The No. 24 Auburn Tigers will look to improve to 3-0 on Saturday when they welcome the South Alabama Jaguars into Jordan-Hare Stadium. This will be the first-ever meeting of the two programs.
Jaguars head coach Major Applewhite knows his team has its work cut out for it, as Auburn's offense has found its rhythm during the early part of the season.
"They're killing it," Applewhite said of Auburn in an appearance on WKRG's Southeast Sports+. "Right now, they've got a lot of confidence and continuity in what they're doing on offense. Their quarterback (Jackson Arnold) is playing at an extremely high level. They're able to run the football effectively."
While Applewhite has been impressed by what Auburn has managed to accomplish offensively so far this season, he highlighted how impactful it has been on the defensive side of the ball and the challenge that will present for South Alabama.
"They're No. 1 in the country in run defense, they're No. 1 in the country in sacks," Applewhite said. "You've got to figure out wether you want to run it against the No. 1 team, or throw it against the No. 1 sack team. They're getting people off the field, I think they're No. 2 in the country in third-down conversions."
Applewhite believes Auburn has already made progress with Arnold leading the offense and the Tigers are in good shape at that spot in the future with Deuce Knight waiting in the wings.
"You see the new quarterback, you see the level and stability he's playing at," Applewhite said. "Being here next to where Deuce (Knight) is from, you knew what kind of player he was coming out of high school. You're starting to see some continuity in that quarterback room and maybe that'll lead to more success."
Applewhite and the Jaguars are not taking this opportunity to compete against a high-level in-state program lightly and are intrigued to see where they are as a team once the game ends.
Kickoff is set for 11:45 a.m. CT and SEC Network will carry the broadcast.