Two sets of Tigers meet at Jordan-Hare at 11 a.m. Central under clear skies. Auburn is coming off a road win at Georgia, and LSU is laying 7.5 points. LSU's scores look better than its play against good teams. Its blowouts came against offenses that struggle to score: Clemson ranks 112th in scoring and Texas A&M 63rd. Mississippi State's shutout came with an 0-for-5 day on fourth down. LSU has faced two good offenses, both on the road. Ole Miss threw for 363, and Kentucky ran for 155 and threw for 246. LSU lost both. Whit Weeks being out hurts LSU exactly where Auburn is strongest. With Weeks playing, Clemson, Ole Miss and A&M ran for 40, 63 and 91 yards. Since Weeks went out, Kentucky ran for 155 and Mississippi State for 170. Some of that is the opponents, but it matters most against a team built on Byrum Brown running the ball: 26 runs for 115 at Georgia and 19 for 107 at Tennessee. Auburn's passing game is the real risk. Brown threw for 150, 159 and 140 yards in the last three games, with an interception in four of the five games with full stats. Auburn also gave up seven sacks against Florida and five each against Georgia and Baylor. LSU's pass defense held Mississippi State to 121 yards and A&M to 106. If Auburn falls behind on down and distance, this game gets away from it. Losing Xavier Atkins hurts Auburn: 7.5 tackles for loss in four games. But Atkins already missed the Georgia game, and the line accounts for it. The Georgia win itself came mostly from turnovers: Auburn took the ball away three times without giving it away once, while Georgia threw for 327. It shows Auburn can stay close with good teams, not that it is one. Ignore the talk of a post-Georgia letdown, the crowd noise and the rivalry; the line was set with all of it known. LSU is the better team, by about a touchdown on the road. Auburn's running game against a defense missing Weeks is the underdog's best matchup. A small play on Auburn.
Two sets of Tigers meet at Jordan-Hare at 11 a.m. Central under clear skies. Auburn is coming off a road win at Georgia, and LSU is laying 7.5 points.
LSU's scores look better than its play against good teams. Its blowouts came against offenses that struggle to score: Clemson ranks 112th in scoring and Texas A&M 63rd. Mississippi State's shutout came with an 0-for-5 day on fourth down. LSU has faced two good offenses, both on the road. Ole Miss threw for 363, and Kentucky ran for 155 and threw for 246. LSU lost both.
Whit Weeks being out hurts LSU exactly where Auburn is strongest. With Weeks playing, Clemson, Ole Miss and A&M ran for 40, 63 and 91 yards. Since Weeks went out, Kentucky ran for 155 and Mississippi State for 170. Some of that is the opponents, but it matters most against a team built on Byrum Brown running the ball: 26 runs for 115 at Georgia and 19 for 107 at Tennessee.
Auburn's passing game is the real risk. Brown threw for 150, 159 and 140 yards in the last three games, with an interception in four of the five games with full stats. Auburn also gave up seven sacks against Florida and five each against Georgia and Baylor. LSU's pass defense held Mississippi State to 121 yards and A&M to 106. If Auburn falls behind on down and distance, this game gets away from it.
Losing Xavier Atkins hurts Auburn: 7.5 tackles for loss in four games. But Atkins already missed the Georgia game, and the line accounts for it. The Georgia win itself came mostly from turnovers: Auburn took the ball away three times without giving it away once, while Georgia threw for 327. It shows Auburn can stay close with good teams, not that it is one.
Ignore the talk of a post-Georgia letdown, the crowd noise and the rivalry; the line was set with all of it known. LSU is the better team, by about a touchdown on the road. Auburn's running game against a defense missing Weeks is the underdog's best matchup. A small play on Auburn.
Auburn +7.5