Auburn Tigers
How The West Was Won
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Why don’t we take a look at the toughest division in all of College Football and that, my friends, is the SEC West.
Here are my SEC West Predictions for 2019:
Alabama 12-0: Tua will be the frontrunner for the Heisman, and Najee Harris may be the best overall running back in the SEC when it is said and done production wise.
The Alabama receiving corps with headlined by Jerry Jeudy are the best in college football.
Nick Saban is the best in the business, and the Tide has the best starting 22 players in the country.
LSU comes to Bryant-Denny, but dangerous road trips to Texas A&M and Auburn seem to be the only hurdles on the regular season slate. Alabama heads to Atlanta for another epic showdown with Georgia for the SEC Title.
LSU 9-3: Coach O has got the Tigers headed back in the right direction.
Joe Burrow is back under center for a second straight season. John Emery is coming in at running back, and LSU has the best defensive backfield in the conference.
With that said this team is not going to beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa. A tough road game at Texas in week 2, and dangerous SEC road trips to Starkville and Oxford in mid-season. I think the Tigers drop one of those Magnolia State road trips.
Texas A&M 8-4: This schedule is brutal with the SEC West slate plus Clemson and Georgia. Is this team ready for primetime?
The Aggies lost their leader rusher and tackler from 2018. Is Kellen Mond an elite SEC QB? Jimbo Fisher is an elite coach, but it’s still too early to proclaim the Aggies as great in this division.
The Aggies will lose to Alabama and LSU in the West this year.
Auburn 8-4: Gus Malzahn is sitting on the hottest seat in the conference.
Who is going to be the starting QB? Will a running back up to Auburn historical standards surface? The front seven on defense will be solid and Derrick Brown may be the best defensive lineman in the conference.
Who knows about this team? Georgia and Alabama come to Jordan-Hare. Brutal schedule with the opener in Dallas against Oregon and a trip to Florida make it hard to predict big things for the Tigers in 2019 which usually means they play in the National Title game right?
A lot of questions right now in Auburn, Alabama. Gus is feeling the heat.
Ole Miss 8-4: This is my SEC West sleeper team. Yes, I see 8 wins on the schedule.
This team has some talent on offense with Matt Corral at QB. Ole Miss always has productive wide receivers. Can this defense hold up is the question?
I think the Rebels come back in 2019 after the probation period and go bowling.
Rich Rodriguez may have struggled as a head coach, but he is one of the best offensive coordinators in the business. This offense will cause problems in the SEC.
Mississippi State 6-6: The Bulldogs are going to struggle in 2019.
How do you lose three first round draft picks on defense from 2018 and improve on that side of the ball?
MSU gets in a bowl at 6-6 and the heat starts getting turned up on Joe Moorhead in 2020. Keytaon Thompson has talent at QB. The jury is out on the Bulldogs.
Arkansas 4-8: Chad Morris is in a total rebuild in Fayetteville.
It is going to take a couple more recruiting classes for Arkansas to be competitive again. Proud program that let a Big 10 coach come in and drive it over a cliff. Hog fans need to be patient with Chad Morris.
Bowl Teams: Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M, Auburn, Ole Miss, Mississippi State
Division upset of the year: Ole Miss over LSU in Oxford on 11/16. LSU suffers a letdown after losing to Alabama on 11/9.
SEC Championship Game: Georgia over Alabama
SEC Best Basketball Conference In The Country
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
For years the SEC has been known as a football conference, and with good reason.
The start of the basketball season was just viewed as the beginning of the countdown until spring football games; each passing game meant fans were just one day closer to the start of the gridiron season.
Over the past few years SEC basketball has slowly crept up the rung of high powered basketball conferences. With four teams participating in this year’s Sweet Sixteen, they may have finally arrived.
I’ve joked in the past how outside of John Calipari the rest of the SEC had basically become the “Land of Misfit Coaches”. Names like Rick Barnes, Bruce Pearl, Tom Crean, and Ben Howland; all on their own personal reclamation journeys after being dismissed from more prestigious jobs.
While it’s still too early in Crean’s tenure at Georgia, the other hires have undoubtedly exceeded expectations. Throw in other coaches like Kermit Davis and Mike White, and suddenly the SEC coaching tree is as strong as any in the country.
(Up until a few weeks ago I would’ve included Will Wade on that list with Davis and White. I do think Wade is a good coach, but I’d be shocked if he coaches another game for LSU.)
