I agree completely, _FAN. I wouldn't be surprised to see Hayes use various disguises to utilize both cover 3 and cover 6 vs Marshall in order to keep people as close to the box as possible as well as to confuse him as to what our DBs will do post snap in the case of a pass play.
Good points.
Some other reasons not to play very much man, though once in a while as a change up and to keep Marshall guessing would be good.
1) Zone allows you to keep eyes on the backfield. Your defensive backs can peak at the QB/backfield which also allows them to help out in the running game. Against Auburn you want as many defenders as possible to help against the run. Granted, DBs still have to stay disciplined and read their keys for run/pass in zone coverage or you can still give up big plays, especially with Auburn's POP passing plays.
2) Auburn has big receivers and they destroyed Arkansas' smaller defenders in man coverage on slant routes. Arkansas tried loading the box with man outside and eventually Auburn beat it badly both with the run and pass.
As for scheming offensively, there are a LOT of glaring holes in Auburn's defense that had yet to be rectified as late as the SJSU game. Maybe they've gotten them all fixed since they last played, but much of the same problems from last year are rearing their ugly heads again from what I've seen.
I think we will find a way to exploit weaknesses in their defense with both run and pass. Snyder has had a top 25 offense every season since he came back and likely will again this year.
Plus, Auburn hasn't played a lot of good teams on the road lately. Last year featured only 4 road games total and only 2 were against teams with winning records (LSU/aTm). They lost one and won the other by 4.
I think your assessment of defending by playing mostly zone is correct. Too much man has your secondary turning its back to Marshall, but you do have to miz some man in to make Marshall work to figure out the coverages. The defenses that have had the most success against Gus's offense are teams that can get a push from the NG position and play in the backfield and have strong DE and DB support for the jet sweep and outside QB read plays. The jet sweep is a key component to Gus's offense because it stretches the defense and forces them to take the extra defenders out of the box. If you can contain the jet sweep by DBs getting off blocks or great LB play from sideline to sideline, it somewhat limits Gus's offense because it allows defenses to sit in the box and stop the inside run.
The two things I think are key for KState's success on defense: limit the jet sweep's effectiveness and hold Auburn to short gains or losses on 1st down. Don't allow Auburn to stretch the field horizontally and get them behind schedule early in the series.
The two things I think are key for Auburn's success on defense: create pressure and containment on Waters with the DL without committing extra men to blitz and limit the big passing plays to big gains and not long TDs. Auburn needs to keep pressure on Waters without losing containment like last year against Johnny Manziel, and Auburn's secondary needs to keep a 30-yard completion at that and not let it turn into 70-yard TDs.
I'm interested to see how the speed of each team matches up. I think, overall, there won't be as big a difference as some people are speculating. I'm also interested to see how Auburn's front seven defensively match up to KState's run game. Should be a great atmosphere and a great game.
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