Kansas State at No. 18 Auburn Week 1 2007

Kansas State at No. 18 Auburn (minus 13.5)

The History
Auburn defeated Kansas State 45-13 in 1978 and 26-18 in 1979.

The Players
Sophomore quarterback Josh Freeman looks to improve upon his record setting freshman season. He will have Jordy Nelson to throw to and speedy running backs Leon Patton and James Johnson to carry some of the weight. Patton rushed for a freshman record 609 yards last year. The Wildcats have three studs on defense. Defensive linemen Ian Campbell (11.5 sacks) and Rob Jackson (4.5 sacks) cause mayhem for opposing offenses.

Brandon Cox is coming off of an injury plagued 2006 season. He is now healthy and looking to return to the player he was in 2005. The senior has talented and experienced receivers in Rod Smith, Robert Dunn and Prechae Rodriguez. The Tigers have four quality running backs led by junior Brad Lester and the speedy Ben Tate. The deep defensive line is anchored by Quentin Groves.

The View
After this game Auburn will confirm that tigers are more fearsome than wildcats. The Tigers have more experience at quarterback and are deeper at running back. Both schools have great defenses, but Cox and company should prevail.

Auburn- 20 Kansas State- 14


The Stats
Kansas State
Rushing offense: 115.1 (86th)
Passing offense: 200.1 (57th)
Total offense: 315.2 (85th)
Scoring offense: 22.7 (69th)
Rushing defense: 148.6 (78th)
Passing defense: 197.0 (53rd)
Total defense: 345.6 (70th)
Scoring defense: 23.8 (66th)

Auburn
Rushing offense: 148.2 (47th)
Passing offense: 172.7 (88th)
Total offense: 320.9 (76th)
Scoring offense: 24.8 (56th)
Rushing defense: 124.1 (45th)
Passing defense: 168.1 (14th)
Total defense: 292.3 (19th)
Scoring defense: 13.9 (7th)