Here are the areas in which Auburn has impressed and can improve on defense
It kept the Tigers in games against Oklahoma and Texas A&M and has shown improvement since giving up over 400 passing yards in Week 1. Right now, it’s arguably the only bright spot on the team, but there’s still room to improve before Georgia comes to Jordan-Hare Stadium next weekend.
Defensive line play Coming into this season, the defensive line seemed to be one of the best position groups on Auburn’s roster. It hasn’t disappointed so far, as the Tigers currently rank second in the SEC in yards per rush allowed . Junior defensive end and projected first round draft pick Keldric Faulk has anchored the unit, but players like Malik Blocton and Keyron Crawford have had big starts to the season as well. Crawford, an edge rusher, currently leads the team in sacks with four. As a team, Auburn is tied for second in the SEC in sacks , while Faulk and Crawford both rank in the top 10 in the conference in pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.When Auburn signed former LSU linebacker Xavier Atkins out of the transfer portal, expectations were pretty low. As a former four-star recruit, there was reason to believe he could develop into a good player, but he wasn’t seen as an immediate star. That’s exactly what he’s been this season, though, leading the team in tackles and sharing the team lead with Crawford in tackles for loss and interceptions . His 72-yard interception return is what put Auburn back in the game against Texas A&M last week and set up the Tigers’ only touchdown of the game. He’s been arguably the best player on defense through five games, and Auburn will hope that he continues that after the bye week.Similar to last season, a handful of freshmen have earned opportunities to see the field early on in their careers this year. And just like in 2024, many of them don’t look out of place. Eric Winters, Elijah Melendez, AnQuon Fegans, Jared Smith, Blake Woodby and Darrion Smith have all created roles for themselves over the last few weeks and have made positive contributions. Against Texas A&M, Winters and Darrion Smith were the Tigers’ two highest-graded defensive players, per PFF, highlighted by Winters getting his first career sack. If last year is any indication, those players will continue to develop and could contribute even more in the second half of the season.While Auburn’s defense ranks second in the SEC in yards per carry allowed, it ranks 13th in yards per completion allowed. Much of that came against Baylor, when the Tigers gave up 419 passing yards and 237 yards after catch, per PFF. Against Texas A&M, Auburn held Aggies leading receiver Mario Craver to 34 yards, but KC Concepcion caught seven passes for 113 yards. Texas A&M’s first drive was an example of the progress that can still be made in pass defense, as the Aggies marched right down the field to score on four plays, with the spark being a 24-yard completion to Concepcion.As mentioned above, Auburn’s run defense has been good this season, but it seemed to take a step back against Texas A&M. The Aggies rushed for 207 yards in the game, and leading rusher Le’Veon Moss rushed for 139 yards and 6.6 yards per carry. Auburn also gave up a handful of explosive runs, something it had mostly avoided in the first four games. Texas A&M has one of the better rushing attacks Auburn will face this season, but giving up over 200 rushing yards to anyone isn’t ideal. Missed fits and tackles contributed to that, but Auburn also seemed to get pushed back at the line of scrimmage on a handful of plays.Auburn has had three games this season in which it missed 12 or more tackles. That can hurt you as you continue to play against talented offenses in SEC play. Against Texas A&M, the missed tackles were back up after a relatively clean game in that regard against Oklahoma. The Tigers missed 12 tackles against the Aggies, per PFF, which helped them rush for over 200 yards. The Oklahoma game proved that Auburn can tackle, but doing it consistently will be important going forward. If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.
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