Penn State Football: 3 reasons Nittany Lions will beat Auburn in Week 3

2. Auburn is untested

As previously mentioned Penn State has already faced a tough road opponent and came out on top. They also took care of business against the defending MAC champions Ball State. Auburn’s first two opponents, on the other hand, have been cupcakes with an extra helping of icing.

Looking just at the Tigers’ stats through two games without looking at the opponents is impressive. They are averaging 61 points per game while only giving up five points per game. Auburn has posted a 575 total yards average while only surrendering 182 yards. They have been particularly stingy against the run, allowing only 21.5 yards on the ground good for best in the country.

So yes a small two-game sample but impressive nonetheless. Until you look at the opponents. Akron and Alabama State. Akron is projected to be at the bottom of the MAC conference this season. Before facing Auburn, Alabama State from the FCS needed overtime to defeat Miles College, a Division II school.

These two opponents have given Auburn the worst strength of schedule in the FBS through the first two weeks of the season. The only takeaway from those two games is Auburn did exactly what they were supposed to do to those types of opponents. Put them away early and move on.

So who are the Auburn Tigers exactly? We have no idea. Could they be a good team? Absolutely they could be. The Tigers have a lot of good parts and should not be counted out. But there are still too many questions for them. Penn State entered the season with question marks as well. However, the Nittany Lions have shown more through two games than the Tigers.