Auburn Football: If “Defense Travels,” Pack The Offense In Their Luggage

There’s an old saying in football that “defense travels” and that sentiment certainly proved to be true when Auburn flew across the country for its first road game of the season in week two when the Tigers became the first SEC team to ever win at Cal, 14-10. However, after the game I was ready to update that old proverb to ‘defense travels; offense stays home’.

Hugh Freeze hopes the cross-country trip helped prepare his battle wounded soldiers for the real war ahead that is the Southeastern Conference schedule.

Auburn (3-0) will open up SEC play in hostile enemy territory this weekend against Texas A&M (2-1) and their zesty male cheerleaders in College Station at 11AM CST on ESPN. Despite the Tigers winning 4 of 5 games at Kyle Field, the Aggies are currently an 8-point favorite according to Vegas.

Hugh Freeze reminded anyone who would listen that A&M have been stacking recruiting classes full of four-star and five-star recruits, and Auburn has not. For example, Texas A&M has (10) former five-star prospects on their roster while Auburn has (0). The Aggies also rank No. 4 in the country in 247Sports Team Talent Ranking, while Auburn stands at No. 18.

Freeze was simply speaking a matter of fact when highlighting the talent gap between the two teams, but it’s important to note that the Aggies were also more talented than Auburn last season, when it was the Tigers who came out on top 13-10 in one of the most electric atmospheres you could ever experience for a football game. But if we’re keeping it 💯, this is going to be an extremely tough game for Auburn to win.

If the Tigers want to keep this game respectable and even give itself a shot to pull off the upset, the Auburn offense has got to make damn sure they board the plane destined for Texas. Auburn’s offense cannot afford another repeat of its last road game when they were consistently bailed out by Cal’s kicker who couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn.

And while the Auburn defense brought their Louis Vuitton to Cali, the Auburn offense appeared to have been left stranded, twiddling their thumbs inside of a run down municipal airport deep in the Heart of Dixie. Their bodies may have made it to Berkeley, but their minds were anywhere but there. Fortunately for the Tigers, they have a defense that’s been tenacious. And in fairness to the offense, they came back late against Cal and finally put it together on their last drive.

Not to mention, the Auburn offense bounced back last Saturday in week three of the young season against Samford when quarterback Payton Thorne accounted for 405 yards of total offense and revealed some speed on the ground, rushing for 128 yards. Yes, it was Samford, but the Auburn offense desperately needed a game like that just to cut loose and have fun, while building continuity, chemistry, and confidence.

You’ve gotta believe Auburn’s goal going into their homecoming matchup last weekend was no turnovers after coughing it up 4 times against Cal the previous week, but the abhorrent trend continued when the Tigers surrendered 3 turnovers to the Bulldogs. Surely ball security has been the Tigers’ focus all week leading up to A&M. You can’t shoot yourselves in the foot by committing stupid penalties and giving up costly turnovers when you get into the conference schedule or you’ll start stacking Ls.

And if we’re keeping it real, all of the pressure is on Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M this weekend after suffering a brutal loss to Miami 48-33 in week two of the season. The big money folks are getting restless in College Station, so Jimbo cannot afford a loss to Freeze at this juncture, or his warm seat will turn piping hot.

Face it, Auburn’s not expected to win this game. Watch College Gameday on Saturday morning and I’m willing to bet that not one single analyst will pick Auburn as the winner. Freeze’s boys have nothing to lose. They can play free and loose. Maybe even the offense will decide to be a part of the entire game plan rather than the very end. Can you imagine what a win would mean for Auburn? It would send one clear and concise message: Auburn is ascending while Texas A&M is descending.

I’ve been pondering a score prediction all week and my mind wants to go on record with Texas A&M 24, Auburn 20. But my heart, my heart tells me that Auburn is going to pull the upset and get a massive SEC West road win behind a pair of defensive scores — pick-six & safety — in a defensive slugfest: Auburn 19, Texas A&M 17.

And for the Auburn defense traveling with all that Louis luggage, here’s an idea — empty out all of your belongings and instead force your offensive personnel to get inside of your suitcases. Yes, it might be a little extreme and a tight fit and uncomfortable ride, but you can bet your bottom dollar that the Auburn offense will complete its journey to College Station because “defense travels.”