I am not ready to make a pick yet, but I think Auburn will come well prepared for the fight. I have to think that they have been practicing for this game since Harsin stepped on the Plains. I mean, I hope they did not waste too much time on Akron and 'Bama State. This is his chance to put a stamp on Auburn Football being what it is expected to be again.
The RB is appropriately named Tank, and he is good. He's hard to bring down. He was SEC Freshman of the year last year. Bo is a mirror of Clifford, but because his daddy was a good college QB, Bo had a little more love in the rankings/hype department coming into Auburn (and not wrongly). They have two good WRs (Robertson and Jackson) but neither has really turned into the go-to guy yet this year (truth is, with the two schools they played, nobody needed to be the go-to guy). My money would be on Robertson. The OL was not really left in great shape when the Gus Bus pulled out of town, but that was mostly due to the inexperience it had. The pieces are there talent wise, just have to put them in the right spot. They certainly got experience last year. The DL may not be up to Auburn's standards historically, but it should be enough to give our OL a handful of trouble if it continues like it did against Wiscy (understandable) and Ball State (less so). The back end of the defense should be fast and aggressive. Yes, new coaches.. but Mason is a well respected defensive mind. Harsin now has talent that he did not have at Boise. So, the Auburn faithful are cAUtiously AUptimistic. In truth, the teams mirror each other a bit- hard working, tough, streaky.
The keys to beating Auburn will be to play from ahead. Historically, the Tigers can really get rolling when momentum shifts. Different staffs and teams, but I have seen them snowball over Bama, UGA, LSU when they should not, just by the other team letting them hang around and get confident. Second, really need the offense to protect the ball, especially Clifford. Third, our OL has to finally start earning its recruiting rankings- especially in the run game. We will have to be able to run the ball (I know CJF says the swing pass is our run game, but you eventually have to line up and pound it successfully on the interior at times). Also cannot let special teams kill us. Auburn has a way of exploiting that if it is a weakness or a weakness to be had.
As far as the White Out having an impact... it will. Not necessarily as much on Auburn (they won't be intimidated) as it will on Penn State. It gives the home team a boost of energy, as is evident in the majority of the games it has been implemented (in some of the losses, we had no business being in the game if not for the WO energy). I do think the noise will be a bit more than the Tigers are use to dealing with. Yes, Tiger fans, I've been to Jordan Hare, Bryant Denny, the Swamp, and Tiger Stadium. I have even been to Sanford Stadium. (Auburn is my adopted southern team). And while JH gets surprisingly loud, the only one comparable is Tiger Stadium in a big game. The problem is, only the JR/SR Tigers have been to Tiger Stadium, the Swamp, or Kyle Field. But, same holds true for Penn State- how will the FR/SO respond to the White Out (can get too amped too).
Regardless, it should be a great game with a lot on the line for both teams. Someone is coming out of this game with more national respect than they went into it with. And both teams can use it as a springboard to get where they want to be (well, until the Iron Bowl, anyway).