http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/09/auburn_is_on_upset_alert_again.htmlBy Charles Hollis
All Auburn needs is another season with another group of quarterbacks who can't cut it in the SEC.
We won't call names. Been there, seen that.
Now we have newcomer Nick Marshall. With the big arm and fall hype he could be the answer to Gus Malzahn's hurry-up, no-huddle attack.
Then along comes Connor Halliday, the Washington State quarterback, who pops off that Auburn could be "a top five team" if it had a quarterback.
He was, however, impressed with the 295 yards the Tigers generated on the ground.
Just not the 99 Marshall threw that averaged 5.2 yards per attempt.
The only way to explain what happened is to watch Marshall against Arkansas State, a 10 1/2-point underdog Saturday, and see if his first game was just a fluke.
Arkansas State, by the way, would probably beat Washington State four out of five times on a neutral field. Three out of five in Pullman.
Arkansas State is no fluke.
Arkansas State's quarterback, Utah State transfer Adam Kennedy, is better than Halliday, has better receivers, running backs and a defense that will cause more problems for Marshall than Washington State's.
The last two Arkansas State coaches, Hugh Freeze and Malzahn, have become pretty hot names. Might as well write down Bryan Harsin as the next up-and-comer. Harsin comes to ASU from Texas, where he spent the past two seasons as Mack Brown's offensive coordinator. Before Texas, Harsin spent a decade under Dan Hawkins and Chris Petersen at Boise State. He knows offense, and Auburn's better show up this weekend because its defense cannot handle one of the best receiving corps it'll see this season and a stable of running backs that could play for most SEC teams.
ARKANSAS STATE 35, AUBURN 31 You serious, Clark?