Five reasons Auburn could struggle against Texas A&M

These five things could cause fits for Auburn against Texas A&M.
Five reasons Auburn could struggle against Texas A&M
Five reasons Auburn could struggle against Texas A&M /

Auburn is looking to snap their five-game losing streak against the Texas A&M Aggies. 

Auburn played one of their best games of the season a week ago against Mississippi State under interim Coach Cadillac Williams. 

The Tigers will hope this trend will continue against the Aggies. 

Although Texas A&M has struggled this season, they still have a ton of talent on their roster.

Let's look at five ways Auburn could struggle against the Texas A&M Aggies. 

Texas A&M has a good secondary

Zach Bland / AU Athletics

Texas A&M has an outstanding secondary that only allows 151 passing yards per game. The only team that took advantage of the Aggie secondary was Mississippi State and their air raid. This will likely motivate Auburn to run the ball a lot in this game. You're still going to need to get it done through the air, though, so Robby Ashford will have to find a way to pick apart the Aggie defensive backfield. If Texas A&M stops the Tigers passing attack, making them one-dimensional, this will be a challenging game for the Tigers to win. 

Texas A&M has a talented running back

© Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

Devon Achane has had a great season despite the Aggie's lack of success. He has 887 yards on the ground to go along with six touchdowns. Achane averages an impressive 5.6 yards per carry. He also has 196 receiving yards and three more touchdowns through the air. The Tigers have struggled to stop the run this season, so it will be interesting to see if they can slow Achane in this game. If the Tigers can't stop Achane, this will be a rough night for the Auburn faithful. 

The Aggies have a stud true freshman wideout

© Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

Evan Stewart is a true freshman wide receiver who was the number 11 overall recruit in the 2022 class. He has 46 receptions on the season for 598 yards and two touchdowns for the Aggies. Stewart is a first-round talent that is a matchup nightmare for opposing cornerbacks. If the Auburn secondary isn't able to stay with Stewart all night, it will be a tough one for the Tigers to win. 

The Tigers need to run the football

Zach Bland / AU Athletics

As we already discussed, the Aggies have a good secondary and are tough to throw against. This means that Tank Bigsby, Jarquez Hunter, and Ashford will all need to be efficient on the ground. The Aggies are vulnerable to opponents' ground attacks which is the strength of this Auburn football team. If they cannot take advantage of this weakness, the Tigers will struggle in this game. 

Anders Carlson has to make his kicks

Zach Bland/ AU Athletics

Anders Carlson has struggled this season to make his field goals. He is 12 for 17 on the season, which isn't good enough for a power-five kicker. Leaving points on the field is an easy way to lose football games, so Carlson has got to make his kicks. If he struggles in this game and misses some field goals, this will be a tough one for the Tigers to leave with a victory. 

Click here to see what Vegas thinks of Auburn vs. Texas A&M.

Click here to see where Auburn stands in the ESPN FPI rankings.


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