Money burner meets money burner as Auburn and West Virginia, with a combined pointspread record of 2-11, get it on in Morgantown on Thursday night.  West Virginia is favored by 3 in Nevada, and mostly by 2.5 offshore.  The total hovers around 38.  A clear, windless night is promised, with the temperature falling below 40 during the second half.  Both teams are rested, neither having played on Saturday before this Thursday encounter.

It sure seems odd to see Auburn running for 3.3 yards per rush against 1-A competition.  And it’s not like the Tigers are making it up with their passing game.  Their overall yards per play offensively is a pathetic 4.3, which is 115th in the nation.

Auburn jettisoned offensive coordinator Tony Franklin a few days before their loss to Arkansas, so this week will be the first real look at what new offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger has planned.  With a slimmed down playbook, look for things to be a lot simpler for the Tigers.

While the focus is on Auburn’s offensive coaching, the Tigers appear to be good in shape with their defensive leadership.  Defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads held the same position at Pitt and successfully shut down the high-powered Mountaineers in last season’s regular season finale, keeping West Virginia out of the national championship game.

West Virginia’s Pat White is originally from Alabama, so you know the quarterback will be fired up for this one.   And White’s absence from last week’s game helps explain the close win over Syracuse.  But it doesn’t excuse the poor performance, as getting outgained by the pathetic Orangemen 346-268 may have been worse than it appeared. West Virginia was under 150 total yards before Noel Devine uncorked a 92-yard run to put away the game in the final five minutes.

These defenses are both sound.  Against 1-A opponents Auburn allows only 4.1 yards per play (7th nationally) and West Virginia permits only 4.4 yards per play (11th).  It’ll be interesting to see what wrinkles Tommy Tuberville has up his sleeve, and what West Virginia does to let QB White cut loose against his home state competition. Without some surprises this could shape up as a textbook example of a low scoring grinder that will be decided by a mistake.