Texas A&M Football: Rest of the way game-by-game predictions
By Robert Ford
Many people thought Auburn would be the team from the west to challenge Alabama. As we enter Week 5, I think several of those people have abandoned that ship. With the hype around Jarrett Stidham choosing Auburn over Texas A&M, the folks on the plains believed they had their quarterback.
I tried to tell everyone to go back and look at his short stint at Baylor, do the numbers in the three games he played meaningful snaps in blow you away? They lit up Kansas State, but he was very pedestrian against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
Ask yourself after three games against Georgia Southern, Mercer and Clemson has anything changed? I do not believe so, he’s thrown two touchdown passes and only eclipsed the 200 yard passing mark only once. Okay maybe they did not need the arm against Georgia Southern but they dang sure needed against Clemson. He was only 13 of 24 passing in that contest. I guess the coaching staff forgot the offense back in Alabama.
The Tigers only gained 117 yards, WOW. I’m looking back at the other two games and trying to figure out what Coach Gus Malzahn is doing. One game there’s heavy emphasis on the running game and the other is an emphasis on the passing game.
So with this game not till my birthday weekend, Auburn plays five conference games with three of them being on the road. I believe they go 3-2 maybe 4-1 depending on what happens with Mississippi State in Athens. Anything less and Malzahn will be feeling more heat than he already feels.
Our game comes after the bye week and will be their third in a row on the road. With trips to Baton Rouge and Fayetteville, where will this team be physically and mentally? I think we win on the backs of our running game and a quarterback that outplays his counterpart who he was linked to all throughout the recruiting process.