Texas A&M football: Scouting report for Auburn Tigers

Texas A&M football will look to get back on track this weekend at Jordan-Hare Stadium; here is the scouting report for the Auburn Tigers.

Jimbo Fisher will look to come out of this important road stretch with a winning record by defeating the Auburn Tigers, and if history is any indicator, the Texas A&M football team can do just that.

The road team is undefeated in this matchup since the Aggies joined the SEC in 2012 — six games in a row. That’s more than enough of a sample size to be bewildered by that stat. The trend will hopefully not be bucked at Jordan-Hare Stadium this weekend.

Auburn came into this season with high expectations. They came out of nowhere to win the SEC West last season and were ranked in the Top 10 in the preseason polls. Their offense has struggled, leading to a 5-3 record with losses to LSU, Mississippi State and Tennessee. They bounced back with a nice win at Ole Miss before getting the weekend off in Week 9.

Here is the scouting report for Auburn and some players the Aggies will need to account for.

Auburn University Tigers

Location: Auburn, Alabama

Enrollment: About 28,000

Conference: SEC

Head Coach: Guz Malzahn (59-28, 50-25 at Auburn)

2017 finish: 10-4, SEC West Champs, Lost to UGA in SEC Championship, Lost to UCF in Peach Bowl

Key 2018 Statistics:

Yards per game – 364.3 (No. 95)
Points per game – 23.4 (No. 95)
Rushing yards per game – 135.6 (No. 96)
Passing yards per game – 228.7 (No. 68)
Yards allowed per game – 368.7 (No. 43)
Points allowed per game – 17.6 (No. 12)
Rushing yards allowed per game – 137.0 (No. 35)
Passing yards allowed per game – 231.6 (No. 66)

Players to watch

Junior quarterback Jarrett Stidham – 60.4 percent completions, 1,714 yards, 8 TDs, 4 INTs, 129.5 QB rating

The Auburn offense has struggled to do much of anything right this season, but Stidham carved up the Aggies for three touchdowns in a blowout last year and the boys in maroon and white are arguably a worse pass defense in 2018.

They just got eaten alive by Nick Fitzgerald…again. Stidham is licking his chops.

Sophomore running back JaTarvious Whitlow – 100 carries, 626 yards, 6.3 ypc, 5 total TDs

The Tigers have actively tried to get wide receiver Ryan Davis involved in the offense — he is the clear leader among receivers with 38 catches — but he has not been as efficient with the ball as Whitlow. Whitlow has been the lone bright spot offensively and just had his best game of the season against Ole Miss.

Senior linebacker Deshaun Davis

Davis was named to the Preseason All-SEC second team and is living up to the hype. He leads the Tigers with 72 tackles and also has 9.5 tackles for loss, one sack and two pass breakups. He will be key to slowing down the Aggies rushing attack.

Sophomore defensive end Nick Coe

Coe didn’t get much hype before the season. In fact, he was the only Auburn defensive lineman not named to a Preseason All SEC team. But the sophomore has thrived as a rusher, racking up 11.5 tackles for loss and six sacks through eight games.

Junior defensive back Javaris Davis

The Auburn secondary is loaded with athletes, but Davis is the best of them and has proved it so far this season. He leads the Tigers with seven pass breakups and has one interception on the season. Mond would be wise not to test Davis very often on Saturday.

#BTHOauburn

Jeff Shull is the Site Expert for the Gig Em Gazette on FanSided. Follow him on Twitter, and be sure to follow the Gig Em Gazette on Facebook and Twitter.