After a pair of practices at Ensworth High School, Maryland is now one day away from facing Auburn in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl. Auburn remains a seven-point favorite over Maryland, but how do the Tigers fare against the Terps? On Tuesday we looked at how an inconsistent Auburn offense could match up against the Terps. Today, we will look at how an SEC defense stacks up to Maryland.
Overview
Opt-outs/transferred: DT Marcus Harris, CB DJ James, CB Nehemiah Pritchett, SAF Austin Ausberry, DL Willy Denaud, SAF Marquise Gilbert, DL Enyce Sledge, DL Stephen Sings, DL Stephen Johnson
Key Stats (SEC Ranking)
Rushing Yards allowed per game: 159.4 (12th)
Points allowed per game: 21.9 (3rd)
Total yards allowed per game: 361.1 (9th)
Passing yards allowed per game: 201.7 (3rd)
Auburn Run Game
Facing an SEC schedule, Auburn was towards the bottom of the conference in rush defense. SEC foes were able to have their way against the Tigers on the ground. The 159.4 rush yards allowed per game ranked 12th out of 14 SEC teams.
I found that this came down to a few things. First, the Tigers' front seven is extremely aggressive. Auburn usually deploys four down linemen. The edge players often shot their gap way too wide which allowed patient running backs to find their gaps if they let the play develop. Jalen McLeod was the primary edge rusher for the Tigers and often time got way too much depth in the backfield which allowed running backs to find creases. Second, Auburn ran a lot of zone defense. This brought a lot of linebackers to 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage before the ball was snapped. Linebackers, Austin Keys and Eugene Asante are very fast and can fill run gaps quickly, however, they were often put in bad positions to make these plays. Third, Auburn tends to miss some tackles within a few yards of the line of scrimmage. Running backs were running through Auburn's tackle attempts, granted the Tigers were facing some of the best running backs in the country but there was some concern there.
Auburn runs a fair amount of man defense as well and will bring a safety into the box to help with run support. Safety Jalin Simpson was the strong safety in the Auburn defense and could make great tackles in run fits. Auburn also mixes in nickel blitzes with corner Keionte Scott. Scott has incredible speed and was able to make tackles on outside run plays from the other side of the line of scrimmage.
On the interior Auburn is led by senior tackle Marcus Harris. Harris was a force up the middle for the Tigers, pushing interior linemen back toward the running back on inside run plays. Harris helped Auburn’s interior run defense be stout for most of the season. Harris has opted out of the bowl game. With no Harris, Auburn will be looking for playmakers to step up along the defensive front. Purdue transfer, Lawrence Johnson should garner a bigger role in Harris’ absence, as will the true freshman Darron Reed, who hasn’t played this season but has been working in the main rotation during bowl practices. Quintrail Jamison-Travis has only played in mop-up duty this season, but his ability to play both nose tackle and 3-tech could lead to some snaps in the bowl game for Auburn.
Maryland’s run game has been an issue for most of the year as Roman Hemby and Antwain Littleton struggled to find a grove. Hemby started to find a rhythm later in the season as he will garner a larger role as Littleton has entered the transfer portal. Colby McDonald and walk-on Eli Mason will also receive reps. The entirety of Maryland’s offensive line will be available for the bowl game. Having all the starters available could bode well for Maryland to gain some yardage against a spotty Tiger rushing defense. It will be a tough task for Maryland to get push against a strong and physical Auburn front, but the opportunity is there against one of the worst rushing defenses in the SEC.
Auburn Pass Defense
On the other hand, Auburn boasted one of the SEC’s best passing defenses. Auburn allowed 201.7 passing yards per game which ranked 3rd in the SEC. The key to their success was their two star cornerbacks, Nehemiah Pritchett and DJ James, but the pair have both opted out for the bowl game leaving the cornerback spot a question mark.
As mentioned previously, Auburn used a lot of zone coverage looks with two high safeties. Pritchett and James were both outstanding in zone coverage which made Auburn so good in this look. Both corners were able to close in on receivers and make plays on the football to cause incompletions. Pritchett especially was great at crashing on receivers on 3rd and short on comeback routes along the sideline. Auburn’s secondary is likely undergoing the biggest changes on the team in the bowl game. Not only have James and Pritchett opted out, eliminating the team’s two starting cornerbacks, but Keionte Scott is also moving from his starting nickel spot to outside corner in order to offset the losses. Scott will be joined at corner by the true freshman Kayin Lee, who’s been preparing for this opportunity — and a likely starting job next season — all season long as the team’s No. 3 cornerback behind James and Pritchett. JD Rhym served a suspension and only appeared in four games this season, and it’s unclear right now whether a bowl game will count against a redshirt this season, after there was a waiver passed last year. If it does, Rhym likely won’t play. Especially if that’s the case, names like Colton Hood or fellow true freshmen JC Hart and Tyler Scott will be in a position to contribute to the rotation against Maryland. With Scott’s move to corner, Donovan Kaufman will take over the starting role at nickel, where he has plenty of experience over the past three seasons. It will be interesting to see if Kaufman is utilized like Scott was at nickel. With the cornerback position a question mark heading into the bowl game, Maryland could look to expose the inexperienced group.
At safety, Auburn will have both their starters from the season in Jaylin Simpson and Zion Puckett. Simpson is a senior who has his eyes on the NFL draft but will suit up on Saturday. Both safeties helped Auburn’s potent secondary. As mentioned, Simpson crashed a lot into the box to help with run fits. Puckett played more of a free safety role; one he was successful in but did make some mistakes in coverage. There were times when Puckett was caught sleeping as the high safety and left holes in Auburn’s zone coverage. Combine this with inexperienced corners and Maryland could have a chance to take some shots downfield.
In terms of pass rush, Auburn’s run game aggressiveness is also apparent here. Edge rushers and linebackers are very athletic and aggressive in blitz packages and can tend to over-pursue the quarterback. In general, the Tigers' pass rush is very good as they were able to get pressure on the quarterback efficiently. Harris, the defensive tackle who opted out, was the team leader with six sacks. Auburn utilized many different blitz packages and stunts including delayed linebacker blitzes, nickel blitzes, and safety blitzes. Maryland’s offensive line will have to be disciplined against this aggressive front. Mobile quarterbacks had their way against this pass rush and used Auburn’s aggressiveness against them. Jalen Milroe had a lot of success evading the pocket from aggressive edge rushers and creating big gains with his feet. I am looking for Billy Edwards to have some success in this aspect as he has showcased his ability to become a mobile quarterback.
Overall, Auburn’s defense is an athletic and aggressive bunch. Inexperience at the corner position could bode well for Jeshaun Jones and Kaden Prather. As Ahmed has mentioned, Octavian Smith and Shaleak Knotts could also step in and make an impact. Hopefully, Cam Edge can showcase his arm talent against the depleted secondary as well. It will be great if Maryland can capitalize on a mediocre Tigers rush defense. Picking up good chunk yards on run plays can keep the Tigers' offense honest and set up play action and screen plays that have been successful for the Terps. The biggest question will be if Maryland’s offensive line can compete with a fierce SEC defensive line. Saturday will be interesting to see how Maryland deploys an offensive gameplan against the Tigers.
Related Links
What Willard, players said after Maryland’s win vs. Coppin StateMaryland overpowers Coppin State, 75-53Five-star visiting Maryland (+)Practice notes from Nashville (+)Beau Brade talks opting in, QB Payton Thorne, young secondaryMaryland trending for local guard with decision expected (+)Evaluating Maryland football’s remaining roster needs in 2024 (+)