Auburn football head coach Alex Golesh wants his offense to play as efficiently as possible against Arkansas on Saturday.
The first-year head coach pointed out several factors that plagued Auburn in several games this season, including its last two losses to LSU and Ole Miss. He hopes that his offense attacks the Razorback defense early and often.
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“We have to establish the run game, and we have to get the quarterback settled and be able to go and not live in third-and-longs, which you saw on Saturday (at Ole Miss),” Golesh said Monday. “It worked for a little bit, and then it doesn’t work. It’s a terrible place to live. We have to be efficient on first and second down. We have to be more explosive offensively, and we’re working hard to do that.”
Outside of attacking early and often, Auburn football must do several things well offensively against SEC rival Arkansas on Saturday. Here are three offensive keys for the Auburn Tigers in their SEC clash with the Razorbacks.
Auburn’s offense will have an easier time blocking for their quarterback this week, but it has to execute. Arkansas is not great at rushing the quarterback, with just 61 pressures. Auburn’s line can not let its guard down this week.
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Auburn running backs Jeremiah Cobb and Omar Mabson have combined for 76 rushing yards on 21 carries over the last two games, which is unacceptable for a team that has, historically, found success by running the football.
Arkansas ranks No. 15 in the SEC in run defense by allowing 153 yards per game. Auburn will have the chance to get its run game back on track on Saturday against a low-ranked Arkansas defense.
Auburn holds the football for an average of 26:54 per game, the lowest in the SEC. On the other hand, Arkansas is one of the SEC’s best in the category at 31:24. Auburn can beat Arkansas without controlling the clock, but it must score, or at least chew the clock, on every offensive possession.
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Taylor Jones is the lead writer for Auburn Wire, part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) and BlueSky. Follow Auburn Wire on X and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Three things Auburn’s offense must do to beat Arkansas on Saturday
