Auburn Daily Roundtable: Cal has a lot of confidence before playing Tigers

The California Golden Bears seem to have a lot of confidence heading into their late matchup with Auburn on Saturday.

After defeating North Texas 58-21, the team seems to be prepared to play Hugh Freeze and the Tigers... and they've been vocal about it.

Here's our staff's thoughts on the game tomorrow.

How concerned are you for Auburn's rush defense in this game?

Joshua: I believe this will be a true test for our front seven to be able to address their alignment and assignment miscues. I trust that the coaching staff recognizes the talent they have to work with and will scheme to make them as successful as possible. That said I am still concerned.

Zac: Pretty concerned. I think it's the only way Cal can beat Auburn unless the Tigers implode. I expect Auburn to play a lot of guys close to the line of scrimmage on Saturday.

Shel: I’d be more concerned if Hugh Freeze didn’t seem so adamant about not having the same misalignments on the field after our run defense’s performance against UMass. The same mistakes won’t happen twice. They will run the ball, but not to the extent a lot of Cal fans think they will.

Steve: Rush defense is a legitimate concern. Defense gave up 5.2 yards per carry against UMass and that can’t continue against better teams.

Jeremy: The front seven appears to be the teams weakness. They got pushed around, couldn’t shed blocks, and couldn’t tackle against UMass. Cal rushed for 347 yards last week. I’m concerned.

Jack: Very, Ott and the other backs are shifty and have the ability to move quickly past our front seven.

Lindsay: Cal's week one performance of 347 yards on the ground plus Auburn's struggles against UMass and the loss of linebacker Austin Keys to thumb surgery means that unless the interior of the defensive line has a great game and a linebacker steps up, Auburn may struggle to contain Cal's shifty backfield AND provide the conference schedule with a blueprint to beat the Tigers.

Daniel: I am worried about Auburn's rush defense. Cal loves to run the football so Auburn's front seven will definitely get a workout.

Lance: I'm fairly concerned after the Tigers were controlled up front by UMass for the better part of the game last weekend. 5.2 yards per carry is never a good sign against a team like the Minutemen. With Cal's rushing attack being what it is, this could be a big problem if Auburn doesn't adjust.

Name three players that have to step up on offense for the Tigers.

Joshua: Shane Hooks, Jyaire Shorter and Rivaldo Fairweather need to be active pieces within this matchup to better stretch Cal's secondary and create more running opportunities for our running back room.

Zac: Payton Thorne, Shane Hooks, Rivaldo Fairweather.

Shel: Payton Thorne, Jyaire Shorter, Rivaldo Fairweather.

Steve: Payton Thorne, Shane Hooks, Rivaldo Fairweather.

Jeremy: Payton Thorne has to be crisp. Jay Fair needs to become a go to guy. Shane Hooks needs to be a playmaker on the outside.

Jack: Payton Thorne, Rivaldo Fairweather, and Brian Battie.

Lindsay: I'm working on the assumption that Auburn was deliberately vanilla with their TE schemes, but Rivaldo Fairweather's still #1 for me. After that, I need a receiver to step up - hopefully Shane Hooks can translate that experience into production. Payton Thorne was fine last week, but he's fully capable of being a stud in this offense and I think he'll show that this week.

Daniel: Payton Thorne and Shane Hooks need to continue their success as a battery and Gunner Britton producing another SEC o-lineman of the week performance would be huge.

Lance: I'm looking at Payton Thorne stepping up, Rivaldo Fairweather becoming a factor and Shane Hooks getting involved on the outside.

How do you feel about Jaydn Ott's comments pregame?

Joshua: I appreciate his confidence going into the game, however he has legitimately placed a giant target upon his back going into the game with providing our defense with bulletin board material that most teams would pay for.

Zac: Weird move from a guy who plays at Cal, a program who hasn't won anything in a long time. I love the confidence though.

Shel: His starting center is out. He better be prepared to have a long night. If he wants attention, Auburn’s defensive line will give it to him.

Steve: He seems pretty confident, but it was unwise to make those type of comments to the media. There is a certain amount of bravado that comes with playing football, but he should understand time, place and situation, before speaking. Keep those comments in the locker room.

Jeremy: He might be right. Our front seven looks soft. They needed motivation to elevate their intensity. Thank you for that Jadyn.

Jack: They are usual pre-game comments. Similar to the Vandy players saying they were gonna beat Alabama. And more recently Brian Kelly’s statements before the Florida State game this year.

Lindsay: Hope it's motivation for the defensive line, but it's no different from the usual trash talking that opposing teams do every week. Talk your game, Jadyn, but back it up on Saturday.

Daniel: There is nothing wrong about trying to get your teammates fired up but there is a smarter way to go about it.

Lance: It's awesome to see guys confident and excited, but the comments were still a little out of place.

What's a matchup in this game that you think is flying under the radar?

Joshua: I believe our Jack position group should perform very well against an inexperienced starting tight end.

Zac: I think this game has been over-analyzed a ton so I'm not sure there's a great answer for this. But the biggest mismatch in this game is Auburn's offense line vs the Cal defensive line.

Shel: Cal has small players on their defensive line. They can’t match Auburn’s trenches. They’re gonna get pushed around.

Steve: Auburn’s offensive line has been maligned in the media, because they don’t know or don’t understand the job that has been done in improving that room. Tiger’s now have quality depth and that will be made evident Saturday night.

Jeremy: Auburn’s offensive line may bury this team. They looked great last week. If the Tigers can run at will, they should be on to victory.

Jack: QB Sam Jackson V vs Auburn's secondary.

Lindsay: Cal's tight ends against Auburn's linebackers/safeties. I think strategic tight end use by Cal could prevent Auburn from selling out too much with nickels/safeties to help in the run game.

Daniel: I'm excited to see how Auburn's secondary responds to Cal's Jeremiah Hunter. I think Cal will try to get him more involved this week.

Lance: Auburn's secondary vs Cal's receivers. I just don't know if the Golden Bears are going to be able to open up their offense, regardless of whether or not the Tigers focus solely on stopping the run.

Final score predictions. Is this one as dramatic as a pac-12 after dark game tends to be?

Joshua: I give it 48-24 Auburn winning, I think whatever kinks with the run defense will be figured out very quickly and Cal will be forced to air the ball out against an extremely talented Auburn secondary.

Zac: This is actually ACC After Dark right? I'll go 38-24 Auburn.

Shel: Jadyn Ott seems to be the only thing dramatic about this game. 45-21 Auburn.

Steve: Going to be a fun game to watch. Cal will hang around for most of the first half, but Auburn will prove to be too much offensively for the Bears to handle. Tigers win 45-24.

Jeremy: 41-21 Auburn. Closer than the experts think at the half, but the Tigers overpower the Bears and run away with it down the stretch.

Jack: 45-31 Auburn.

Lindsay: Auburn 31, Cal 28. Don't know if Auburn covers the -6.5, but it might be a backdoor effort on Cal's part. I don't think the time zone or late kickoff matters, but I have some sort of weird feeling like we'll see 600 combined rushing yards in this one.

Daniel: I'm going with 31-20 Auburn. I feel like it will be close early but Auburn will pull away towards the end.

Lance: 37-33 Auburn. This feels like it could be a weird one.

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