Know Your Foe: Who is Auburn facing in Cal?
Auburn takes on a new opponent on the West Coast
Auburn faces Cal for the first time in program history. Auburn has not historically played well in California— 0-3 all time. Auburn lost in 2003 at USC, and in the 2014 national championship game against Florida State in the Rose Bowl. Cal has played well against the SEC, winning their last three matchups— beating Ole Miss in 2017 and 2019 and Tennessee in 2007. The 10:30 PM EST kickoff will be tied for the latest kickoff in Auburn history.
Cal is lead by head coach Justin Wilcox. Wilcox has amassed a 31-16 record over seven season. Wilcox is best known for his time as a defensive coordinator. He has built his Cal teams with a strong defense and an offense that is efficient and takes care of the football. That showed last week against North Texas. They won the turnover battle 3-2 and won the time of possession 39:27 to 20:53. Pretty strong numbers considering they were forced to play two quarterbacks after starter Sam Jackson V was injured. NC State transfer Ben Finley played well in relief. Jackson looks all clear to play Saturday. Auburn will have to play smart and efficiently to win. Cal is not going make enough mistakes or get overly aggressive and beat themselves.
Cal has a number of players that can give Auburn problems. I’ll start with Jackson. The TCU transfer is a really strong runner. He won the starting job out of fall camp. If he is healthy, Auburn will have to key on him and limit his rushing ability. RB Jadyn Ott was a stud as a freshman last year, and built on that campaign with a 188 yard performance last week. Auburn still has questions in their front seven when it comes to stopping the run. Ott will be a huge test for this Auburn front. Ott has shown he has the ability to run wild. Cal’s offensive coaching staff has talked length this week about facing Auburn DC Ron Roberts in previous years. Nothing Auburn will throw at them defensively will be something they haven’t seen before. That means it will be up to Auburn’s playmakers to make plays.
Defensively, Cal is led by 6th- year LB Jackson Sirmon. Sirmon has played more football than anyone else on the field. He is the leader of this defense, and its anchor. Sirmon doesn’t just get his guys into position, he makes plays too. He had 8 tackles and 1 sack against North Texas. Auburn wants to run the football, but they’ll have to go thru Sirmon if they want to be successful.
A few notes on Auburn for this game. RB Jarquez Hunter is on the travel roster and is expected to play. A huge addition for Auburn shoud he play. Auburn has shown they have depth at the running back position, but adding Hunter back to that rotation will make that group elite. Auburn will look to use both Robby Ashford and Payton Thorne at quarterback. I’m looking for Thorne’s efficiency to improve, especially in the red zone. I’m worried Auburn has to go to Ashford in the red zone and get a little one dimensional. Auburn needs to keep that balance they have outside the 20s to be successful.
Drink your coffee, Auburn fans. Kickoff is set for 10:30 ET on ESPN Saturday night.