KNOW THE ENEMY: SJSU

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Much like a game three weekends ago, Auburn's game against San Jose State on Saturday is about executing schemes and assignments to a greater degree than it has so far this season.

The Spartans are more capable than the JSU Gamecocks, whom the Tigers had to elude and overcome in miraculous fashion. That said, the talent and depth gap is still substantial enough that a Tiger team clicking on most cylinders should win the game in convincing fashion.

Should being the operative word.

THE OFFENSE:

Al Borges directs this offense, which means it features a run game predicated on running the power, counter, trap, and isos between the tackles. Those runs prefaces mid-range routes in the play-action passing game. It's all about containment on defense.

Senior tailback Tyler Ervin is a compact dynamo who leads the SJSU attack -- and he's coming off a 42-carry, 300-yard game against Fresno State. He hits holes quickly, possesses good cut-back vision and enough long speed to hit a big play.

He reminds me of former Arkansas tailback Fred Talley.

Senior quarterback Joe Gray is accurate and efficient with the football, completing 72 percent of his passes this season with five touchdowns and two interceptions. He is a good manager of a Borges offense since he won't beat his own team with turnovers. He's particularly content to throw the ball 7 to 12 yards downfield.

Junior Tyler Winston is the Spartans' most productive receiver thus far and has good size at 6-foot-2 to go with strong hands and route-running savvy. TE Billy Freeman thrives in this Borges offense the way Tiger fans should remember tight ends doing a decade ago -- he is often the primary target on play-action passes. He is mismatch in coverage against linebackers because he's a solid athlete with great hands and poses problems for defensive backs with his size.

Ervin is also a big part of the passing game, which adds comexity to the offense. He's been targeted at least five times during each contest so far this season, so it'll be imperative that he is monitored in coverage, even as the check-down man in long-yardage situations.

He's very good in the open field.

Wes Schweitzer is the team's best and most experienced offensive lineman, manning the left tackle spot. He has SEC size and athleticism and is especially strong in pass protection. The rest of the line is made up of sophomores with little or no game experience beyond this season. From a talent and capability standpoint, this should be a matchup that favors the Auburn defensive front. Montravius Adams will have an opportunity to affect this game in a major way since he'll be a mismatch for the young and undersized guys across the line from him.

THE DEFENSE:

The Spartans will roll out a hybridized 4-3 front with essentially three down linemen and a hybrid defensive end/linebacker. The largest man on the front is junior college transfer Loni Fa who has relatively good athleticism at 291 pounds, but can be moved by some offensive linemen.

The other defensive linemen all are under 280 pounds. They are very active and involved in a lot of front movement (slants, twists, stunts, stems), which are common tools for defenses that cannot disrupt offenses on their own. Those types of strategies generally are more impactful against true zone-blocking teams like Auburn.

Isaiah Irving is the hybrid edge player. He's quick off the ball, but not a terribly physical presence against the run.

Christian Tago is the elder statesman at linebacker -- and even he is light on experience. He's an above-average tackler in space from his outside linebacker spot as well as an adept blitzer. His counterparts are freshman ILBs Frank Ginda and sophomore William Ossai, who are adequate young linebackers for a Mountain West team.

If the Auburn offensive lineman are effectively climbing to the second level, the Spartan linebackers will be in trouble. The Spartans currently allow more yardage per carry than 118 other FBS teams and that trend should continue this week considering the potential mismatch between the two fronts.

The Spartans' best defensive player is CB Jimmy Pruitt. He already has two interceptions, including one for a touchdown, and seven pass break-ups this season. He also makes great run-versus-pass reads and becomes ever-present in defending the perimeter run to his side of the field.

Pruitt finished with seven solo tackles against Fresno State last week.

THE SPECIAL TEAMS

The Spartans' special teams have been a problem so far this season. Despite P Michael Carrizosa leading the nation in punting average, long-snapping snafus have led to touchdowns for the opposing teams on a few occasions already. Expect the AU special teams to be in attack mode.

Place kicking duties have been split between Austin Lopez and Bryce Crawford. Neither player has seized the reins as the Spartans are only 2-for-5 on field-goal attempts this season. They have have missed three PATs, too. Futility in this phase of the game doesn't bode well for a team looking to come in and pull off an upset in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

WHAT IT ALL MEANS:

Offensive improvement must occur and with tempo being much better against MSU last week, I expect to see more of it this week. As such, I expect to see more than one Auburn RB have a big day. Barber should thrive on yards after contact and either Johnson or Thomas should get the perimeter run game going early.

Borges will have a good offensive game plan and likely will score some points early. However, Auburn adjusted well last week and that trend should continue. As mentioned earlier, Adams should have a big game.

Sean White will play a little more loosely and have a little more freedom this week -- and that should translate to the ball making it into Duke Williams' hands more often.

Special teams favor AU big time in this game. A special teams touchdown could be the death knell for the Spartans.

SCORE PREDICTION:

Auburn 37, SJSU 21

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