Washington Huskies: Game day, scouting the Auburn Tigers
By Ed Stein
The sixth-ranked Washington Huskies face a tough task in their season-opening game against number nine, Auburn. This is the scouting report on Auburn.
Who: #6 Washington Huskies vs #9 Auburn Tigers
What: Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Classic
When: 12:30 p.m. PDT
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Ga.
TV: ABC
What a first day for the Emerald City Swagger re-launch. A battle involving two preseason top teams, which includes the sixth-ranked University of Washington Huskies against number nine, Auburn, at the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Classic in Atlanta. There is plenty of animosity among Huskies fans in towards the Southeastern Conference which the Tigers are part of. This will be an early “put up or shut up” test for the PAC-12 conference favorites.
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By this time you know about the Huskies, so we are bringing you a different viewpoint from the FanSided network. We asked our cousins at Fly War Eagle to give us their insights the Tigers from an Auburn perspective. Site expert Ken Bradley sent the following scouting report.
Scouting Auburn
Expectations are high for the ninth-ranked Auburn football team in 2018. The Tigers return the bulk of one of the nation’s best defenses in 2018. The front seven is the heart and soul of the defense, led by defensive tackles Derrick Brown and Dontavius Russell, defensive end Marlon Davidson, Buck Nick Coe and linebackers Deshaun Davis, Darrell Williams and Montravious Atkinson. The secondary is talented, but young outside of the starters.
On offense, it’s all about Jarrett Stidham. He’s the second 3,000-yard passer in Auburn history and just the first to return after hitting that mark. Auburn is loaded at receiver, despite two key players recovering from ACL tears. The running game is always good under Gus Malzahn, but there are questions.
Those start with a retooled offensive line. Four starters are gone, but four players have starting experience. Two 1,000-yard backs are gone in Kerryon Johnson (2017) and Kam Pettway (2016) and Malzahn will look to find his go-to guy early. The Tigers have had at least one 1,000-yard rusher for nine consecutive seasons and have no plans to see that streak end.
The Wrap
Next. Welcome to the Eye of the Sports Needle. dark
As has been predicted by many, today’s game is going to come down to control of the line of scrimmage. Auburn has almost as many question marks on the offensive line as the Huskies. It will be interesting to see if the skill players on both teams have enough time to do what they do best.