The Auburn Tigers have gotten off to a 2-0 start in 2025 and have climbed into the AP Poll for the first time since Week 10 of the 2021 season. 

The Tigers dominated on the defensive side of the ball in their 42-3 win over Ball State, and controlling the line of scrimmage played a role in their ability to keep points off the board.

Defensive line is a deep spot for Auburn, something head coach Hugh Freeze believes is a contributing factor to the succcess of the unit. He was pleased with what the group showed against Ball State, particularly when it came to stopping the run.

“So far so good. I just hope that that buy-in continues, because I do still believe that our strength there is because of numbers and playing unlimited number of snaps with incredible technique and passion and fundamentals," Freeze said. "So far, it’s worked. I think both games the D-line, they’ve stopped the run, which if you do that, you got a good chance to win a lot of football games, and I think that they’ve bought into that thus far and will hopefully continue to.”

Dominant may not be a strong enough word to describe Auburn's ability to prevent Ball State from getting anything going on the ground. On 33 carries, Ball State had negative three rushing yards, largely because of Auburn's six sacks. Three of them belonged to defensive lineman, Keyron Crawford accounted for two and Jared Smith added one.

Ball State's ball-carrying duo of Qua Ashley and Elijah Jackson had no where to go either, combining for 18 yards on 18 attempts.

If Auburn can consistently make life as difficult as possible for opponents on the ground, it will be in a good position to replicate that success defensively and keep adding numbers to the win column. 

The Tigers need to take advangtage of their ability to rotate players at that spot and keep fresh players on the field, particularly early in the season to maintain the healthiest roster possible.