Saturday August 31 the Washington State Cougars will play the Auburn Tigers in Jordan-Hare Field, Auburn, Alabama.
The Cougars have a great opportunity here as the 3-9 Tigers from 2012 have totally cleaned house and are installing both a new offense and defense while running the offense with an untested JC transfer at Quarterback, Nick Marshall, who only has a few weeks of practice with the team. Last season the Tigers ranked 100th in Passing offense and 117th in total offense. They do return their top rusher, Tre Mason and most of their top offensive linemen including pre season all SEC left Tackle Greg Robinson.
On defense starting Saftey Demetruce McNeil has been dismissed from the team while top pass rusher Dee Ford and starting corner back Jonathon Jones are both injured and will miss the opener. The Auburn Tigers ranked last in defense against the pass in 2012 and their secondary is very thin forcing them to rely on several true freshmen. The Tiger secondary only intercepted one pass all of last season. The Cougars on the other hand will be rotating in as many as 10 wide recievers during the hot and muggy conditions on the field. Depth and conditioning will play a huge part in the outcome of this game.
The Cougs rushing defense continues to become stronger and more consistant and both the D-line and Linebackers will be rotating much improved back ups in and out of the game. I look for Auburn to try and establish a running game and pass very conservatively which should play into the strength of the WSU defense. If the secondary can come up with some big plays the Cougs should be able control field position and set the offense up for many scoring opportunities.
I am going to go out on the limb and predict a 34-20 victory in favor of the Cougars. Currently the odds are Auburn -15. Take the Cougs at +15 and go out to dinner with your winnings.
