When you think of great Auburn teams of the past, you think first about an aggressive, downhill defense and a ball control offense. Well, Auburn still has the aggressive defense, but now the Tigers also have an innovative offense that ranks among the best in the country through two games.
“I see a track meet,” said West Virginia coach Bill Stewart. “It’s going to be very difficult to contain the Auburn Tigers. “They are a fast team and they are playing very well right now.”
“They go at such a rapid pace,” said West Virginia safeties coach Steve Dunlap. “They change personnel and formations rapidly and try and make you simple on defense so you stand there and not become aggressive.”
New offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn has brought his high-flying attack to Auburn after rewriting the record books at Tulsa.
“They are going to try and run as many plays at you as they possibly can and try and wear you down,” said West Virginia defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel. “They give you a lot of misdirection and motion and I’m sure confusion is a part of that. They are very sound and they have a great concept in the way they go about offensive football.”
Twice Malzahn’s Tulsa offenses led the country in yards per game averaging better than 540 in both 2007 and 2008. This year after wins against Louisiana Tech and Mississippi State, Auburn is second in rushing yards (345.5) and fourth in total offense (572.5).
Senior tailback Ben Tate leads the SEC and is ranked seventh nationally in rushing averaging at 137 yards per game; his backup, freshman Onterio McCalebb, was a one-time WVU recruiting target who ranks first in the SEC averaging 196 all-purpose yards per game. He became the first Auburn freshman in school history to run for more than 100 yards in his first two games.
“They’re going to put a big kid (Tate) in there that can run and then they’re going to put a smaller kid in there that can run,” said Casteel. “Our job is to try and get on and off of blocks and tackle. It is a little bit of a one-two punch with the bigger kid and then the McCalebb kid, who is a slasher with great speed.”
Auburn is the only team in the country with a pair of runners averaging more than 100 yards rushing per game. The Tigers are averaging 6.2 yards per rush.
There’s more.
Auburn has recorded back-to-back 500 yard offensive performances for the first time in 39 years and the Tigers set a school record for total offense in an SEC opener with 589 yards against Mississippi State.
Malzahn’s offense in a nutshell is simple plays from a bunch of different formations with a lot of movement.
“They run the power, the zone, the counter and they play pass,” said Dunlap. “They don’t have a lot of running plays, but they dress it up in different ways and they can run power with their quarterback (Burns).
“There are a lot of looks with orbit motion and it creates confusion at times – it just looks different,” Dunlap added.
Senior quarterback Chris Todd has performed well orchestrating the Auburn offense. He has yet to throw an interception in 49 pass attempts this season, while completing 55.1 percent of his throws for 441 yards and two touchdowns.
Kodi Burns, who started seven games at quarterback in 2008, is first in the SEC in scoring averaging 12 points per game. Burns can line up in the Wildcat formation and either run or throw the ball, and he is also a threat as a pass catcher.
Wide receivers Darvin Adams and Mario Fannin have each caught nine passes for a combined 266 yards and a touchdown. Terrell Zachery is another option in the passing game, catching five passes for 139 yards and one score.
“The strength of their team is their wide receivers and their running backs,” said Dunlap.
The Tigers have a big, athletic offensive line with a pair of tall tackles in 6-foot-8 junior Lee Ziemba and 6-foot-6 Andrew McCain.
“Everybody has got big people,” said Casteel. “East Carolina’s kids were 6-6, 340 pounds so in this day in age everybody’s big. Obviously, those tackles that Auburn has are very talented and athletic, and are probably the best kids we’ve seen.”
Defensively, the Tigers are similar to what West Virginia saw last year in Morgantown when Tommy Tuberville was still coaching the team. New Tigers coach Gene Chizik, Tuberville’s defensive coordinator before moving on to Iowa State, also prefers a four-man front.
“They do some of the same things but at the same time I think Coach Chizik and Coach (Ted) Roof have their own little touches to it that are a little different,” said running backs coach Chris Beatty. “They are not quite as much of a fire-zone blitz team, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t going to do it against us.”
Auburn has another big-time defensive player in senior left end Antonio Coleman, who shows 15 � career sacks which ranks him 10th in Auburn history. In 39 career games, he has produced 112 tackles, 32 � tackles for losses and a pair of forced fumbles.
“Up front they always have great players – they shuffle in NFL type guys at Auburn,” said Beatty. “We’ve got our work cut out for us there.”
West Virginia’s offensive coaches are also impressed with senior corner Walter McFadden, who has broken up a pair of passes this year and shows three picks for his career.
“He’s a great player. He’s got great hips, great speed and he’s got nice size for a corner,” said Beatty.
Middle linebacker Josh Bynes has 16 tackles this season and is a two–year starter. Bynes also has nice size at 6-feet-2, 239 pounds.
“He makes a lot of plays between the tackles; he’s a sure tackler and he doesn’t miss too many,” said Beatty.
West Virginia (2-0) is making its first trip into SEC country since beating Mississippi State 42-14 in Starkville in 2006. Overall, West Virginia owns a 22-17-2 record against SEC teams including a five-game winning streak since 2000 (Mississippi, Georgia, Mississippi State and Auburn).
Quarterback Jarrett Brown has completed 75.4 percent of his passes for 577 yards and four touchdowns. Brown is averaging 359.5 yards per game in total offense.
“When you see him hit a 46-yard touchdown pass the other day against East Carolina from off his back foot, and when you see him on third and 4 or third and 5, he has just got so much scramble ability right now that you have issues with down field. We say that you have to cover him twice – but then you have to contain him on third downs.”
Noel Devine shows 192 yards and two touchdowns this year and last year he ran for a career-high 207 yards and a touchdown during West Virginia’s 34-17 win over Auburn in Morgantown.
“He’s a big-play guy,” said Chizik. “He’s as fast as probably anybody in the country. He’s exactly what you look at. You know, you tackle him a few times, then he makes you miss and hits a crack, then the next thing you know, he’s hitting his head on the goal post. That’s how fast he gets into the end zone.”
Junior Jock Sanders shows 17 catches for 194 yards, while Brad Starks has seven catches for 110 yards. Two of Alric Arnett’s four catches have gone for touchdowns.
Defensively, junior corner Brandon Hogan is the team’s leading tackler with 17 stops. Two starters, middle linebacker Reed Williams (foot) and defensive tackle Scooter Berry (shoulder) left the East Carolina game with injuries. Stewart is hopeful both of those players will be ready for Auburn.
“Berry is day-to-day,” Stewart said. “Reed Williams is day-to-day and his day-to-day is brighter.”
Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium seats 87,451 and is one of the best environments in college football. It will be West Virginia’s first time playing in front of 80,000-plus on the road since a trip to Notre Dame in 2001.
“The venues are the toughest thing the SEC has going,” said associate head coach Doc Holliday, a former assistant coach at Florida. “Auburn is probably the loudest place we played in when I was at Florida. It will be a great challenge for our kids to make sure we do a great job with snap count and do some things there because it will be loud.”
“When you play on the road you have to play with great toughness,” said Holliday. “The seniors have to step up and lead the young guys. We’ve got a lot of young guys that have not been on the road before. It’s a fun environment and our kids will enjoy it. I know they have played well in big venues in the past.”
Kickoff is set for 7:45 pm. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.