After last week's electric 13-10 win over Texas A&M, the Auburn Tigers will take on the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Auburn's atmosphere in last week's win made many news headlines with the first sold-out Jordan-Hare Stadium in 2022 at a time when the team was 3-6.
This win snapped the Tigers five-game losing streak and got interim head coach Carnell Williams in the win column as the interim head coach. It was a hard-fought defensive effort with the added bonus help of an enthused crowd.
Western Kentucky comes in with a 7-4 record on the season. This team is one of the toughest group of five teams in the country out of Conference USA.
Western Kentucky boasts a strong passing attack. This is due to its relentless air raid. It averages an impressive 336.3 passing yards per game, while averaging three passing touchdowns per game.
"We played against Mississippi State and being familiar with a team throwing it every snap, now we should be even more prepared and know what to expect and be confident going into that game," Williams said. "I doesn’t guarantee anything, but those guys should be confident. I'm pretty confident in that defense, and I enjoy watching those guys fly around.”
Due to this potent passing attack, the Hilltoppers' run game is not used as much. However, when they do run the ball, they average five yards a carry. On top of all of these numbers, they average 484.5 yards per game. Their defense is also strong, in part to Broyles Award nominee defensive coordinator Tyson Summers. They rank 31st in the country in total defense.
These two teams last played in the 2005 season, when Auburn defeated Western Kentucky 37-14.
On top of this, it will be Auburn's final home game of 2022 – Senior Day, and Auburn will have 12 starters graduating from this team. Players like Owen Pappoe, John Samuel Shanker, Austin Troxell, Shedrick Jackson, Nehemiah Pritchett, Derick Hall, and more. These seniors will look to close out their days of playing in Jordan Hare Stadium with a victory.
Players to Watch
Auburn
Derick Hall (DE)
One of the best defensive linemen Auburn has enjoyed having over the past four years will make his final start at Jordan-Hare. His job will be one of the most important for Auburn to win the game. Hall will look to wreck the Western Kentucky line and get sacks. He will have plenty of chances against the air raid. In 2022, Hall has 6.5 sacks with 10.5 tackles for loss.
Nehemiah Pritchett (CB)
When facing the air raid, the toughest task of locking down receivers on every play falls on the cornerbacks. Pritchett has faced many of the best quarterbacks in the SEC over his career at Auburn, and now he will be asked to lock down one of the toughest teams in the group of five. Pritchett has six pass breakups on the season with 17 solo tackles.
Robby Ashford (QB)
Ashford didn't have his best numbers against Texas A&M. He had 60 passing yards with one passing TD and two interceptions. This was understandable, as Texas A&M has the best passing defense in the conference. However some will tell you that under Tyson Summers, Western Kentucky's defense is just as good. Ashford will need to play well and look to limit his turnovers. Ashford has six TD's and seven INT's on the season.
Western Kentucky
Austin Reed (QB)
Last season, Western Kentucky had Bailey Zappe, a transfer from Houston Baptist. Zappe came in and broke the single season passing TD record, previously held by LSU's Joe Burrow. He left Austin Reed, a QB from Division 2 powerhouse West Florida, big shoes to fill. Reed has yet to miss a beat, He has 3,550 passing yards and 31 passing touchdowns to seven interceptions.
Malachi Corley (WR)
Corley has become Reed's favorite target this season. Corley has 70 receptions for 955 receiving yards and seven TDs. With these numbers, he is 11th in the country for receiving yards. He will look to continue his success and will look to get over the coveted 1,000 receiving yards. He will have to do it against a strong passing defense in Auburn, which allows just 202 passing yards per game.
Jaques Evans (DE)
Western Kentucky has been able to get their offense back onto the field in part to Jaques Evans causing trouble for opposing teams offenses. The redshirt sophomore has 7.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss in the 2022 season. Evans will look to get Auburn's struggling offense off the field for their air raid to take over.
Keys to victory
Auburn
The Tigers main focus will be to stop the pass. They have done a great job of this, however the closest team to run a similar offense was Mississippi State, who defeated Auburn in overtime 39-33. Auburn was able to limit the air raid at halftime, but Will Rogers' three passing TDs was Auburn's ultimate downfall.
Western Kentucky's weakness is easy to identify, it struggles to run the ball and stay balanced on offense. It only averages 148.2 rushing yards per game. This is far behind their passing attack. Auburn will look to force the Hilltoppers to run the ball.
Auburn will look to hold off one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the country with one of the best receivers in the country. This is easier said than done, but Auburn has the talent and the motivation to led behind this staff and Williams.
Western Kentucky
Western Kentucky will look to score on every possession and do it quickly, while forcing Auburn to win a shootout. It will have to do it against a strong pass defense with big bodies and more speed.
With Reed throwing the ball, it is hard to stop this offense. Reed had monster stats in his career at West Florida: 7,507 passing yards, 78 touchdowns 10 rushing touchdowns, winning 22 of 25 starts, and he got a Division 2 title to cap it off.
This is the biggest team Western Kentucky has played all year, and it has probably had this game circled on the calendar. This is its chance to knock off one of the most historic programs and notch its eighth win, giving it the opportunity to match its win total from 2021.
Auburn will play Western Kentucky at 3 p.m. CST Saturday at Jordan Hare Stadium. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.
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TP is a senior from Montgomery, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2022.
Twitter: @tp_hammock
