Night two of week two brings us to Auburn. Tigers and Huskies square off in a pretty tightly contested showdown on paper, but it was far from close last season. And Auburn was at home then too, and it didn’t end well. The Tigers are eyeing a far better finish tonight, but then again, Washington is eyeing a repeat finish. Although, the Huskies don’t want a repeat of last week. Auburn does though. Let’s breakdown how that could work out.
WASHINGTON
Quarterback Doug Ohle looked good statistically last week. He put up 220 yards through the air with a touchdown. He followed that up with 13 carries for 40 yards with another touchdown on the ground. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for the win, and halfback Ron Dayne Jr. wasn’t quite able to offer his usual yardage total. 21 carries for Dayne only gave him 85 yards on the ground which has been subpar for Dayne’s career. Receiver Jace Rosser had the touchdown grab, and he was complemented by receivers Lord Helix and Kayode Imani. Unfortunately, the lack of chunk plays from this group hindered the Huskies down the stretch last week. Oh, and their struggles on third down.
Defense was another matter, considering they struggled on third down too. Safety Bubba Bullard tallied seven tackles while linebacker Erik Langston tallied six tackles. The Washington defense was able to force two interceptions, but unfortunately, it didn’t stop them from giving up five touchdown passes. Defensive end Richard Bradley reaped the benefit of defensive tackle Raekwon Dong, as Bradley tallied three sacks a week ago. Pity that Dong failed to live up to expectations.
AUBURN
Progress can be measured, and quarterback Griffin Jelkic showed progress a week ago. The man put up 336 yards through the air with a pair of touchdown passes. He did throw a pick, but still, the progress was there. Fortunately, halfback Billy Carter is still running strong, with 29 carries for 176 yards with two rushing touchdowns. Receivers Cross Ferry III, Bubba Davis, and Jacob Hill all had really good games a week ago. Again, the benefit of the progress of Jelkic.
On the defensive side of things, linebacker Mark Calloway led the way in tackles with eight. Of those eight tackles saw three go for a loss. Calloway also recovered a fumble for the Tigers. Corner LaRoi Sanders snagged an interception and added four tackles of his own to the mix for Auburn’s defense. Oh, by the way, that fumble that Calloway recovered? Yeah, safety Ollie P. Peters forced it, en route to racking up three tackles with a tackle for a loss.
PLAYER MATCHUP
HB Ron Dayne Jr. vs. HB Billy Carter
Two halfbacks who are going to go down in the history books? Two backs who are going head-to-head in a pivotal game? Oh yeah, get the popcorn ready because we’re going to see some fireworks tonight. Pads are going to pop, heads are going to roll, and yards will be tallied. The only question is, who finishes with more?
PREDICTION
Washington was disappointed a week ago, but they landed way short of the mark against Texas. On the other hand, Auburn looked incredible against Michigan a week ago. Two different tales a week ago, and now, we get to see if that changes. Has Auburn found a way to improve, or are they going to struggle tonight? My bet, Washington rebounds, and they rebound in a major way.
WASHINGTON 42, AUBURN 28
