Auburn Daily Weekly Roundtable: Which position group underperformed?

Here's our Auburn Daily Roundtable entering week two.

Week two of the College Football season is here, and we’re back for another edition of the weekly roundtable!

Auburn has made it through their first contest of the season and came out 1-0. They look to do the same this weekend against San Jose State. Let’s see what the Auburn Daily Staff has to say about the Tiger’s first week of action.

If one current Auburn football player was an Avenger, who would they be and why?

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

LINDSAY CROSBY - Jeffrey M'Ba as Thanos seems like an easy answer, since he goes by the nickname already, but Thanos (obviously) wasn't an Avenger so SHAME ON ANYONE who puts that for their answer. I'm going with Cam Riley as Thor, because he's lightning quick, it sounds like thunder when he hits you, and he's able to just show up halfway through a play and wreck everything like Thor did when he showed up in Wakanda during Endgame

GRAY OLDENBURG - Due to his intelligence of the game and pure skill, I have to put Derick Hall as Iron man. Hall has shown how valuable he can be with his knowledge of the game combined with his extreme athletic ability that has be looking all up and down that Iron man suit.

TREY LEE - I'll go Derick Hall as Thor. He's a pretty electric pass rusher.

COOPER POSEY - Tyler Fromm would be Thor because of his hair and his build. He looks just like Chris Hemsworth in the Thor movies. I do not think there is a better comparison out there.

What is your biggest takeaway from the first Auburn game of the season?

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

LC - The offensive line is much better than I (personally) expected, especially in run blocking, and if they and the backs stay healthy, they appear to be good enough to take pressure off of whoever is at QB through a healthy running game that is a threat to house one at any time.

GO - The QB battle is going to be a heck of a story the rest of the year. Just from the Mercer game, and the reaction after, I can tell the storyline for the remainder of the year wont be anything but the QB position and continuous battle for snaps and playing time.

TL - Auburn came out of the gate hot on offense but showed some cracks late during the game. The QB battle is definitely not over, and it seems like it is only a matter of time before Robby Ashford is the starting quarterback for the Auburn Tigers. The added running ability Ashford has makes him that much harder for opposing defenses to stop him.

CP - The biggest takeaway I had from week 1 was Auburn's defensive. Our defensive line was solid, holding Mercer’s offense to only 74 yards on the ground. Cam Riley also had a big game defensively recording 15 tackles.

Looking at the SEC as a whole, was there a team that surprised you in how they played this past Saturday?

AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack

LC - Obvious answer is LSU being a dumpster fire, but I think Arkansas didn't look as good in their 31-24 victory over Cincinnati as everyone expected. Lost the TOP battle, only 50% on 3rd downs, and let Cincy throw for 325 yards on them.

GO - Honestly, even though I picked Florida to beat Utah in week 1, they did surprise me. Playing in the swamp against Florida at night is very hard which is why that was a popular upset pick but Anthony Richardson and the Gators surprised me in Billy Napier’s first game.

TL - As much as it pains me to say it, Georgia looked absolutely dominant against a decent Oregon team. If they can keep the momentum they gained on the offensive side of the ball, it may be a repeat season for the Dawgs as national champs. On the flip side, South Carolina and Kentucky both struggled a bit with their inferior opponents. If those teams are wanting to achieve the lofty goals they have set for themselves, they may want to try and get out of the gate early this week.

CP - Florida surprised me this past weekend after coming out and beating Utah. A lot of people expected Utah to win but Florida was able to pull it out in the end. I expected Florida to be the SEC team to lose in week one, not LSU.

Was there a position group that exceeded your expectations this past weekend? Was there one that did not perform as well as you thought they would?

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

LC - Offensive line, as mentioned earlier, exceeded my expectations. Was particularly impressed with Tate Johnson at center getting to the 2nd level and Austin Troxell at tackle absolutely BURYING dudes. Group that underperformed, to me, was the defensive backs. Felt a little sloppy, like there were some communication issues and misplays, but I think it'll get cleaned up and isn't anything to worry about long term.

GO - There wasn’t really a position group that didn’t play well enough to my expectations at least but I was impressed with the Linebackers. Starting with a career day in terms of tackles from Cam Riley with 15 in total. And Owen Pappoe and Wesley Steiner played well I thought also.

TL - The offensive line. With Nick Brahms officially retiring and Keiondre Jones not starting, the group got a lot younger and did not bring a ton of experience to the table. Despite that, Auburn ran the ball at will against the Bears, scoring 5 rushing touchdowns and 285 total rushing yards. On the other hand, I was disappointed in the defensive line. This is one of the most elite groups not just on the team, but in the SEC as a whole. There was constant pressure on the quarterback, but only one sack was recorded. Hopefully, the group will tune up this week before a big game against Penn State in Jordan Hare.

CP - The running backs exceeded my expectations with Tank Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter combining for 5 touchdowns on the ground. I knew they would both have great games, but I did not expect them to carry the offense the way they did. The quarterback room could have performed better in my opinion, obviously, the two interceptions were disappointing.

Biggest Upsets during Week two of the college football season?

Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

LC - At this point, Georgia Southern beating Nebraska wouldn't qualify as an upset to many people, so Pitt over Tennessee, straight up

GO - Give me Georgia State over North Carolina… Now, this is not an unranked team over a ranked team but this is a lower-tier Sun Belt team over an ACC team in Chapel Hill. The North Carolina defense who is coordinated by former Auburn head coach Gene Chizik, has really struggled the past two weeks for them against Florida A&M and last week giving up 61 points to App State. I really like what Drake Maye brings to the Tar Heels but I’m going with the Panthers here.

TL - Watch out for Vandy. The Commodores are hot after two great weeks of play. Sam Hartman returns for the Demon Deacons, but there may be a bit of rust coming back from his injury, so I wouldn't count Clarke Lea and the Commodores out.

CP - The biggest upset this week will be BYU over Baylor. I could also see South Carolina upsetting Arkansas this week. Even though Arkansas opened up with a win over Cincinnati, I still think South Carolina is going to give them a tough time on Saturday.

Who is your Winner of the Week?

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

LC - RHP Davis Daniel, a 7th-round pick by the Angels out of Auburn, was named the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week after going 7 innings for the AAA Salt Lake Bees with two hits, no runs, and seven strikeouts

GO - Robby Ashford. Two weeks ago, Ashford seemed to all of a sudden be placed in the backseat with TJ Finley being named the starter, but due to Ashford’s performance in the week 1 matchup against Mercer, he is right back up making this QB competition and snaps interesting.

TL - I'll go Cam Riley on this one. The linebacker had a terrific debut against the Mercer Bears, and looks to be one of Auburn's top tacklers this season.

CP - Robby Ashford won the week with his performance against Mercer. He exceeded all expectations with his legs and also was impressive through the air. Im excited to see what else he brings to the table the rest of the year.

Final Thoughts and Score Predictions for Auburn vs San Jose State

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

LC - 45-13 - Auburn's defense holds SJSU to one TD and two FGs

GO - Again I think Auburn comes out very interesting at the QB spot but dominates the rushing attack. Auburn fixes some if not most of the first game mistakes made against Mercer and the defense looks great. Auburn wins 58-10

TL - Auburn gets another tune up game before the big one against Penn State. I think we see a more vanilla game plan than last week, but I think the outcome remains the same. Auburn wins big. Auburn 49 San Jose State 3

CP - Auburn will pull it out this week against San Jose State. I do not think this will be a close game. Hopefully, we use this week to work on the things we need to fix before playing Penn State. 52-13 Auburn.

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