Defending Trinidad Chambliss will be challenge for Auburn defense against Ole Miss
The Auburn defense allowed the most yards by an opponent this season on Saturday against LSU. LSU totaled 552 yards, with quarterback Sam Leavitt threw for 387 of those yards with three touchdowns.
The area that concerned Head Coach Alex Golesh the most was when things broke down and Leavitt was able to make plays with his legs.
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“Defensively, not good enough on third downs,” Golesh said. “The quarterback scrambles killed us. Killed us in a big way. The explosive plays killed us. We didn’t tackle great.”
It gets no easier for the Auburn defense this Saturday when it faces the Ole Miss Rebels and superstar quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.
Chambliss has already thrown for almost 2,000 yards this season with 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Defensive Coordinator DJ Durkin is preparing his defense to contain the dual0threat quarterback better than it did against Leavitt.
“We have to do a really good job with whoever our rushers are they got to cage him (Chambliss) in the pocket,” Durkin said.
Durkin believes Chambliss will put pressure on the defense with his threat of running the football.
“He’s accurate throwing the ball whether that’s from the pocket or on the move,” Durkin said.” What makes him most dangerous is when he gets out of the pocket, he can beat you running but he keeps his eyes down the field. As he’s scrambling, he is looking to put the ball down the field and create explosive plays that way.”
On Monday, Golesh called Chambliss a “dynamic, special player.” Durkin also acknowledge the difficulty of providing a scout of him this week in practice.
“I don’t think you can plug a guy in there and say he’s the same,” Durkin said. “We’ll have practice squad guys doing that. We’ll get done what we have to get done defensively. He’s a great player. You’re not going to mimic him exactly.”
Ole Miss is 3-0 at home this season. In those games, the Rebels have scored 104 points and only given up 27 points in their two games against the power four in Oxford.
Defensively in the Tigers’ two road games, have only given up 48 points. It will be important for Durkin’s unit to keep the Rebels in that scoring range if the Tigers hope to notch their second road victory in a row.
Auburn and Ole Miss kick off at 11:45 a.m., from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, in Oxford on Saturday.
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
