Week 13 Preview: Auburn Tigers vs. Mercer Bears

The Tigers will stay at Jordan-Hare this weekend for the 12th meeting with Mercer, an FCS powerhouse. Auburn is undefeated in the last 11 matchups, but with Ashton Daniels redshirting and Mercer coming in red-hot, can Auburn avoid an upset on the Plains and stay in position for bowl eligibility?

How to watch:
Date: Saturday, Nov. 22 | Time: 2:00 PM ET
Location: Jordan-Hare Stadium (Auburn, AL)
TV: - | Live Stream: SEC Network+

Auburn has been in this position before, in 2023, when they failed to prepare for New Mexico State before the Iron Bowl and lost 31–10. That came under Hugh Freeze’s offense. In DJ Durkin’s short interim stint, with Derrick Nix calling plays alone, Auburn’s offense has looked noticeably improved.

Deuce Gets the Nod

Against Vanderbilt, Ashton Daniels threw for 353 yards on 31-of-44 passing and added 89 rushing yards, contributing to Auburn’s highest offensive output in an SEC game since 2019. To preserve his redshirt, he won’t play against Mercer, though he’ll be available next week against Alabama.

For the first time this year, Auburn will start Deuce Knight after reopening the quarterback competition. Knight has seen only limited action, going 2-for-5 for 20 yards against Ball State. After what Durkin called a “fantastic” week of practice, Knight earned the start. While he didn't look ready in his debut, two and a half months later Durkin said he’s ready for the job:

“You can see a difference in him. He’s just lit up at practice...He’s really done a great job these past two weeks of preparing. You can see that it’s really clicked the light on for him. I’m excited to see him get out there and go. He is extremely talented and he’s very coachable. He pays attention to details of things we’re asking of him. The challenge for him, man, is just to go let it loose. Go be you and go play, and I think he’ll do a great job.”

Jackson Arnold will also be available Saturday and is expected to play. He’s rarely seen the field since his pick-six against Arkansas a month ago, but Durkin has a plan for both quarterbacks. And while Auburn fans—myself included—want the full Deuce Knight show, temper your expectations. Still, his first deep ball to Cam Coleman or Eric Singleton will have Jordan-Hare erupting.

Mercer ranks 20th in total defense in the FCS, allowing just 315 yards per game, and 3rd in rush defense at 2.3 yards per carry. Even so, Auburn is the more talented team, and struggling to move the ball against this defense would be a clear step backward from what we saw against Vanderbilt—regardless of who is at quarterback.

Auburn Defense Needs to Rebound

This is a week for Auburn’s defense to get back to fundamentals. While the offense put up big numbers against Vanderbilt, the defense did the same, but not in a good way. Auburn allowed 544 yards, its most in an SEC game since 2022. Missed assignments, blown coverages, and busts in the run game all contributed to the overtime loss and the defense’s worst showing of the season. Malik Blocton put it plainly:

"We just didn't play to our standard that game... we had a lot of that stuff. Not caging the quarterback against Vandy. We did a lot of stuff that wasn't conducive to us winning. That's not how we play, we don't like to put that stuff on film. We're going to get it corrected going into Mercer."

Auburn is going to need to shore up these weaknesses – Mercer has the No. 1 offense in the FCS. This isn’t a team you completely overlook while peeking ahead to the Iron Bowl, but it’s also a matchup where Auburn’s size, talent, and depth at the line of scrimmage should give them control. Mercer quarterback Braden Atkinson can score, but Auburn can use this game to reset defensively and rebuild confidence.

Final Thoughts and Prediction

Deuce Knight isn't a certainty for Auburn in the future. The Iron Bowl, at night, in Jordan-Hare, absolutely is. I have flip-flopped between Mercer not being a team to overlook and believing Auburn can use all 60 minutes to tighten up before Alabama. In the end, both can be true. Mercer is a sharp team, but they'd struggle against either FCS school with Montana in the name.

Bowl eligibility and, perhaps more importantly, the chance to ruin Alabama’s season are on the line following a win this Saturday. Let’s see our defense get back to its regularly scheduled programming and get Jeremiah Cobb the 96 yards he needs for a 1,000-yard season.

My prediction:
Auburn 41, Mercer 13