Auburn Three Keys: LSU

The Auburn Tigers host LSU on Saturday in Auburn. Here are your three keys to an Auburn victory.

By Steve Wright

The Auburn Tigers (3-2) picked up another win by the skin of their teeth thanks to a late Bo Nix touchdown pass against Ole Miss last time out. Next up for the Tigers is a date with more big cats as they take on the up and down – but clearly dangerous – LSU Tigers (2-2).

Stop TJ Finley

It is not like Myles Brennan was doing a bad job for LSU, but his absence against South Carolina and his likely missing of this game has potentially opened the door for the next great LSU quarterback. Freshman TJ Finley – all 6-foot-6 and 242 pounds of him – was sensational against the Gamecocks a week ago. He went 17-of-21 through the air for 265 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, while also running for 24 yards and another score. He took LSU to its first 500-yard day of the year and Finley triggered all that in his first college start. Auburn has to rattle the young passer to have a chance here.

Keep finding a way

Plenty has been made of the officiating calls Auburn has had the balance of so far this season, but much of that talk has hidden how well the team is actually playing. Tank Bigsby – in particular – has been outstanding, rushing for over 100 yards in three straight games. The offense has been balanced enough to go over the 200-yard mark in both rushing and receiving the last two weeks, while Bo Nix is making the throws that matter at the right times. Bigsby should be able to run on a defense that has allowed north of five yards per carry in each of its last two games.

Be the less erratic team

This is kind of a weird key but it is one that fits the profile of these two squads. Auburn was able to throw all day against Ole Miss, but everyone is able to do that. The issue is that neither of these two schools is able to look the same from week to week, with fans having no real idea how each will perform. If Auburn gets a solid day from Nix, a standard day from Bigsby, and the defense is able to get off the field on third down, then the Tigers will win at home.

Saturday‘s Auburn football game kicks off at 2:30 PM CT (3:30 PM ET). You can watch on the CBS Network.