The conferences strong showing in this year’s tournament, and the increasing possibility of having at least one Final Four team, can only bolster their upward projection.
Barnes’ Volunteers did their best to help run his consecutive tournament appearances without a trip to the Sweet Sixteen to eight, but low and behold they were able to break the streak. Now, they are probably the favorite to come out their region.
North Carolina is still the favorite to come out of the Midwest, but Auburn is as dangerous as any remaining team with their ability to stretch the floor and propensity for hitting the three.
Kentucky will need PJ Washington back in order for them to have any legitimate shot of beating Houston, and either UNC or Auburn. Still, that doesn’t mean the Wildcats will be a pushover.
And as a Duke fan, if the Blue Devils are lucky enough to get past Virginia Tech, I do not want any part of LSU. The Tigers, along with Tennessee, have arguably been the best team in the SEC this season.
My only concern for LSU entering the tournament was how they would handle all the off court distractions. After two good, but not overly impressive wins, I’m not sure they’ve quite answered that question yet. However, they are long, athletic, and talented enough to beat any one of the other remaining teams.
There was a four to five year span where SEC basketball consisted of Kentucky, and that was about it. The remainder of the league basically took turns at mediocrity, with the occasional surprise tournament run.
The SEC is still viewed as a step below conferences like the ACC and Big Ten when it comes to all around talent and depth, but they’ve made up a lot of ground in a short period of time.
The league may be full of coaches on their second or third chances, but they have all but turned the corner on being “reclamation projects”.
Basketball will never be as big as football in SEC country, but with some consistency and a few deep tournament runs, those three to four months may be actually be referred to as “basketball season” and not just “football’s offseason”.
A Plain Change?
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Auburn started the 2018 season ranked in the top 10 and beat a ranked Washington team the opening weekend in Atlanta.
The Tigers went into a week 3 matchup with LSU and ended up being exposed on offense in a 22-21 loss.
Back to back losses to Mississippi State and a bad loss at home to rebuilding Tennessee started the rumblings on the plains and then another loss to UGA in Athens, and having 52 hung on them in the Iron Bowl has Malzahn’s future at Auburn being questioned by many around the SEC.
Malzahn’s overall record at Auburn now is 53-27 in six years. Outside of the miracle season of 2013 where Auburn went 12-2, won the SEC, and lost the National Title game to FSU, what have the Tigers done that is so special?
Yes, I know Auburn won the SEC West in 2017 and beat number one ranked Georgia and Alabama in a three week span that November. I get that, but this program turned around and lost to Georgia in the 2017 SEC Title game 28-7 and then lost to UCF in the Peach Bowl to finish 10-4 on that season.
Auburn is 41-25 over the past five seasons, the natives are getting restless in Auburn, Alabama. So basically, Auburn under Gus is a program that is going to lose 4 or 5 games a season.
That is not acceptable at Auburn and they are trying to stay in the same area code as rival Alabama. Alabama is winning 13-14 games a season now under Saban, while Auburn is an 8-5 type team.
Let’s take a look at reasons why Auburn is struggling right now:
Stubbornness: Gus always says the right things in the media and promises change, but nothing seems to change especially as it centers around play calling on offense.
This is Malzahn’s offense at Auburn and now that Chip Lindsey is gone the focus is squarely on Gus. That is all on Malzahn. The offense is his baby.
Jarret Stidham will have a successful pro career, but I don’t think Auburn knew how to use his skill set properly. The fan base turned on Stidham, but forgot that without Stidham Auburn doesn’t win the SEC West in 2017.
Running Back: How does a school that produced William Andrews, James Brooks, Bo Jackson, Brent Fullwood, Rudy Johnson, Carnell Williams, Ronnie Brown, and Kerryon Johnson, not have a big time running back? Auburn can’t run the football, and it’s because they don’t have a big time running back. This is squarely on Gus.
Player Development: If you look at five year recruiting ranking averages Auburn is in the top ten, but Auburn has lost, on average, 5 games per season in the same cycle. What is happening to all of that talent? Gus Malzahn is the head coach of Auburn University and the buck stops with him.
Auburn hung 63 on Purdue in the Music City Bowl and Gus was feeling really good about his play calling in that contest. Will that be enough to quiet down the critics on the plains?
