Auburn Capsule



This is a probably a make or break season for Head Coach Gus Malzahn. Entering his seventh year, Malzahn has a 53-27 overall record with the Tigers, but he is just 2-4 in bowl games, and 2-4 against ‘Bama in the Iron Bowl to leave Auburn fans wanting that little bit more. An 8-5 record was the result last season and eight wins might be on tap again, as Auburn is scheduled to face at least six ranked opponents this year. I’m sure Gus wants to keep his job, and starting with a quality win this week would be a good start.

Auburn lost QB Jarrett Stidham to graduation, and in steps true freshman Bo Nix. Malzahn recently named Nix the starter based on his quick progression through camp, but Joey Gatewood is reported to have a role, and the team at least feels good about having two options under center. Nix is a legacy recruit as his father, Nick, was the the Tiger signal caller in the mid-nineties. Bo threw for 10,000 yards in high school, ran for another 2,000, and accounted for 161 touchdowns. The learning curve can be steep for true freshman, but Nix does have a very experienced offensive line to help keep him upright. Malzahn has run the ball at least 63% of the time in each of his years at Auburn, so the game plan will also help the young QB from shouldering too much of a burden.

Auburn averaged 168 rushing yards per game last season, adding 222 passing yards, to come in 79th in total offense. They were rather efficient in scoring 30.9 points per game with that modest yardage total, and a solid group of playmakers return to give the offense a good chance to improve on many numbers this season. JaTarvious Whitlow will be the bell cow back. He logged 787 rushing yards last season with six touchdowns, and was alive in the passing game with 173 receiving yards and two more scores. Kam Martin averaged just 4.4 yards per carry in 2018, but brings senior leadership, and has amassed over 1,200 rushing yards in his time at Auburn. Shawn Shivers is the change-of-pace back and there is surely a package of plays for him to take advantage of his sprinters speed. The pass catching group is a little light on experience as they exit camp, but Seth Williams had 534 yards and five touchdowns as a freshman, while averaging 20.5 yards per catch. He is poised to lead the receiver group while the speedy Anthony Schwartz chips in as a receiver and ball carrier. Schwartz had 22 receptions and 27 carries last year for 568 total yards and seven scores. His role is almost guaranteed to grow in 2019, but he is dealing with a broken hand and may not be available for the opener.

Defensively, Auburn is led by superstar DT Derrick Brown. He is the anchor of a defensive line that allowed just 136 rushing yards per game last season, and the defense as a whole ranked 14th in points allowed at 19.2 per game. Oregon was a top-25 scoring offense last season so they will have their work cut out for them.