The Auburn Tigers football team will be tested once again this Saturday. It’s the SEC opener and an ancient rival comes to Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Florida Gators have not been to the Plains since 2011. In the last meeting between the teams in Gainesville in 2019, Florida got the better of Auburn in a disappointing 24-13 defeat. Head Coach Alex Golesh talked about some of things the Gators do well that his Tigers need to prepare for.
“Depth up front defensively. Physical at linebacker. So long at corner. They do a good job in the back end in general of running and disguising things. Have a really good scheme,” Golesh told the media on Monday.
Against Southern Miss, running back Omar Mabson II put together his first career 100-yard rushing game at Auburn. He got the bulk of the second half carries after starter Jeremiah Cobb fumbled in the red zone. Auburn Undercover asked Joel Gordon why the change was made and what role Cobb will have against Florida.
“I don’t think the plan will change,” Gordon said. “It wasn’t we were going to sit Cobb because he fumbled. It was at the end of a long drive. Whether he had scored a touchdown on that play or fumbled, he probably wasn’t the guy that was going to go in there on the next drive anyways…he’s gotta be a leader for us.”
One freshman who saw the field quite a bit against Southern Miss was wide receiver DeShawn Spencer. He caught his first career touchdown pass in the second quarter. Gordon talked about the possibility of him seeing the field more on a consistent basis as the season progresses.
“He’s earned confidence from his teammates, from coaches since day one,” Gordon said. “Those guys will continually have to be counted on. This is just a starting point for him. He’s got a long way to go for sure. He’s still young but he’s a guy that we trust.”
Auburn rushed for 213 more yards in week two than week one. Both the opponent and improved play from a rotating offensive line contributed to the success. However, the offensive line did have two key penalties, including one holding call that took a touchdown off the board. Golesh knows that aspect has to improve to win SEC games week in and week out.
“Those are technique and fundamental things that I was frustrated with,” Golesh said. “There was a handful of those there, were a handful on the perimeter. That to me, when you get out of position, feet aren’t right and you feel you have to lean and grab that’s what I was frustrated about.”
Gordon also spoke about the offensive line play, “I have confidence in those guys. They’ve worked really hard at it. It hasn’t been perfect. There were improvements without a doubt. We needed to see it and we have to improve again. In fact we are going to have to improve every single week. That’s the way it goes.”
Auburn and Florida will meet for the 85th time on Saturday. The Tigers lead the overall series 43-39-2. Kickoff from Jordan-Hare Stadium in set for 6 p.m.
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
