Saturday Spotlight
(22) Auburn Tigers at (10) Penn State Nittany Lions
Auburn: Maybe a change was needed. In December of 2020, Gus Malzahn was fired as the head coach of the football team. The school decided to name Bryan Harsin as the new head coach making him the 28th head football coach in school history. Let’s look at their first two games of the year. They destroyed Akron by 60 points and in week two, they beat up on Alabama State, a school that hasn’t posted a winning record since 2015. While the competition they’ve played hasn’t stood out, I like what I’ve seen from their offensive line so far this year. Whenever I watched Auburn last season, you always saw the quarterback running for his life. However, Harsin has been rotating seven offensive linemen in the first two games with the first team offense. The Tigers are at their best when they are running the football and they have one of the best running backs in the country in Tank Bigsby. He reminds me a lot of Dalvin Cook with his style of running. Auburn is ranked third in the country in running the ball averaging 340 yards per game. Tonight, the Tigers travel to one of the loudest environments in all of college football for a rare interconference showdown.
Penn State: Dating back to last season, they’ve won six games in a row. They closed out last year winning their final four and have won their first two of the young season in 2021. I watched them closely in week one against the Wisconsin Badgers and they surprised me because they went into a hostile environment at Camp Randall and punched Wisconsin in the mouth. Remember when they started 0-5 in 2020? This is a much different team now than what we saw then. At this moment, the Nittany Lions are 2-0 in a crazy Big Ten East division so far. Defense has really been the mantra for them so far. Their RedZone defense has been outstanding this year. They are 12th in the nation in that category and have the second-ranked RedZone D in the Big Ten. Also, they do a great job at forcing turnovers and making teams one dimensional. How they were able to shut down the Wisconsin Badgers ground attack still stands out to me from week one. I can admit I wasn’t 100 percent sold on Sean Clifford. The one question I’ve had with him is can he make big throws when you need him too? He’s settled in and everything is falling for the Penn State offense. Tonight, they are on the national stage with an SEC team coming to town for a showdown.
Auburn X-Factor: Colby Wooden– Pay attention to him. He’s a redshirt sophomore. Colby is such a force up front for this Tigers defense. He’s always active and pursuing his way to the football. To be a successful defensive end, you must feel you can win every battle each time you’re on the field and he does. Colby is also consistent in stopping the run. He and the Auburn defense will have their hands full tonight.
Penn State X-Factor: Brandon Smith– He’s been counted on to step up and fill that void Micah Parsons left when he went to the NFL. Brandon is always attacking the line of scrimmage. Though he’s a linebacker, he plays with the mindset of a safety because he can drop back and cover in pass coverage. Just as I said on my podcast the other day. Pass rushers can still impact the game by just collapsing the pocket. You don’t always have to bring the quarterback down.
Final Thoughts: It’s the annual “White Out Game”! (Hence the title). This is one of my favorite things within the sport. Beaver Stadium just didn’t look right without fans last season. This will be a packed house and it’ll be a live atmosphere. Both these quarterbacks are mirror images of each other in Bo Nix and Sean Clifford. Bo has looked brilliant this year, but against weaker opponents. He will get a test against an active Penn State defense. This game also features two standout running backs. Auburn’s Tank Bigsby and Penn State’s Noah Cain. I see both defenses clamping down to stop the oppositions running attack. I need to see a quick start from the Nittany Lions offense. Don’t be afraid to get your best playmaker the ball (Jahan Dotson) to set the tone. This will be closer than people expect it to be.
Prediction: Penn State 27 Auburn 21
