Week 3 Preview: South Alabama at Auburn

South Alabama will hit the road for the first time this weekend, when they hit the road to take on No. 24 Auburn. This will be the first ever meeting between the two teams, despite the fact that the two Alabama schools are only separated by 226 miles.

South Alabama will enter the game looking to spoil Auburn’s homecoming and pull a big upset, following their close home loss to Tulane last weekend. Meanwhile, Auburn is fresh off a blowout win against Ball State las weekend and a big road win against Baylor to open the season. They will have to be careful to not be caught looking ahead to next weeks big game at No. 13 Oklahoma.

South Alabama

South Alabama opened the season with a win against FCS Morgan State, before losing that aforementioned heartbreaker last week 33-31 to Tulane. However, while it was a loss last weekend for the Jags, there were a lot of positives to takeaway when looking back at last week’s game.

The offense played very well against a good defensive front, outgaining Tulane totaling 421 yards of offense. Quarterback Bishop Davenport had a great game throwing for 231 yards and two touchdowns, rushing for 63 yards and a touchdown. This helping ease doubts that quarterback play would take a step back following the departure of Gio Lopez. South Alabama was also able to run the ball well, Kentrell Bullock with another 100 yard game adding to his very strong start to the 2025 season.

Our @PFSN365 highest-graded FBS RBs, Week 2:

1) Cam Cook, Jacksonville State – 86.3
2) Hollywood Smothers, NC State – 85.1
3) Kentrel Bullock, South Alabama – 83.2
4) Lucky Sutton, San Diego State – 83.1
5) Jonah Coleman, Washington – 82.9
6) Adam Randall, Clemson – 82.8
7)… pic.twitter.com/FIueDMQzbp

— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) September 9, 2025

“I’m pleased with the way we run the ball, but we’ve got to continue to find ways and never be satisfied with good and strive and get more,” Coach Major Applewhite said of the run game.

The defense was the biggest concern when looking back at last week’s game, as the Jags gave up over 400 yards to the Green Wave including 241 yards rushing. South Alabama really seemed to struggle against dual threat quarterback Jake Retzlaff, who ran for 64 yards and a touchdown in Saturday’s game.

South Alabama will be dealing with some injury concerns heading into this week’s game. Cornerback Ty Goodwill and linebacker Blayne Myrick both left last week’s game early and are seen as day to day heading into Saturday, though Coach Applewhite says he is “optimistic” on their status Saturday.

Overall, South Alabama will need a lot to go right to have any shot of staying competitive against Auburn, but the biggest keys to success for the Jags are to slow down Jackson Arnold’s run game, and to find ways to protect and have open receivers for Bishop Davenport to throw to.

“The way you gain respect and notoriety is to play the very best teams you can play and beat them and if you can’t beat them you get them close and you keep getting better until you can beat them,” said Coach Applewhite

Auburn

It has been a great start for the season for the Tigers who will enter Saturday’s game as heavy favorites and 2-0 with wins over Baylor and Ball State. They enter the game ranked No. 24, the Tigers’ first time being ranked in the AP Poll since 2021.

The Tigers will hope to keep this ranking and enter their SEC schedule unblemished, but will first have to get through South Alabama.

Last week Auburn dominated against Ball State on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball, winning the game 42-3. Auburn totaled 495 yards of offense and incredibly held Ball State to only 71 yards passing and -3 yards rushing. Quarterback Jackson Arnold, who ran really effectively against Baylor, showed that he can throw the ball well too, passing for 251 yards and 3 touchdowns against Ball State. Xavier Atkins had a great game defensively for the Tigers with five tackles, including four tackles for loss and two sacks.

“It was a solid win, I thought defensively the effort and physicality was there,” said Coach Hugh Freeze on the game against Ball State.

Auburn will be mostly healthy entering this week’s game, but does have a couple of injuries to make note of. Running back Durell Robinson will be out for Saturday’s game, and running back Damari Alston is expected to be a gametime decision.

Looking at the team overall, Auburn boasts an elite defensive unit and a much improved offense from last year. They are a very talented team. To be certain they avoid the upset, Auburn will likely want to lean on Jackson Arnold’s running ability and stopping the South Alabama run game.

“We need to keep their [South Alabama’s] offense on the sideline for sure and limit their number of opportunities,” said Coach Freeze.