I think the line is about right so I would stay away from a side. Had I seen 14 or so at 5d like some other places early Sunday I probably would have locked in LSU. I've thought for a while this would be a 3 TD LSU win, but I think the defense has shown enough inexperience at this point to think Auburn will put together a few drives and there is a very real backdoor possibility. The playmakers on defense we're used to seeing just aren't there, or are very young. LSU special teams are also down a notch.
On the other hand I can't play Auburn because I think LSU will get into the mid or upper 30's. I posted after the TCU game that not only will the execution and efficiency improve on offense with Cameron but we saw that Miles trusts what he has. The mindset is no longer to get into a field position/turnover battle. The goal with each possession is to drive and score, outside of certain situations ofcourse. I know that sounds absurd, but it hasn't always been the case recently. The offense has more playmakers than the defense now, and can operate efficiently enough to use them. Chavis has played a ton of people on defense so far, which isn't surprising given what was lost and the youth of the unit. I suspect there will be a more "normal" rotation this weekend and some of the inexperience I mention as a negative above may not be as apparent as he settles on his best combinations. Against TCU the theme was "trust". They weren't going to put young players in a position to possibly bust an assignment and blow the game. The last two weeks have been about getting as many people involved as they can. It's possible the defense on Saturday night, with scaled down rotations and a gameplan specifically for Auburn, looks much different than the last two weeks. SEC opener at night is a situational angle worth mentioning.
I think OVER would be the best play, but the weather would probably take me off that. But I still don't know that I would trust the defenses on the UNDER in that case either. I guess my official opinion would be over, if anything. Possibly under if the forecast looks real bad Saturday afternoon. I'll try to check in from the tailgate and let everyone know what it looks like.
With all that being said...I'm sure most here are aware of where my allegiance lies, so take it all with a grain of salt. I certainly don't know nearly as much about Auburn as the other side. I would be interested in hearing other opinions.
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