AUBURN | Auburn’s first three games weren’t perfect or without their challenges, but the 8th-ranked Tigers arrive at their SEC opener undefeated and determined to take the next big step in their pursuit of a championship season.
Auburn opens conference play Saturday against No. 17 Texas A&M, whose only loss came on the road at the hands of No. 1 Clemson.
“You can kinda tell a different excitement, not only from our players but our coaches,” Auburn seventh-year coach Gus Malzahn said. “The conference season is here and that’s really what we’ve been gearing up for the first three games.”
The road ahead is arduous. The Tigers will play seven consecutive SEC games — four of them on the road and three against top 10 teams — over the next nine weeks. If the Tigers can make it to the Nov. 30 Iron Bowl showdown against Alabama at Jordan-Hare Stadium with one or less conference losses, they’ll likely be playing for the SEC West title.
“Coach Malzahn said Sunday, those first three games don’t even count because they’re not in our conference,” senior safety Daniel Thomas said. “This is really going to determine who’s going to be in Atlanta at the end of the year, so Texas A&M is the first start for us — for real, for real.”
The Aggies are also a team trying to challenge Alabama and presumably LSU for the top spot in the SEC West under Jimbo Fisher, who guided Florida State to the 2013 national championship before signing a 10-year, $75 million deal with TAMU after the 2017 season.
Auburn is undefeated in three previous trips to College Station since the Aggies joined the SEC in 2012. But had to rally for two fourth-quarter touchdowns for a 28-24 come-from-behind victory at home last season.
“What stood out to me last year and this year is their run fits,” Malzahn said. “Their linebackers know their gaps. Their gap integrity on defense in run fits is very impressive. They do a good job of setting the edge. They do a good job on the backend. They mixup their coverages with their pressures and everything.
“Last year they did a very good job against us. I think we were fortunate to win that game the way we played offensively if it wasn’t for the last two series.”
Junior dual-threat quarterback Kellen Mond leads the TAMU offense.
“He looks like a veteran quarterback. He looks like a guy that’s been in the offense for two years,” Malzahn said. “He can flat-out throw it and when he tucks it and runs it, when he goes North-South, he can really run. He presents a lot of challenges, and offensively they do a lot of different things. They mix up the run and pass with different formations, different personnel groups.”
Auburn will return home against Mississippi State next Saturday before three straight road trips to No. 9 Florida, Arkansas and No. 4 LSU in October, not returning to Jordan-Hare until Nov. 2 against Ole Miss.
“You’ve got to win on the road. Especially, like, if you want to play for a national championship, you have to win on the road in hostile environments,” senior offensive guard Marquel Harrell said. “And going to College Station is not going to be easy because it’s just going to be us on the field. It’s not like we have a home field advantage. So just to go out there and like whatever it takes to win, that’s what we’re going to do.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS.
