Auburn Tigers get taste of West Virginia defense

The Auburn offensive line flustered Mississippi State’s front seven so much in the early part of Saturday’s game that the Bulldogs went as far to change formations in an attempt to stop the Tigers.

Turns out that the move will only benefit the Tigers this Saturday against West Virginia.

The Bulldogs flashed a 3-3-5 scheme during periods of the Tigers’ 49-24 victory. That’s all West Virginia really does on defense.

“It can be a real challenge, just because it’s different from what other people do,” offensive line coach Jeff Grimes said. “I found there are just certain answers you have to have, certain adjustments you have to make in the run game. And the more you do it, the more you understand what the defense is trying to do when they’re attacking this gap or attacking that gap.”

Grimes is no stranger to the formation, which displays three down linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs. He practiced against it for three years at BYU, and a number of teams in the Mountain West and WAC run it.

Center Ryan Pugh said it shouldn’t be a major hurdle, either, especially because West Virginia usually ends up with four players on the line by the time the ball is snapped.

The challenge still exists, though.

“It’s different because that’s what they do,” Pugh said. “Most teams do that as their second option, but this is what these guys do and they’re very good at it. Their linebackers are very fast and their secondary is good. Up front they’re big and that’s what you’re not used to seeing is three big guys across the front.”

Head to head
Mike Blanc and Nick Fairley are locked in a battle for the first-team defensive tackle slot next to senior Jake Ricks.

Fairley played most of the season opener, while Blanc started and played the majority of the time against Mississippi State.

Defensive line coach Tracy Rocker said Blanc is currently the starter, but he would prefer to get Fairley more action than he did against the Bulldogs.

“Ones are ones, that’s the way it works,” Rocker said. “If you’re a one, you play. Twos are going to come in at the time of the rotation.”

Let’s try it again
Though they’ve collectively had their fair share of difficulties, Mario Fannin, Anthony Gulley and Demond Washington will likely all get shots returning punts Saturday.

Washington and Fannin have each muffed a punt over the first two games, and none has significantly moved the ball from the spot of the catch.

The Tigers rank 114th in the nation in average punt return.

“We’re trying to develop some guys in the game and see,” special teams coordinator Jay Boulware said. “Everybody looks good in practice, so it’s when that pressure is on you who’s going to step up. And the guys are trying, they’re working hard at it.”

Boulware said sparsely used wide receiver Quindarius Carr has also been getting looks in practice.

Going deep
The opportunities weren’t necessarily there, but Chris Todd was still looking downfield against Mississippi State.

In hindsight, Todd wasn’t too happy with his decision-making.

“There were a couple of times I got too greedy just trying to make some big plays,” Todd said.

None of the attempts were intercepted but there were definitely a few close calls. Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, whose offense thrives off keeping defenses honest against deep-ball attempts, said Todd was the victim of multiple looks he hadn’t seen on film and his comfort level with the offense.

“I think the more comfortable he gets, I’m going to really get him to take what they’ll give us,” Malzahn said. “He got a little greedy a couple of times. That’s OK. We can correct that.”

Towel him off
A number of students were waving customized white “Trooper towels” this past weekend, mimicking the towel-waving ways of Auburn wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor.

Taylor said he’s talked to the students behind the idea and is hoping for the enterprise to grow enough so some of the proceeds can be donated to charities.

“I think my children were more impressed than anything,” Taylor said. “I tip my hat to them that, No. 1, they were trying to do something different, and, No. 2, they were trying to get the student body involved. That’s kind of the thing we’ve been doing. We’ve been trying to make sure we show the fans appreciation for coming.”

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