Now that the bye week has passed for Auburn football. The Tigers look to get their first conference win on the road against Missouri.

Despite entering as early favorites in the matchup, Missouri has not defeated Auburn since 1973. In the last matchup (2022), Auburn escaped with a 17-14 overtime victory.

With Missouri still believing in its SEC championship and College Football Playoff aspirations, every win in the SEC is precious. As for Auburn, a season of hope has now turned to a desperate chase for a bowl bid.

Here’s three questions for the blue and orange Tigers as they head to Columbia to face the black and gold Tigers:

Will Jarquez Hunter see more touches in the ground game?

Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz already made note of how much of a threat Auburn’s tailback Jarquez Hunter is against opposing defenses.

Hunter is fifth in the SEC in rushing yards with 528 and is averaging 6.8 yards per carry.

However, frustration from fans and even Hunter has been obvious with his carries against Power 4 teams averaging 13.5 carries per game.

“I think we improve every week it’s just we just beat ourselves at time,” Hunter said after the Georgia game. “Teamwise we just miscommunicate or do the wrong things and in SEC play we got to be on point with everything.”

Hunter finished with 67 yards adding to the Tigers’ 146 total rushing yards against the Razorbacks, a top-30 ranked defense nationally. So, the ability to have a big game is there.

Missouri ranks 38th and fourth in the conference in yards per game allowed and 12th in the country.

How does the Tigers slow down Missouri’s offense?

With the veteran trio of quarterback Brady Cook, receivers Luther Burden III and Theo Wease Jr, they’re always a play away from some fireworks.

Senior running back Marcus Carroll finished with 91 yards and three scores against the minutemen. He has 281 total yards on the ground this year.

Linebacker Eugene Asante broke down Missouri this week and how the defense will approach stopping the Tigers.

“To be honest with you, they have a really complete offense, and [Brady Cook] is at the helm of that,” Asante said. “He’s certainly somebody that is super dynamic in getting the ball to his playmakers. Then getting in situations where we can go pressure the quarterback and get him off the spot to limit him. We understand what [Luther Burden] is. He’s a top draft pick. We understand what he brings to the game as a dynamic playmaker.”

Right now, Cook has 1,351 passing yards and seven touchdowns leading the offense. Wease Jr. and Luther Burden III has 805 combined receiving yards as Missouri averages 33.50 points per game.

What’s the status on special teams?

Auburn kicker Alex McPherson returned back to action three weeks ago against Oklahoma, after dealing with an illness in the summer.

Freshman kicker Towns McGough has been getting the start through the first six games and is a perfect 24-24 on PAT attempts.

Punter Oscar Chapman talked about McPherson‘s journey saying he looks ready to be back in the lineup.

“The best part to see is that he hasn’t lost his touch. Even when he was starting a game, and he’d go out and kick and you could just see he still kicks it straight,” Chapman said. “It wasn’t very far but he was kicking that thing straight like he’d never forgotten how to do it. He’s unreal. The ability to bounce back. I wanted to help as much as I could. He’s such a strong kid and he did so much to get back to where he is now, which is unreal. Props to him for that.”

Auburn travels to Missouri to face the Tigers at 11 AM in Columbia, Mo. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.