Auburn’s defense continues to shine, even in the midst of facing some of the nation’s most explosive offenses.
And it's been the Tigers’ front seven that has stolen the show.
Led by defensive coordinator DJ Durkin – the second-highest paid assistant coach in college football – Auburn’s run defense is putting up all-time numbers through eight games this season.
The Tigers rank fifth nationally in run defense, allowing just 84.1 yards per game on the ground. They are second in the SEC in that regard, despite facing four of the top five rushing offenses the last four weeks.
Additionally, Auburn has held opponents to at least 110 yards on the ground in the last three weeks and to under 100 yards in six of the eight games this season.
Allowing just 673 rushing yards through eight games, it marks the fewest in the first eight games of a season since 1988, and the fewest in league play (472) since 2005.
“Just staying together. We bond differently than other position groups,” Auburn defensive tackle Bobby Jamison-Travis said of the Tigers’ defensive line. “We stick together no matter what. We know everything is going to fall on us, so we’ve just got to work hard every day, because we’re known for stopping the run.
While the Tigers’ defensive line has certainly wreaked havoc up front, it’s been linebacker Xavier Atkins who has been the star for the Tigers in recent weeks.
Ranking second in the league with 61 total tackles, Atkins earned SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week recognition after posting a career-high 13 tackles with a pair of sacks and four tackles for loss in the Tigers’ 33-24 win at Arkansas. He has tied or led the team in tackles in all of Auburn’s conference games this season.
“In this game (Arkansas), he did it beautifully,” Freeze said. “He closed on that quarterback when he broke the pocket at least three times that I thought were really impressive plays, not to mention the other normal plays that he’s making within the defense. I think he also got an award this week, and it’s very deserving. He’s definitely getting better. Eye discipline is so huge on defense that you just don’t get caught up in all the things that offenses try to show or do, and you do your assignment, and I think he’s maturing and getting better each week.”
Auburn will take on a struggling Kentucky team on Saturday, which is winless in the conference and riding a four-game skid into the matchup. However, Freeze believes it is a very dangerous team, offensively, and Auburn will need to continue its stifling defensive play if it wants to stack together consecutive wins.
The Wildcats enter Saturday night averaging 24.1 points per game. Auburn, however, has held its opponents under its scoring average in all eight games this season, including 10-plus points under its average in seven of eight games.
Kentucky averages 154.3 rushing yards per game, fueled by a 1-2 punch in Seth McGowan and Dante Dowdell, who have combined for 802 yards on the season. The recent emergence of freshman quarterback Cutter Boley also gives the Wildcats another option out of the backfield that Auburn will have to account for.
But if history has proven anything, the Tigers will have no problem defending the run.
“There are people who rush for 200 yards,” Jamison-Travis said. “But as soon as they play us, that doesn’t happen.”
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