I said last week: "I am already fired up for what to me will be Auburn's biggest game of the season at Penn State in less than two weeks. I cannot remember Auburn playing a big-time Big Ten team in the regular season... EVER. This is a once-in-a-lifetime type matchup. I love our rivalries but for this year I think this Penn State game is the big one. There will be plenty of time to talk about the conference season but right now the countdown is on to what will hopefully be a truly special game Saturday September 18, 2021." I am doubly fired up now especially after the word came down that College Gameday will be there and that the Penn State fans were chanting "We want Auburn!" at the end of their game against Ball State on Saturday.
Luckily Auburn Undercover writer Phillip Marshall did the research and I was correct in not ever remembering Auburn playing a Big Ten team in the regular season. It has happened, once, but that one occurrence was a 7-7 tie at Wisconsin in 1931 (!!!). The fact is that it just does not happen much at all and even less with Auburn. That is what makes this so special. It sounds like the Penn State faithful are as pumped up as Auburn fans about the game from the note above on their game Saturday. Another factor that makes this game doubly interesting is the unknown. Anything could happen in this game, it could be close, it could be a blowout, it could be something in-between. Both teams were not great last season but have started strong this season.
Penn State has the one quality win at Wisconsin the first week of the season and I believe that does make them the slight favorite. Auburn fans should be glad as that puts Auburn in their favored underdog position. I think that is one of the ways that head coach Bryan Harsin really fits in at Auburn as all his years at Boise State as a player and coach were playing as the underdog and having something to prove in just about every big game. This will be his first opportunity in this role at Auburn and what a big opportunity it is. A win could really kickstart this season and recruiting at the same time. The Tigers could really use that boost as so much apathy settled into the program Gus Malzahn's last two years at the helm.
The history of this series is pretty short, the series record is 1-1. Auburn and Terry Bowden played Penn State in the Outback Bowl in 1995 in Auburn's first bowl game after being on probation for two years. I remember being really fired up about that game as well till it started... The Nittany Lions massacred Auburn that day in ironically Patrick Nix's last game at quarterback for Auburn. In fact if I remember correctly Dameyune Craig finished the game for Auburn and the majority of the game was played in the rain. Auburn then played Penn State again in the Capitol One Bowl on New Year's Day 2003. I remember the game being one of the hardest hitting and most physical bowl games I have seen with Auburn winning 13-9. That win also made the 2003 Auburn team a real preseason darling.
Penn State head coach James Franklin has faced Auburn twice as a coach, once as the offensive coordinator at Kansas State in 2007 and then as Vanderbilt's head coach in 2012. Auburn beat Kansas State but Franklin beat the Tigers at Vanderbilt against the worst Auburn team in modern history. Franklin also caught Tennessee struggling that season and that helped him lead the Commodores to a nine win season and that went a long way toward getting him the job at Penn State. Franklin has been very successful at Penn State with winning seasons and bowl games his first six seasons. That includes three eleven win seasons and top ten rankings. His only stumble was last season when the Nittany Lions went 4-5. Considering the rest of his career that year looks like an outlier.
On the other side, do we know much more about Auburn after this past game against Alabama State? We do not know much more than we did after last week but a few good things were reinforced. Those were that this coaching staff is going to be much more balanced as the Tigers still threw the ball 29 times including letting back up T.J. Finley throw again. Auburn had to run the whole fourth quarter as the game got out of hand but up till then, the game plan was again very balanced. We know Auburn's strength on offense is running the ball and the back seven on defense are nasty. We also know that Auburn's offensive and defensive lines still have serious issues. The question is can they be good enough to beat a top ten team on the road. Unfortunately I have my doubts on that.
Obviously Auburn will need to keep it close and run the ball hopefully burning Penn State on the play-action pass. I do not think Auburn right now can come back from far behind against a Power 5 defense pinning their ears back and bringing the heat. I also think Auburn's defense will wilt if Auburn is behind and Penn State starts pounding the ball. On the other hand I think Derrick Mason's defense could wreak some havoc if Auburn has the lead. What will happen??? The countdown is on till we tee it up and find out. I know I keep repeating myself and I may be singing a different tune late Saturday night but I love this rare match up and am so excited to watch it. I think the entire Auburn nation feels the same along with Penn State. I hope the game lives up to the hype. Let's enjoy it.
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