Auburn, Alary. – Auburn made the most of its opening day after playing overtime against Vanderbilt, interim head coach DJ Durkin said.
“I want to congratulate our guys,” he said. “I think our guys did a great job. We did a lot of work, worked on specific things in all phases of the game, and I feel like we got better.”
The Tigers host repeat Southern Conference champion Mercer on Saturday. The Bears will bring a nine-game winning streak to the Plains and a 5-0 away record.
“Mercer does a wonderful job,” Durkin said. “When you look at their performance on both sides of the ball, they’re first nationally in total offense, second in passing offense and fourth in scoring. They score a lot of points, throw the ball down the field. They have an extremely talented freshman quarterback who does a very good job.”
Speaking of quarterbacks, Auburn will face Jackson Arnold and Deuce Knight against Mercer while Ashton Daniels sits out to preserve his redshirt status.
“I think it’s great for this program and also for him,” Durkin said. “We’re going to come up with a great plan for these two guys to be successful, and I’ve told the team it’s their job to rally around them, and I know these guys will do that.”
Unlike the whirlwind week leading up to the Vanderbilt game, Durkin and offensive coordinator Derrick Nix had more time to adjust to their upgraded roles before Auburn played Mercer.
“I think in this game we’re a lot more accustomed to what the new normal is and what it looks like, for me in particular as well. I think that’s trickling down to our players,” Durkin said. “It’s definitely been helpful.”
With a home Iron Bowl looming next Saturday night, Auburn is solely focused on this week’s challenge.
“It’s critically important, but I don’t think it’s going to be a problem for them,” Durkin said. “We have planned the game and prepared for this match. We understand what lies ahead, but that has nothing to do with this weekend.”
While continuing to coordinate Auburn’s defense, Durkin also takes time to check in on the offense.
“It’s really important that the team understands that you’re there on both sides of the ball and that you’re supported in every way,” he said. “I think Derrick Nix has done a great job preparing our offense. He and I have a lot of conversations about what the plan is, what we want it to look like. He’s doing a great job executing that plan.
“I think it’s important that everything we do is as a team and comes together. It’s not offense, it’s not defense, it’s just our team. We say it all the time and we mean it, believe it. It’s our team; it’s not just any side of the ball.”
Auburn (4-6, 1-6) hosts Mercer (9-1, 8-0) at Jordan-Hare Stadium Saturday at 1 p.m. CT on SEC Network+. Andy Burcham, analyst Jason Campbell and reporter Bret Eddins make up the Auburn Sports Network broadcast team.
