The Auburn Tigers head into the final bye week of the season with two more games on the horizon following another close loss, but the first game of the DJ Durkin era felt a little bit different than the ineptitude of the way they kept losing games under Hugh Freeze.
For the first time this season, the offense looked competent, and not just competent, it even looked outstanding in a 45-38 defeat against a very good Vanderbilt team on the road.
The bad news there of course is that a defense that had been elite all season long took a massive step back, but this was to be expected with Durkin taking on an entirely new role as the interim head coach. Now with a couple of weeks following the bye this weekend under his belt, Durkin perhaps will be able to get things on control on that side of the ball.
Fortunately for the veteran coach, he has essentially a trial run ahead of him with a game against Mercer next week before preparing for Iron Bowl game week, the second edition in the last four years that will have an interim head coach in charge of the Tigers.
Durkin gets the benefit of facing the Alabama Crimson Tide in a place where no matter how lopsided the expected spread is, Auburn finds a way to keep it close in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
For as strong as Alabama has looked for portions of the year, there are also glaring weaknesses the Tigers should be able to expose, such as a complete lack of a consistent running game, and an offensive line that at times has looked like a revolving door.
Ty Simpson has excelled against the blitz, but when opposing defenses have been able to actually get to him, it’s proven to be a long day for the signal caller. In general, Kalen DeBoer’s squads have struggled on the road, especially as a big favorite which they will be here.
In an Iron Bowl no team is ever going to take the opponent likely, but the fact about Auburn is that they have the talent to match up with the Crimson Tide’s roster. A crowd on The Plains which will be as loud as ever should be able to give the Alabama offense huge problems, and if the Tigers can score the way they did against Vanderbilt, they can stay on the field with anyone.
All of this might just culminate in what would be an Auburn victory and trees being rolled, and given that they have almost three weeks to prepare, it wouldn’t be much of a shock.
