gets going. But when he's not, he's not. I know that's super simple, but you get what I'm saying.
Zaquandre White has done very well in the running back room, Marshawn Lloyd has shown flashes of what he can be, he's finally got that knee brace off. And then Jaheim Bell at tight end, if he can get involved in offense, he'll be a name to look out for. Josh Vann has been the guy at wide receiver.
On the defensive side of the ball, Jaylan Foster. He leads the country in interceptions and is one of the better, if not the best, in the country."
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Originally from Helena, Ala., Caleb Jones is a senior studying journalism at Auburn University. He has been on staff with The Plainsman since 2019.
You can follow him here on Twitter: @calebjsports
