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LSU football: Which players earned their stripes against Auburn?

By Gabe Henderson

LSU Tigers running back Josh Williams (27) tries to elude Auburn Tigers linebacker Wesley Steiner (32) as the Auburn Tigers take on the LSU Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022.Aulsu20
LSU Tigers running back Josh Williams (27) tries to elude Auburn Tigers linebacker Wesley Steiner (32) as the Auburn Tigers take on the LSU Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022.Aulsu20 /
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Oct 1, 2022; Auburn, Alabama, USA; LSU Tigers defensive tackle Jaquelin Roy (99) tackles Auburn Tigers quarterback Robby Ashford (9) during the fourth quarter at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 1, 2022; Auburn, Alabama, USA; LSU Tigers defensive tackle Jaquelin Roy (99) tackles Auburn Tigers quarterback Robby Ashford (9) during the fourth quarter at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Jaquelin Roy

If you’ve gotten this far in the article, one of the things you’ll undoubtedly have noticed is that the list of “honorable mentions” was quite long. Further, it included a pair of defensive linemen. Ojulari won the SEC’s Defensive Lineman of the Week honors for his performance on the Plains and Wingo earned a lot of praise for his efforts in Maason Smith’s absence.

Yet, it was Jaquelin Roy who played one of the most important roles in LSU’s win.

Auburn was having its way with the Bayou Bengals throughout the first half. Quarterback Robby Ashford was terrorizing the Tigers and the third-stringer helped his team jump out to a 17-0 lead. He was having a lot of success with his legs and getting safeties to bite, leaving holes in behind for receivers to run into. Furthermore, the threat of Tank Bigsby—Auburn’s most explosive offensive player—loomed large all night.

Roy helped contain the rushing attack of the hosts all night, especially in the first half. He was one of the few individuals on Matt House’s defense who had their way with Auburn, even before the defensive coordinator brought Baskerville in to spy the quarterback. Roy’s dominant presence led to Bigsby being held to 3.8 yards per carry and Ashford only rushing for 19 yards.

Overall, No. 99 had six total tackles on the evening with five of them being solo.

Roy’s impact was arguably bigger in the second half following House’s defensive adjustment. He played a big part in containing Auburn’s running game, which was about all the Tigers had going for them as Ashford struggled to adapt to the changes in the secondary.

Auburn was held scoreless in the second half and Roy was one of the biggest reasons why this was the case. The junior is often lost in the shuffle with such talented players around him on the defensive line. There’s nothing sexy about stopping the run, but there’s little doubt that Roy has what it takes to make it at the next level in the coming years.

For now, he’ll have to stick to terrorizing opposing SEC offensive lines.

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