Breaking Down Auburn's Strengths, Weaknesses, & 1 Thing That Could Upset LSU

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To end out eight weeks of back-to-back games, LSU will travel to Jordan-Hare Stadium to face the Auburn Tigers. The two SEC opponents have not played each other since 2023, growing the anticipation for the conference matchup.

With both teams under new head coaches and bringing in major roster additions this offseason, the matchup will be a showdown of new eras for each program.

For Auburn, a home game win against a national championship contender team could not only make them stand out mid-season, but also give them the necessary momentum for the following SEC games.

Auburn's Strengths

After head coach Alex Golesh was hired from USF, bringing some elite players from the Bulls, Auburn's offensive talent became the team's biggest weapon. The roster reload brought in transfer quarterback Byrum Brown, who posted 7,690 passing yards and 2,265 rushing yards in four seasons at USF.

Following his head coach to a new program and conference, Brown ranks as the fifth-best quarterback in the SEC, giving the Auburn Tigers' offense high expectations as a scoring threat.

Golesh rebuilt this offensive unit during the offseason, bringing in multiple transfers from USF, including No. 17 transfer wide receiver Keshaun Singleton and No. 12 transfer running back Nykahi Davenport. With talented additions, Auburn's offensive production is bound to become an unstoppable force.

Auburn's Weaknesses

While the team is set up for offensive success on the new roster, Auburn's biggest weakness is their offensive line, ranked No. 14 in the conference.

After exhausting college eligibility and entering the draft, the team lost all five offensive line starters last season, with Golesh only bringing in two transfers from USF, Cole Best & Cole Skinner. He signed six more transfers and five incoming freshmen to the position room, but the line still ranks low in the talented SEC.

Leaving quarterback Brown vulnerable and putting the new offense in difficult passing situations will only allow the brought-in talent to go so far in point production.

A Possible Upset

With both teams debuting a new era of their football programs this season, they are each held to high standards after a busy offseason, and the entire nation is following along.

If Kiffin taking over at LSU doesn't meet the standards critics and fans are expecting, the team can lose momentum fast in their challenging schedule. And if Auburn's debut goes even better than projected, the team can pick up critical momentum that can win over LSU at home.

The timing of the matchup will make or break the game's outcome, with Auburn hosting LSU the week after playing Georgia and the week before Ole Miss on the road, while LSU will face Auburn after a long seven weeks of Saturday games. If Auburn can find success in SEC play before hosting the LSU Tigers, they just might walk away victorious for the first time since 2021 against LSU.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/lsu as Breaking Down Auburn's Strengths, Weaknesses, & 1 Thing That Could Upset LSU .

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