I wrote a story for today's newspaper about Auburn's offense matching up against a Monte Kiffin-coached Tennessee defense. Here's how it starts:
AUBURN, Ala. — Gus Malzahn never has been accused of being underprepared. Auburn’s offensive coordinator studies opposing defenses with a fine eye, looking for any kind of deficiency or weak spot to exploit when Saturday rolls around.
In watching film of Tennessee, led by former NFL defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, weaknesses have been hard to find.
“There have been very few, if any,” Malzahn said. “We’re going to have to earn everything we get.”
It will be a battle of wits when Malzahn’s fast-paced Auburn offense matches up with Kiffin’s give-nothing Tennessee defense in Knoxville this Saturday.
Malzahn’s Tigers rank third nationally in total offense (526.3 yards per game) and scoring offense (45.2 points per game). Kiffin’s Vols rank eighth in total defense (233.0 ypg) and 33rd in scoring defense (18.9 ppg).
“It’s going to be a good challenge,” Auburn running back Ben Tate said. “It’s going to be a real test to see where we’re really at. Tennessee is probably going to be one of the best defenses we face all year — if not the best.”
3 comments:
Let's pray for a re-run of '04
The good news is we have better and more consistent quarterback play then Tennessee.
Our offensive coordinator calls better plays and we execute them better than Tenn.
Our running backs are way better than average and we have more to choose from.
The bad news is our defense is not as good as theirs.
We have to improve tackling and special teams play. Our field goal kicking is better than fine. This alone can make the diffrence.
We must not kill drives with penalties. We must protect the ball and our quarterback.
In the end we win based on offensive production.
Yeah, our defense may not be as good as theirs but at least their offense is not a s good as ours.
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