Nov. 21, 2017
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" It's not every week you get to play the No. 1 team in the country at your home stadium where the winner all but controls its own destiny for the College Football Playoff.
Well, unless you're Auburn.
The Tigers are hosting No. 1 Alabama on Saturday. The winner moves on to Atlanta for the SEC championship game and has a clear path to the playoff. It'd be unprecedented expect for the fact that this same Auburn team hosted No. 1 Georgia just two weeks prior. And while the West was not technically on the line that game, there were still plenty of playoff implications.
"We do have experience, playing the No. 1 team two weeks ago when we played our best game, and we're going to have to do that again," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said Tuesday during his weekly press conference. "Our crowd was unbelievable the last time that we did this, and I expect it to be the same."
Malzahn made sure to point out that Alabama and Georgia are different teams, but the keys to Saturday's game ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" starting fast, establishing the run, stopping the run ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" they're not all that different than they were two weeks ago. With any big game, it's ultimately going to come down to who controls the line of scrimmage, and Saturday is no different.
"The bigger the game, the more important that is," Malzahn said. "And obviously this is as big as it gets."
The major difference this time around? Auburn has been here before, having just played Georgia two weeks ago. No moment will be too big for this team.
During that Georgia game, there was a certain confidence, a certain swagger on the Auburn sideline. Players were dancing during timeouts and in between plays. There was a loose mentality that might not have been there early in the season, and Malzahn wants to see that carry over into Saturday's matchup with Alabama.
"We need to be loose," Malzahn said. "We play our best when we're loose. Our coaching staff needs to be loose. I need to be loose, and I'm going to be. I'm real proud of our team getting us to this point. They've earned that. And I want them to enjoy it."
The hope is that can translate to a victory over No. 1 ... again.
Balance on offense
One of the goal's in bringing in Chip Lindsey to be the offensive coordinator this season was more balance. As of this week, Auburn is one of three FBS teams (Louisville, Ohio State) that are currently averaging more than 230 yards rushing and 230 yards passing per game.
As a result, the Tigers are averaging 43 points per game in SEC play.
"When you look at Chip, he's done an unbelievable job," Malzahn said. "We talked about our balance, and he has us as balanced as I think we've ever been. When you look at SEC games and how many times we've scored 40 points, I think this is the best scoring we've done in my eight years at Auburn as far as scoring in SEC games."
Running back Kerryon Johnson currently leads the SEC with 1,172 yards rushing and 16 rushing touchdowns, and as a team, Auburn ranks No. 4 in the SEC in rushing yards per game. But that's nothing new for one of Malzahn's teams. The difference has been Jarrett Stidham and his ability to make certain throws and stretch the field as a passer.
The sophomore quarterback has thrown for 2,445 yards with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions, and he currently leads the SEC in completion percentage (67.8).
Injury update
Malzahn confirmed Tuesday that running back Kamryn Pettway will be out for Saturday's Iron Bowl with a fractured shoulder blade he suffered last month against Arkansas. Pettway, the team's leading rusher a year ago, has missed the past three games with the injury.
The rest of the team has a "good chance" of playing Saturday, though Malzahn wants to take a wait-and-see approach when it comes to linebacker Tre' Williams (shoulder) and defensive back Jeremiah Dinson (concussion), who were both injured in Saturday's win over Louisiana Monroe. Williams has missed three games this season dealing with the same shoulder injury.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf