Previewing No. 13 Auburn at No. 14 Texas A&M and Liberty at No. 16 Ole Miss

Two great games involving SEC teams this weekend, and both games hold national implications with rankings and quarterbacks going high in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Author:
Jason Hamby
Updated:
Nov 5, 2021 8:50 AM EDT
Original:
Nov 5, 2021

The SEC action this weekend features two games that need to be paid attention to for more than the final score. How good will the quarterback play be when Texas A&M hosts Auburn? Both signal callers have been up and down this season. Out at The Grove, there’s another SEC team playing out of conference with a totally different quarterback situation.

When Matt Corral leads Ole Miss when it hosts Liberty, he will not be the only future NFL signal caller on the football field. Liberty’s Malik Willis is one of the nation’s top quarterbacks, and he’s capable of leading the Flames to a victory over the Rebels. That’s the first preview before discussing Auburn at Texas A&M.

Liberty at Ole Miss

This matchup could be the matchup of the top two quarterbacks taken in next year’s NFL Draft. Along with Kenny Pickett from Pittsburgh, Corral and Willis have separated themselves as the top veteran quarterbacks in college football.

Both Corral and Willis possess elite playmaking ability with the talents to make defenders miss in space, out run a defensive player, and certainly operate the fashionable run-pass option plays that are so common throughout college football. Both are their own teams’ leading rushers, and both have an impressive touchdown to interception ratio.

Corral has thrown for 2203 yards, 15 touchdowns and two interceptions for the Rebels, currently ranked No. 16 in the land. He’s also added 519 rushing yards and ten touchdowns with his feet.

Willis has thrown for 1986 yards, 21 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. He carried the ball for 684 yards and nine additional touchdowns.

With the Ole Miss defense struggling this season, giving up just under 29 points a game, Willis ought to have another field day, and potentially solidify his standing atop NFL general managers’ draft boards.

Defensively for Liberty, they are only allowing 17.8 points per game, however, they’ve yet to face an offense with as much firepower and talent as Ole Miss.

This is likely to be a back-and-forth shootout, filled with huge plays and long touchdowns. Whichever team can win the turnover battle, or perhaps hold the opposing offense to field goals when in the red zone, will likely come out with the victory.

Ole Miss 38 Liberty 34

Moving to the game in Texas, this game holds a completely different storyline.

Auburn at Texas A&M

Whenever there’s a game at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas, the opportunity to see a crazy atmosphere comes into play. With No. 13 Auburn traveling to play at No. 14 Texas A&M, one can be assured that the atmosphere inside Kyle Field will be tremendous. With that stated, this game features two quarterbacks about as inconsistent as they come.

For Texas A&M’s signal caller, Zach Calzada, he was forced into action after the injury to previous starter Haynes King. Calzada really struggled in his first few games, with a completion percentage around 50 percent. Then suddenly against Alabama, Calzada had the game of his life, completing 67% of his passes for 285 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Then, against a poor Missouri defense that gives up 36 points per game, he returned back to previous form. He only completed 52% of his passes for 148 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Which version of Texas A&M quarterback Zach Calzada will show up and play against Auburn?
Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Heading in the completely opposite direction is Bo Nix. Nix was benched against Georgia State in week four, and rightfully so. During the majority of his play this season, he has been completing just over 50% of his passes, and was never able to complete deep shots down the field. However, in Auburn’s last two games against then No.17 Arkansas and No. 10 Ole Miss, Nix combined to throw for 568 yards, six total touchdowns and just one interception. It’s no coincidence that he completed 77% of his passes in those two games.

Whoever wins this game might depend entirely on what kind of quarterbacks show up for both sides. If Nix can keep up his recent success, and Calzada cannot thwart his recent woes, Auburn could make this a statement victory.

Both quarterbacks regress towards the mean, Nix has a slightly better game, and Calzada turns it over one too many times for the Aggies to win at home

Auburn 24 Texas A&M 17

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