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To get a better feel for this Saturday's opponent, we reached out to someone who is around Auburn on a regular basis: Nathan King.

King covers the Tigers for AuburnSports.com, the Auburn Rivals site.

HawgBeat: How do you think Boobee Whitlow's injury changes Auburn's offense (if any)? Who's next in line at running back?

King: In terms of Auburn's general offensive scheme, Whitlow's injury doesn't change much — other than maybe the threat of the running game. He's the best tailback on the team, but he's not necessarily perfect for Gus Malzahn's zone-read system, per se. He's not the most patient back in the world, so sometimes the blocks can't properly mesh in front of him. Still, his athleticism and ability to bounce outside had him improving this year before the injury.

All that is to say that there's no reason to think Auburn's offense won't drop off a bit without its best running back. Malzahn said so this week: "It's a big blow." In terms of the backups, senior Kam Martin will likely get the start. Behind him, it's anyone's guess. Sophomore Shaun Shivers was supposed to be a big weapon this season but has dropped off from his freshmen numbers. Then there's true freshman D.J. Williams, a former 4-star prospect whose potential is supposedly through the roof, but we haven't seen anything from him on the field yet due to early-season injuries.

HawgBeat: How would you assess the play of Bo Nix so far? What does he do well and what does he still need to improve?