AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn made the most of its open date after playing overtime against Vanderbilt, says interim head coach DJ Durkin.
“I want to commend our guys,” he said. “I thought our guys did a great job. We got a lot of work done, worked on some specific things in all phases of the game, and I feel like we got better.”
The Tigers host Southern Conference repeat champion Mercer Saturday. The Bears will bring a nine-game winning streak to the Plains and a 5-0 record away from home.
“Mercer does a tremendous job,” Durkin said. “When you look at their performance on both sides of the ball, they’re first nationally in total offense and second in pass offense and fourth in scoring. They’re putting up a lot of points, throwing the ball down the field. They have an extremely talented freshman quarterback that’s doing a really good job.”
Speaking of quarterbacks, Auburn will play both Jackson Arnold and Deuce Knight against Mercer while Ashton Daniels sits to preserve his redshirt status.
“I think it’s tremendous for this program and also for him,” Durkin said. “We’re going to put together a great plan for both these guys to have success, and I told the team it’s their job to rally around them, and I know those guys will.”
Unlike the whirlwind week leading up to the Vanderbilt game, Durkin and offensive coordinator Derrick Nix have had more time to adjust to their enhanced roles before Auburn plays Mercer.
“I think in this game we’re a lot more settled into what the new norm is and what that looks like, for me in particular as well. I believe that carries over to our players,” Durkin said. “That was certainly helpful.”
With a home Iron Bowl looming next Saturday night, Auburn’s sole focus remains 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’ve been game planning and preparing for this game. We understand what’s coming down the road, but it has nothing to do with this weekend.”
While continuing to coordinate Auburn’s defense, Durkin makes time to check in on the offense as well.
“It’s really important the team understands that you are present on both sides of the ball and supported in every way,” he said. “I think Derrick Nix did 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 does a great job of executing from that plan.
“I do believe that it’s important that everything we do is as a team and brings it together. It’s not offense, defense, it’s just our team. We say it all the time and mean it, believe it. This is our team; it’s not any one side of the ball.”
Auburn (4-6, 1-6) welcomes Mercer (9-1, 8-0) to Jordan-Hare Stadium Saturday at 1 p.m. CT on SEC Network+. Play-by-play voice Andy Burcham, analyst Jason Campbell and sideline reporter Bret Eddins form the Auburn Sports Network broadcast team.