It’s the Auburn Tigers vs. New Mexico Lobos in Week 3 of the college football season. This is a sort of revenge game on the state of New Mexico, since Auburn lost last year against New Mexico State. And, the Tigers are looking to bounce-back after a close defeat to Cal last week.
Auburn vs. New Mexico Matchup History & Excerpts
The Lobos and the Tigers have never played each other. The most interesting quote of the week comes from Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze in regards to the quarterback play of the Tigers.
He stated, “After watching the film, there is a very short leash on us playing as poorly as we did at that position.”
And in a surprising twist, redshirt freshman quarterback Hank Brown will start the game per Justin Hokanson. In two career games, Brown has gone 10 for 14 with 228 yards, two touchdowns with no interceptions. It will be very interesting to see how the quarterback position plays out.
Key Players for the Auburn Tigers
This week’s key players on offense for Auburn are quarterback Hank Brown, wide receivers KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Malcolm Simmons, and the offensive line.
Thorne threw four interceptions that counted last week against Cal (two were called back for penalty) and looked bad with missed throws and reads. This is what lead to Hank Brown getting his first regular season start.
Brown must show that he is on time, making quick and accurate decisions. Brown gives the Auburn fanbase hope that unfortunately had been lost by Thorne. KeAndre Lambert-Smith will be a key player for Brown with his veteran presence as a wide receiver.
Lambert-Smith and Simmons will need to perform well and help Brown get his footing. Their freshman counterpart, Cam Coleman, is doubtful for the game as he is dealing with a shoulder injury. Because of that, Simmons and the other wide receivers have an opportunity to solidify their roles in the offense next to Coleman.
Against Alabama A&M, Simmons had three catches for 91 yards and one touchdown, but followed up with the Cal game where he only had one catch for 13 yards. Simmons and fellow freshman Perry Thompson played limited snaps against Cal; which was strange considering the hype and their performance against Alabama A&M. Look for both of these to increase against the Lobos.
Also along the offense, the offensive line has to play better. Auburn’s poor performance against Cal started with Thorne, but was majorly assisted by the dismal play of the offensive line. The way to do this is to run the ball more and let them get their motors running and get them aggressive. Running back Jarquez Hunter only has 16 carries on the year, which is actually second behind Thorne. This has to be corrected and Auburn has to establish their run game and trust it.
Defensively, the Auburn Tigers will continue to rely on Jalen McLeod, but also Keldric Faulk and Jerrin Thompson. McLeod leads the team with 10 tackles and has been a presence on defense. He must continue to do so in this game.
Meanwhile, Faulk also has 10 tackles and leads the team in sacks. He had a phenomenal game against Cal, racking up eight tackles and two sacks and will need to continue to do so against New Mexico.
Finally, Thompson has been a pleasant surprise in the secondary. He is third on the team in tackles with eight, and is one of only three players with a pass deflection. This is a huge area of improvement for Auburn in the secondary as not one player has an interception.
Thompson and crew will look to correct that this week against New Mexico. The secondary in general is a unit on Auburn that needs to improve drastically for Auburn to have the success that they want.
Key Players for the New Mexico Lobos
The Lobos offense is led by quarterback Devon Dampier, running back Eli Sanders, and wide receiver Luke Wysong.
Dampier is a bit of a dual-threat quarterback and will be need to be monitored as so. He has 432 yards passing, 164 yards rushing and seven total touchdowns.
Sanders has the second-most rushing yards on the team with 116 yards on 33 carries.
Finally, Wysong has 14 receptions for 224 yards. The 5-foot 10-inch receiver has one touchdown receiving in the Lobos two contests so far. This offense runs through the quarterback and his go-to man, Wysong.
The Lobos defense is led by their secondary where their top three leading tacklers reside. The defensive line looks like it has struggled to create pressure so far with only three sacks on the year. The players that are key to the Lobo defense are Noah Avinger, Christian Ellis, and Bobby Arnold III.
Avinger leads the team with 20 total tackles and two pass deflections. He is also one of two players that have a fumble recovery and recovery touchdown.
Not surprisingly, the other player is safety Christian Ellis who is second on the team in total tackles with 19 tackles. Ellis is the only player with an interception as well. These two are clearly going to find the ball and hit it.
The same can be said for cornerback Bobby Arnold III, who is third on the team with 13 total tackles. This secondary could cause significant problems for Brown making his first start of his career.
Auburn vs. New Mexico – Keys to the Game
The keys for the game for an Auburn win are simple. The Tigers must win the line of scrimmage on the offense by establishing the run, so that the offensive line and quarterback feel more comfortable in the pass game.
Brown should come in and show that he is able to run the offense more comfortably and with quicker decisions. JHe will need much more help than they received from the offensive line against Cal.
On defense, the gameplan should be simple – stop Devon Dampier.
If Auburn is able to create pressure which stops Eli Sanders and Dampier running the ball, then Dampier will have to rely on the pass and his only significant target in Luke Wysong. Auburn has to focus on the basics vs New Mexico and not overlook them. After this game, the schedule gets significantly harder.
Recruiting Roundup
Deuce Knight appeared for his second visit against Cal. He and other recruits were shocked with what took place on the Plains against the Golden Bears. Knight has scheduled his official visit for the Oklahoma game. The reason he is the focus of this section is because he is a class of 2025 recruit at the one position Auburn has looked significantly hampered at – quarterback.
According to multiple Auburn insiders, there is something coming in the recruiting arena, so be on the lookout in the next article for hopefully a more detailed update. Auburn is currently sixth nationally in the 2025 class according to On3, and fourth in 2026. Expect both of these to rise as the season continues.
