The Auburn Tigers survived one of the near biggest upsets in college football history last week with their 27-20 win over Jacksonville State. They have some major QB issues and I don't expect it to be fixed in just one week. Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson looked unsure of himself in both games as he threw five interceptions and was unable to do much on the ground with only 18 yards. Last year's starter Nick Marshall threw only seven INTs all season and was a key part of AU's ground game with 798 yards including 119 yards in last year's 41-7 blowout over LSU. Making quick and effective decisions is paramount for a quarterback in Gus Malzahn's system and right now, Johnson looks lost.
LSU now looks to keep their momentum going this week in a home stand against the Tigers from the Plains in Baton Rouge. For LSU fans, they have plenty of reason to be excited after last Saturday's close victory. Running back Leonard Fournette surpassed his freshmen hype and set the mark as one of the best backs in the country in last weekend's victory. Fournette accounted for all 3 of the Tigers' touchdowns while rushing for 159 yards on 28 carries. Coach Les Miles loves to run the football and typically relies on his defense to win football games. Fournette looks to be a tailback that is the perfect match for Miles' offense. He is a work horse that is going to get better as games progress into the 2nd half. Considering the fact that Auburn has given up almost 200 yards per game on the ground through their first two contests, LSU's power running attack could have another big day if they control the trenches to allow Fournette more opportunities to make big plays LSU has shown in what little we saw so far, they have a great rushing defense and Auburn defending has struggled on their 3rd down conversions. I think LSU's running game will set the pace early in this game and never look back. This is my top play of the week: LSU WINS by 14.