Auburn Football: 5 Reasons the Tigers beat the Rebels

1. Jarrett Stidham will pick the Landshark defense apart

When you dig through the passing statistics for the SEC leaders, two names jump out to you immediately: Patterson and Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham. The two signal callers rank right at the top of almost every passing measure and were it not for a much more tenacious Auburn defense, we might have been treated to a bit of a quarterback duel.

However, Stidham gets to face a porous Ole Miss pass defense. While the student body might have voted to make the Landshark the official mascot, the football team has drifted away from its own time iconic calling card.

Stidham leads the conference in completion percentage, completing a whopping 72.0 percent of his passes so far this season. For reference, there are only 13 quarterbacks in the nation with a completion percentage above 70 percent. Stidham protects the football (just two interceptions on the year) and can put the ball where he wants it with accuracy.

The lack of an effective pass rush combined with the surgical precision of Stidham set up well for the former Baylor transfer to have his coming out party. Up to this point the Auburn offense has been reliant on a steady dose of the rushing attack.

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While the ground game will continue to the Tigers’ bread and butter, it’s important that Stidham doesn’t get forgotten. He’s going to get a good share of reps on Saturday and should be in a great position to build some additional confidence as the Tigers prepare for the meat of their SEC schedule.