If not for The Prayer at Jordan Hare against UGA, or the Kick Six against Alabama in 2013 would Gus still be the football coach at Auburn University?
Keep a close watch on this situation at Auburn. If Auburn struggles early in 2019 will Gus make it to October?
Auburn is a proud football program, but the Tigers have been losing to UGA and Alabama a lot lately. That will not cut it on The Plains.
Tiger fans are praying that incoming QB Bo Nix has the same impact that Jake Fromm has had at UGA. That may be what saves the Gus Bus at AU.
College Football Fallout Week 2
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Week two of the college football season is now in the books and some great outcomes and storylines arose from the “Saturday that was”.
I wonder what it will take for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to consider moving in a different direction, away from Paul Johnson.
A loss to non-Power 5 South Florida has Tech fans groaning again about Johnson and that Triple Option. However, the problem isn’t the triple option or even Paul Johnson’s coaching, the problem is recruiting.
Georgia Tech was considerably outmanned against South Florida, which had athletes all over the field and that ultimately reflected on the scoreboard.
Also, currently, South Florida and UCF are the best 2 non-Power 5 teams in the country. Thus, there should not be a lot of outrage amongst the Yellow Jacket faithful about losing to the Bulls. They are currently better.
Speaking of better, I think it is pretty safe to say the Georgia Bulldogs are better than the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Dawgs went to half up by 10 and then Kirby Smart “let the Dawgs off the chain” in the second half and South Carolina had no answers.
In my opinion, Georgia and Alabama are the two best teams in the country, again.
A team that is not among the best 2 in the country is Florida. The Gators had beaten Kentucky 31 straight time and had not lost to the Wildcats since 1986.
That streak is over. Kentucky took advantage of a bad Florida offense and came away with a 27-16 win in Gainesville. Yes, in the swamp.
Long gone are the days where no one won in the Swamp except for Florida.
One thing that truly amazes me is how the University of Florida cannot find a decent QB when they are the flagship school for one of the four most talent rich states in the country.
Especially, when you thing about the great QB’s that have played there in the last 30 years. One thing is for sure, Feleipe Franks has a lot to work on.
One last thing, for people who are not paying attention, LSU is better than you think.
Next week the Bayou Bengals will have a chance to prove this to the country as they will take on the Tigers from the plains in Auburn.
The winner will have the inside shot of dethroning Alabama in the SEC West.
Auburn Spring Game
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Auburn is one of the traditional powers in college football. The Tigers had a great 2017 finishing 10-4 and 7-1 in the SEC. They beat both teams that played in the national championship game, Georgia and Alabama. They did lose the rematch with UGA in the SEC Championship. They also lost the Peach Bowl to UCF.
Star running back Kerryon Johnson declared for the NFL Draft after the season. Auburn will have to replace his 1,391 yards and 18 touchdowns.
One positive going into the 2018 season is they have finally found another quality quarterback to run Gus Malzahn’s offense in Jarrett Stidham. Stidham completed 66% of his passes for 3,158 yards and 18 TD’s. He did not play in the spring game.
In the A-Day game defense dominated. Auburn’s first-team defense held the second-team offense to minus-five yards in the first half and the quarterbacks combined to go 15 of 39 for 90 yards.
“We’re going to be top 10 this year,” defensive end Marlon Davidson said. “We’re going to be top 5; maybe even top 1. That’s how we feel. That’s how we’re going to carry it.”
I’m trying to not believe the hype. I think the defense can be very good but defense typically dominates the offense in spring or early in the season. It is worth noting that the Tigers have vastly improved over the past two years under defensive coordinator Kevin Steele.
In 2017 they had their best year in pass and total defense since 2008. Auburn ranked 12th in scoring defense and 14th in total defense last season and has ample depth returning, particularly in the front seven.
“Our pillars for success is that we want to be relentless in pursuit,” Steele said. “Effort is being coached at a high level on every day, on every play. Effort is an eraser. When somebody makes a mistake, effort will erase a mistake. Then we’ve worked really hard on physical fundamentals, being physical with your fundamentals. So, really, really good in fundamentals. And then, of course, tackling. We’ve done a lot within the framework of how much you can tackle. So, the proper tackling technique.”
The defense constantly pressured Auburn’s two younger quarterbacks, forcing several interceptions from Malik Willis and Joey Gatewood. They also forced fumbles from several players.
