Arkansas State @ Auburn preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 4, 2010 ) Arkansas State 26, Auburn 52

Gus Malzahn will face his former team in his second game as head coach at Auburn when Arkansas State visits on Saturday. After being bombarded through the air in its season opener, the Tigers will have to adjust to being pounded on the ground if they want to improve to 2-0 under Malzahn. Auburn dealt with 65 passes from Washington State in a 31-24 victory in its season opener, and now welcomes the Red Wolves, who rushed 57 times for an eye-popping 509 yards and eight touchdowns in a 62-11 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Of course, Malzahn is quite familiar with the run-first mentality of Arkansas State, having led the Red Wolves to a 10-3 record and the Sun Belt Conference title last season before returning to Auburn, where he was offensive coordinator from 2009-11. His Tigers can also dish it out on the ground, as they proved by running the ball 46 times for 295 yards against the Cougars. Leading the way was junior tailback Corey Grant, who ran for 146 yards and a TD on only nine carries (16.2 yards per attempt).

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN3. LINE: Auburn -13.

ABOUT ARKANSAS STATE (1-0): The Red Wolves tied an FBS record with four backs who exceeded 100 yards in the opener: seniors David Oku (124) and Sirgregory Thornton (112) and sophomores Michael Gordon (102) and Fredi Knighten (101). However, they aren't completely one-dimensional. Senior quarterback Adam Kennedy passed for 149 yards and a score, giving Arkansas State 672 yards of total offense, second most in school history (681 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette in 2007).

ABOUT AUBURN (1-0): The season opener was anything but easy for the Tigers, who never led the Cougars by more than a touchdown. Along with Grant, junior back Tre Mason helped carry the load (73 yards, TD) and added the highlight of the night with a 100-yard kickoff return. On defense, junior safety Robenson Therezie had two interceptions and seven tackles in his first career start, earning SEC defensive player of the week honors.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Arkansas State has a nine-game winning streak, the second longest in the country (Ohio State, 13).

2. Auburn's three interceptions in the opener surpassed its total of two from all of last season.

3. Malzahn's replacement, Bryan Harsin, became the first Arkansas State coach to win his debut since 1979.

PREDICTION: Auburn 38, Arkansas State 24