Auburn football stats worth watching through first three games

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Auburn football stats worth watching through first three games

JD McCarthy

Tue, September 21, 2021, 9:00 AM

Auburn is one-fourth of the way through their season and after a close loss to Penn State, they are now facing questions.

The Tigers only have one game against an evenly matched opponent, but some interesting trends have already emerged from the beginning of the season.

Each game, we get a little bit more information about Bryan Harsin’s first team during his Auburn tenure. The Tigers are doing different things on both sides of the ball so there has been a lot of new trends to follow.

Here is a look at some stats worth monitoring as the season goes on.

Offense

Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

Auburn ranks first in the country with 7.77 yards per carry.

Auburn has allowed just one sack through three games, only six other teams in the country have allowed one or fewer sacks.

Auburn’s third-down conversion rate of 58.82% is third in the country and leads the SEC and all Power 5 schools. It is up from 44.94% from last season.

Auburn ranks fourth in the SEC with 19 plays from scrimmage that gains 20 or more yards.

Jarquez Hunter is second nationally in yards per carry (12.31) behind Army's Tyrell Robinson (13.62). Tank Bigsby is 34th with 7.3 yards per carry.

Hunter is fifth among all freshmen in total yards (320) and yards per game (106.67).

Bigsby is third in the SEC in yards per game (114.3), total yards (343), attempts per game (15.67) and touchdowns (4).

John Samuel Shenker is the third-leading pass-catcher among tight ends in the SEC with 11 receptions.

Bo Nix has yet to throw an interception through three games, he is one of only four SEC quarterbacks yet to do so.

Defense

Jake Crandall-The Montgomery Advertiser

Auburn's defense has allowed quarterbacks to complete 78.7% of their passes this season, which ranks 130th out of 130 teams in the country.

Auburn's defense is second in the country and first in the SEC in stopping the run, allowing only 43.3 yards per game and 1.3 yards per carry, which leads the country. Penn State averaged just 2.7 yards per carry and gained 84 yards on the ground.

Auburn’s 33 tackles for loss trail only LSU’s 40 for the national lead.

Auburn ranks 30th nationally in opponent third-down conversion percentage (30.77%) but allowed Penn State to convert on half their opportunities.

Roger McCreary is one of five SEC players to have multiple interceptions.

Auburn has allowed their opponents to score touchdowns on five of their seven drives into the red zone, ranking them 97th nationally.

Chandler Wooten leads Auburn in tackles (20) and is eight tackles away from setting a new career-high.

T.D. Moultry leads Auburn with 4.0 tackles for loss and has set a career-high in sacks (2.5), tackles for loss and is two tackles away from beating that mark.

Special Teams

Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

Anders Carlson is three made field goals away from passing Wes Bynum for second-most in Auburn history. He would trail only Daniel Carlson after doing so.