On A-Day, Nick Coe led a defensive line unit that combined for 6.5 of 11 tackles for loss, including two sacks, one from Coe, which led to a safety.
“Our defense has a chance to be really good,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “… I think we’ve got some quality depth upfront. We’ve got quality depth at the linebacker position too. I know coach Steele’s focus was on the backend, putting all the pieces to the puzzle. I think overall they’ve done a very solid job.”
The final score was Orange: 18, Blue: 10. My takeaway is that Auburn is expecting to have a great defense in 2018 and I think that is realistic. I don’t put a lot of stock in the A-Day defensive performance though because they did not face their first team quarterback.
We will see if they can live up to their potential when the season begins September 1st versus Washington in Atlanta.
NY6 Predictions
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Break out the pork chops, black-eyed peas, fried okra, and cornbread which is the traditional New Year’s Day meal in the Branch Family.
The meal will be ready to eat at 12PM on Monday, which is also the best football day of every year.
You also have the College Football Playoff that starts at 5PM that day in Pasadena, California with Georgia and Oklahoma and ending with Alabama and Clemson immediately after in New Orleans.
Under the playoff format you have the two playoff games that rotate between the Sugar, Rose, Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, and Peach Bowls annually; these are now called the New Years 6 Bowls.
Here are my predictions for the NY6 Bowls.
Cotton Bowl: #5 Ohio State vs. #8 USC
In this matchup you have two conference champions in OSU and USC that got snubbed by the playoff committee in favor of a one loss non-conference champion in Alabama.
Both teams will come to Dallas with a chip on it’s shoulder. I personally thought OSU would get in the playoff over Alabama if the committee was going to put a two loss Auburn team in the playoff. Which would have happened if the Tigers would have beat UGA in the SEC title game.
I think OSU has something to prove in this game and the Buckeyes handle USC pretty easy, 34-20 and Urban Meyer proposes a new playoff system in his postgame presser.
Fiesta Bowl: #9 Penn State vs. #11 Washington
Penn State might be the best team in the Big 10 after blowing the 15 point 4th quarter lead in Columbus against OSU and then sleepwalking into a loss to Michigan State the following week.
I think Penn State will be too physical for the Huskies and they will handle Washington 38-27. James Franklin is about to kick it into high gear in State College, PA.
Orange Bowl: #6 Wisconsin vs. #10 Miami
Former Glynn Academy standout Dee Jay Dallas is named Orange Bowl MVP after he scores 2 TD’s and has 140 yards rushing against the Badgers who will not beat Miami in Miami at the Orange Bowl. Too many athletes and Mark Richt owns Big 10 teams during his coaching career.
Peach Bowl: #7 Auburn vs. #12 UCF
Which Auburn team shows up? The one who beat UGA and Alabama in November or the one who blew a 20 point lead at LSU in October? Is Kerryon healthy? Does Auburn even want to be in Atlanta for the Peach Bowl?
I can guarantee you that UCF is thrilled to be there. If Auburn is motivated to play this game they win.
I think Auburn’s defense will be ready to play and the Tigers find a way to win 27-21. If Auburn comes out flat then look out for the upset, which I would be thrilled to see.
Rose Bowl: #2 Oklahoma vs. #3 Georgia
Oklahoma has the Heisman winner in Baker Mayfield at QB. UGA has the best defensive player in the country in Roquan Smith. What gives here?
For UGA to win they must control the clock and line of scrimmage with the running game and that will keep Mayfield on the sidelines.
The Sooners will score points but I think UGA gets enough stops and wins 38-34 and Nick Chubb is named Rose Bowl MVP with 175 yards and 3 TD’s, and will eventually have his #27 retired in Athens.
Sugar Bowl: #1 Clemson vs. #4 Alabama
Nick Saban lobbied to get the Tide in this year’s playoff and it is going to pay off.
Clemson’s DL is better than a couple of NFL teams and points in this game will be at a premium; so this one will come down to another heart stopping drive in the final minute with Jalen Hurts leading his team to victory 20-17 and being named Sugar Bowl MVP.
Georgia vs. Alabama in Atlanta for the NC on January 8th. Oh, my goodness what will the ticket prices be?
Making The Grade In The SEC
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The regular season is over in the SEC for the 2017 football season. Nine SEC teams are going to bowl games, and two are going into the college football playoff.
