It is a Tiger vs Tiger matchup in Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday night under the lights, where both Auburn and Missouri are looking to bounce back after each losing to a top-10 team at home this past weekend. Here's what Auburn is up against this week.
Missouri started the year a blistering 5-0 before losing to Alabama last weekend 27-24. The Tigers now travel for their first away game of the year, and it could not come in a more deafening and electric atmosphere than Jordan Hare.
Missouri, led by head coach Eli Drinkwitz, who is in his sixth season, is headlined by its elite transfer class this past offseason. Their portal class ranked top 10 in the country and accounts for a large portion of their production on both sides of the ball.
Offensively, Missouri is led by quarterback Beau Pribula. In six games, Pribula has passed for over 1300 yards and 11 touchdowns to five interceptions, while also rushing for four touchdowns so far this year.
Their offense is dynamic and can score in multiple ways, but it especially flourishes on the ground. Led by top portal running back and arguably the best running back in the country, Ahmad Hardy, who has 782 rushing yards to pair with nine touchdowns, and is second in the country in rushing yards. To pair with him, sophomore Jamal Roberts is averaging 7.5 yards per carry with 400 rushing yards on the season.
In the air, Missouri looks to Mississippi State transfer Kevin Coleman and Marquis Johnson, who have just under 700 yards combined on the season. Tight end Brett Norfleet has lived in the endzone and is Pribulas' favorite redzone target with five touchdowns on the year already.
Overall, in the SEC, Missouri has the second-best offense in the SEC yards-wise and the best rushing offense. The offensive line is one of the better units in the SEC, with the second-highest graded tackle, Keagan Trost, according to PFF.
Defensively, Missouri's bread and butter is rushing the passer and pressuring the quarterback through blitzes and winning on the edge. Mizzou is led by one of the best edge duos in the country in Zion Young and Georgia transfer Damon Wilson II. Wilson is second in the SEC in sacks with 5.5 and had two against Alabama last week. Young has three sacks on the year and had a strip sack fumble against the Tide.
Through the first two SEC games, Missouri has nine sacks, which is in the top four in the SEC, even though they have played fewer games than every other SEC team. Missouri is No. 10 in SEC play in points per game, allowing just over 23 in two contests so far.
Taking care of the football and winning the battle on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball will be the difference. Winning the turnover battle will also be crucial to win this game for Auburn, as they have yet another opportunity to get a signature win over a ranked opponent.
Auburn and Missouri kick off at 6.45 CDT at Jordan Hare. The game will be available to stream on SEC Network.
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