Oct. 6, 2017
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. -- Auburn has a top-10 defense through the first five games, and the rest of the country is beginning to take notice. On Friday, linebacker Jeff Holland and cornerback Carlton Davis were both added to the Bednarik Award watch list. The award is presented annually to the best defensive player in college football.
Holland, who took over for Carl Lawson at the Buck position, has emerged as the team's top pass rusher. The junior leads Auburn with 5.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and 10 quarterback hurries. He's also forced two fumbles on the year.
Davis is coming off arguably his best game against Mississippi State where he broke up four passes and earned a rating of 96.1 from Pro Football Focus. On the season, the junior cornerback has 15 tackles, seven pass break-ups and one interception.
PFF Week 5 - National Team of the Week - Defense pic.twitter.com/La1WmnP9XZ
-- PFF College Football (@PFF_College) October 4, 2017
Holland and Davis join teammate Tray Matthews, who was put on the Bednarik Award watch list prior to the season.
As a unit, the Auburn defense has allowed just 55 points through the first five games, the fewest points the Tigers have allowed since 2008 (53). They are also the only FBS team that hasn't allowed more than 14 points in a game during the 2017 season.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf