Auburn football vs. Cal: Scouting report on the Golden Bears, score prediction for Saturday

AUBURN — Auburn football will host Cal at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday in its second straight home game of the 2024 season.

Auburn leads the series with Cal 1-0, with the first meeting coming last September at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, California. The Tigers posted a 14-10 win in the first road contest of the Hugh Freeze era.

Auburn holds a 123-83-9 overall record against current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference and an 87-62-5 all-time record in the month of September. Here's our scouting report on the Golden Bears, and a score prediction for the matchup on Saturday (2:30 p.m. ESPN2/SEC Network+).

Is Hugh Freeze too hard on QB Thorne? Auburn football: Payton Thorne on Hugh Freeze coaching and his growth in the Tigers offense

Status on Cal running back Jaydn Ott

In last year's matchup against the Tigers, Ott rushed for 78 yards and scored the only touchdown for the Golden Bears. However, his availability is questionable heading into Saturday's rematch.

Ott left last week's game against UC-Davis with an apparent ankle injury and never checked back in. Cal coach Justin Wilcox listed Ott as probable to play against the Tigers. In 2023, Ott rushed for over 1,200 yards in the season.

With all the questions surrounding if he'll play or not Saturday, last year's film on Ott was enough for the Tigers to prepare for Cal's offensive attack. He and the other backs for the Golden Bears will be key focuses for the defense this Saturday.

Auburn defensive injury updates

Defensive lineman Isaiah Raikes, who transferred in over the offseason, is expected to make his Auburn debut after starting his career at Texas A&M and USC. He missed Auburn’s season-opener against Alabama A&M while resting an ankle injury.

Junior cornerback Champ Anthony saw limited action in the season-opener dealing with a calf strain. Freeze said Monday he could’ve played more snaps, but they wanted to make sure they were getting him as healthy as possible for the Cal game.

Keionte Scott, who dealt with a nagging hamstring issue through much of fall camp, is also expected to be on the field Saturday. He played 13 snaps on defense while also lining up at punt returner serval times against Alabama A&M.

Is Cal's defense enough?

Cal returned several defensive starters, including its 2023 leaders in sacks, edge rusher David Reese IV, and safety Craig Woodson. Last season, Woodson led the Golden Bears in tackles. Pass-rusher Xavier Carlton, who had 4.5 sacks last year, was also a key factor in last year's matchup against the Tigers.

Despite defeating UC-Davis 31-13, the defense carried Cal to the victory as they finished with less than 300 yards of offense. In last year's game against the Tigers, Cal's defense created four turnovers. That will be the recipe to outmatch this explosive Tigers offense, which scored 73 points in the season opener against Alabama A&M.

Score prediction

Auburn 42, Cal 21 : This will be more of a challenge for Auburn compared to last week's game. However, the Tigers are still the favorite by two or more scores. Auburn's offense will have opportunities for big plays with all the depth they have at the skill offensive positions. If the defense can force Cal to struggle like it did against UC-Davis, Saturday should be a fun day in the Plains for Tiger fans in attendance.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football vs. Cal: Scouting report on the Golden Bears, score prediction for Saturday