Red Cup Rebellion: Auburn is a very talented team on offense with a few players who have become household names in SEC country such as Nick Marshall, Cameron Artis-Payne, Sammie Coates, and D'haquille "do people call him 'Duke'?" Williams. But who is a skill player on offense that doesn't get as much recognition that probably should? Maybe he's a utility guy or someone used situationally, but fills a valuable role in Malzhan's scheme regardless?
College and Magnolia: There are a number of people I could go with, here. Ricardo Louis is one. He's dangerous on the speed sweeps. If the blocking is there on the perimeter, it's easy for him to break loose on a long run as he did on a 75 yard touchdown against South Carolina. Corey Grant is the same way. Both are extremely fast. I'll say CJ Uzomah, though. If a TE/H-Back can be considered a "skill player" CJ catches almost anything thrown his way - like Duke - and Malzahn finds way to sneak him out in the open.
RCR: Auburn is just above South Carolina for 13th in the SEC in sacks, notching just 12.0 on the year thus far. I know that the Tigers defense took a major hit with Carl Lawson's injury, but what else has led to this issue?
CAM (swidt?): No one else has stepped up. I don't know why it is that no one else has stepped up at defensive end this season. Auburn usually has their star and then another DE that is also capable of making big plays when needed. Last year it was Dee Ford and Carl Lawson. Losing Lawson hurt big time. Auburn has some good defensive ends, but many of them are young and still learning, where as Carl Lawson was a physical beast who was able to step in and play the game immediately.
RCR: What was South Carolina able to do - aside from just playing gutsy football - to move the ball so well in the air against Auburn? Once you have this answer, could you send it to HughFreeze@OleMiss.edu?
CAM: Run the ball. Mike Davis is a great running back, and needing to account for him was definitely something that allowed for single coverage and South Carolina's receivers getting in advantageous positions. I think that played a big part in it. Another was just excellent play calling by Spurrier that had Auburn going in all manner of directions or worried that they were going to need to be going everywhere, at least.
RCR: How do Auburn fans feel about the remainder of the season? With both Alabama and Mississippi schools in the hunt, and with many games left among them, it's pretty easy for folks on our end to be pretty damn nervous. Is that feeling the same on your end?
CAM: I think Auburn fans are trying to be just like the team right now: take it one game at a time. Auburn's last few games are just ridiculous, so if you really start to look ahead you're just going to panic. Auburn plays three more SEC road games (counting this Saturday) and all of them are against teams ranked in the Top 11 of the Playoff Committee's rankings. It's so hard to focus on anything else but the next game.
RCR: Venture a score prediction and offer a brief sentence or two on why you think it ends up that way.
CAM: I think that in spite of the performance last weekend, Auburn's defense is still pretty good. I think scoring wise this game could end up being a lot like the Ole Miss / LSU game. It will really depend on what version of the Auburn offense shows up and just how much the little injuries to Ole Miss' defense play a part. I'm the eternal optimist and homer, so I'm going to predict 17-14 Auburn.