Auburn Offensive Players to Watch Against Vanderbilt – si.com

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The Auburn Tigers may be coming off a tough loss to Florida, but they will have the opportunity to get back in the win column as soon as this Saturday, when the Vanderbilt Commodores come to town. The Tigers got off to an incredibly slow offensive start against the Gators, though, which absolutely needs to be avoided if Saturday is to end in a win.
A few key players contributed to the production–and, in some cases, lack thereof–of a Tiger offense that ended up putting 39 points on the Gators, and even though that wasn’t enough to walk away with a win, if these players show up in a big way on Saturday, the Tigers’ chances of beating the Commodores increase tenfold.
There has yet to be a week of Auburn football in which I have not listed Brown as a player to watch, but that is mostly due to the fact that he seems to be different just about every time he steps onto the field. His performance against Florida was, certainly, his best passing and rushing game yet, though he’s been pretty spotty throughout the first three games of the season.
A key aspect of Brown’s game this week will be getting early first downs and completing quick passes, two factors that the Tigers’ newest quarterback struggled with last week, especially early in the game. If Brown can keep the offense rolling while still finding chunk plays every once in a while, the Tigers’ offense should look quite strong this Saturday against the Commodores.
This game will be a very interesting look into how Alex Golesh will be managing his running backs throughout SEC play, as after telling Auburn fans that the rush attack would be a hallmark of the Tigers’ game this year, Golesh only gave the ball to Cobb nine times throughout the Florida game.
We saw last year that when Cobb is on, he’s all the way on– he averaged 5.5 yards per carry on his way to a near-1,000-yard season–but this season, Cobb has yet to break 90 yards in a game and is averaging just 11 carries per game. If the Tigers properly utilize Cobb, their offense looks much more balanced and difficult to stop, but if he can’t find lanes for the fourth game in a row, it might be time for some tough conversations on the Plains.
One could arguably include Chas Nimrod in this spot, as the two are tied in total receptions with 17, but Singleton, so far, has been able to do more with the ball on average throughout the Tigers’ matchups. Bringing in 230 yards worth of completions on 13.5 average yards per catch, Singleton is a guaranteed first down if utilized correctly. 
However, he won’t have forever to get open, as Byrum Brown was sacked seven times last week against Florida as he waited for plays to develop. I expect to see several quick passes to Singleton throughout the matchup, punctuated by a deep shot or two to really twist the dagger.
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Griffin is a communications major who was the Sports Editor for The Tiger at Clemson University. He led a team of 20+ reporters after working his way up through the ranks as a staff writer, sideline reporter, and assistant sports editor.
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