Auburn Football: 3 Takeaways from win over Mississippi State

1. Auburn Can Hang With Alabama

The Auburn Tigers can finally hang with Alabama again. Auburn has lost three straight Iron Bowls to the Alabama Crimson Tide and heading into 2017 it didn’t seem like that would change any time soon. Losing to Clemson 14-6 didn’t help their cause because we all just assume that if Clemson’s defense does that to Auburn imagine what Bama’s will do. But Bama doesn’t have the offensive deep threats that Clemson has. Bama has been working those plodding Nick Saban type drives built on the running game and defense.

Bama and Clemson are 1A and 1B in the nation once again. It’s hard to imagine Auburn beating Bama after losing to Clemson, but if Auburn can more than keep up with Clemson the Iron Bowl will be another close game like the Kick Six fiasco of 2013. The Iron Bowl is definitely one of those anything goes match-ups and Stidham has had some magic to him back in Waco, Texas.

At Auburn he’s been serviceable so far and all Gus Malzahn needs him to do is be accurate and intelligent. There’s a lot of over exaggerating of “arm strength” and its importance. The real important factors for a QB are intelligence, toughness, and accuracy. If a quarterback can’t make a deep throw don’t call one.

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If Stidham can be accurate, he can use Kerryon Johnson as the workhorse back that Cameron Artis-Payne and Tre Mason were for the Tigers. Auburn’s offensive scheme needs a high volume running back that serves almost in the role of Paul Johnson’s B-Back but from the pistol instead of under center. If Johnson wants that role Auburn will make the Iron Bowl interesting once again and keep Gus Malzahn yelling “War Eagle!” for another season.