When No. 12 LSU and No. 7 Auburn square off Saturday on the Plains in a critical SEC West showdown, it will absolutely play a role in defining the nation's toughest division -- at least in the early part of the 2018 season. These Tigers are known for their annual rivalry showdown, which LSU has dominated recently, winning eight of the last 11 meetings dating back to 2007. Auburn, however, is 3-2 at home in that same span and will once again be hosting the Bayou Bengals on Saturday afternoon live on CBS.
Both teams followed up big Week 1 wins -- LSU over Miami and Auburn over Washington -- by feasting on cupcakes in a nice breather week, so expect this to be an old-school, hard-nosed slugfest between two of the most physical teams in the country. The SEC West may not be decided on Saturday, but the result of this game will go a long way to setting the tone in the division this season.
Viewing information
Date: Saturday, Sept. 15 | Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Jordan-Hare Stadium -- Auburn, Alabama
TV: CBS | Live stream: CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App
Storylines
LSU: The Tigers learned that senior Nick Brossette is capable of being a true No. 1 running back against Miami in Week 1, and he will be the centerpiece of the offense against the stout Auburn defensive front. LSU has to establish the run in order for quarterback Joe Burrow to work off play-action and passing lanes to open up. Burrow is currently 13th in the SEC in completion percentage (47.7 percent) and last in the conference among qualifying quarterbacks with a 118.29 QB rating. Defensively, linebacker Devin White has been a monster, Greedy Williams is a true lockdown corner and the front seven has been dominant. It will have its toughest test yet against an Auburn offense that is led by junior quarterback Jarrett Stidham.
Auburn: Defensively, orange and blue shade of Tigers are fine. Nick Coe, Derrick Brown, Dontavius Russell and the rest of the front seven is fast, fierce and violent. The question for Auburn is along the offensive line, where the Tigers didn't exactly look ready for prime time in the season-opening win over Washington. Against a defense like LSU, that won't fly. Luckily for Auburn, they found a way around that against the Huskies with Stidham's ability to find his talented group of receivers even when pressured.
Game prediction, picks
Let's be real -- both of these defenses are lights out, and both offenses will be hard-pressed to establish a consistent running game. Because of that, it comes down to the quarterbacks. Burrow hasn't shown the ability to win a game with his arm, while Stidham has done so in both of his seasons as the starting quarterback for Auburn coach Gus Malzahn. Stidham has success against the LSU secondary, gets a boost from the home crowd and leads Auburn to a win and cover. Pick: Auburn (-9.5)
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