Overall Conference grade: C
Ole Miss tried to cheat their way to a title and big 6 members Florida and Tennessee are dumpster fires is ultimately what kept this grade from being higher.
For the first time in the new playoff format two teams from same conference, Alabama and Georgia made the final four while the Big 10 and PAC 12 champions got passed over.
Individual Team Grades:
Alabama: B+. The loss at Auburn kept the Tide out of the SEC title game but sitting at 11-1 Alabama will play Clemson in the Sugar Bowl in a national semifinal game.
The LB corps have been decimated by injuries, and Jalen Hurts needs to throw the ball better. Nick Saban is still the best coach in football.
Arkansas: D-. Bret got fired and the Hogs looked awful for most of the season. No bowl and a 1-7 record in the conference and 4-8 overall. Enter Chad Morris to fix this mess.
Auburn: B+. The Tigers beat two number one teams Georgia and Alabama at home in November, but blew a 20-point lead at LSU who lost to Troy.
Kerryon Johnson was the SEC Offensive player of the year and the defense played well all season. The blowout loss to UGA in the SEC Title game kept this from being an A grade.
Florida: F. Worst Florida team I have seen since the late 70’s. The offense was offensive with no QB play and this team mailed it in after the LSU game. Dan Mullen has been hired to fix this huge mess. Mullen has to change the culture in Gainesville.
Georgia: A. 2017 SEC Champions. Roquan Smith is SEC Defensive Player of the year, Kirby is SEC Coach of the year, and Jake Fromm is SEC Freshman of the year. In year two Kirby has won a title and gotten a Rose Bowl against Oklahoma in National Semifinal on NYD. Could be a really special year in Athens.
Kentucky: B. A seven win football season in Lexington does not come often. The Music City Bowl game against Northwestern upcoming. Nice season for the Cats.
LSU: B-. A loss to Troy and getting blown out in Starkville won’t cut it in Red Stick but the season turned with the Auburn win and the Tigers outplayed Alabama everywhere but the scoreboard in Tuscaloosa.
A win over Notre Dame in Citrus Bowl would get the Tigers to 10 wins and set them up for an SEC title run in 2018.
Mississippi State: B: Nice season in Starkville. The loss to Ole Miss was a fluke with the Nick Fitzgerald injury 5 minutes into the ball game.
Missouri: B. Most improved team in the SEC in the last half of the season and a Bowl game against Texas. Drew Lock throws the best deep ball in the league.
Ole Miss: F. Matt Luke will clean up that stinking cheating culture in Oxford.
South Carolina: B+. I like where Coach Muschamp is taking this program. The Gamecocks will beat Michigan in the Outback Bowl to get to 9 wins.
Tennessee: F-. 0-8 in the SEC and it has taken almost a month to find a coach. This program has hit rock bottom. May take 3-4 years to recover from this train wreck. Phil Fulmer is on the job as AD now and that is good unless Steve Spurrier takes an AD job in the conference. Spurrier owns Fulmer.
Texas A&M: C. Kevin Sumlin got fired with a 51-26 record in College Station. Enter Jimbo Fisher at a price tag of $75 million.
Vanderbilt: C. About what I expect from Vandy. Derek Mason is a very good coach who deserves a better opportunity to win at a bigger program.
What if we have a Bama/UGA national title game? The national media will want to blow up this current playoff format.
Survival Saturday
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We have several heavyweight matchups taking place in Week 11 of the college football season.
Games like #12 Washington vs. #21 Stanford and #11 Oklahoma State vs. #15 Iowa State are on the backburner. Let’s look at some of the marquee matchups.
#1 Georgia at #14 Auburn: So, the Dawgs are 9-0 for the first time since Herschel Walker was on campus (1982). They have an embarrassment of riches at running back with Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and D’andre Swift.
True freshman quarterback Jake Fromm has that ‘it’ factor and he made Georgia fans forget all about Jacob Eason.
The defense has been stellar ranking fourth in the nation in total defense, only giving up 254 yards per game.
Auburn looks like they finally found their stride on offense. The last time the Tigers were really explosive was 2013.
Baylor transfer quarterback Jarrett Stidham received a lot of hype to before the season began. He struggled initially but he looks more comfortable running Gus Malzahn’s offense. He’s also able to rely on the power running of Kerryon Johnson. Auburn is also exceptional on defense, ranking 14th nationally in total D.
Fromm went on the road and played well in Knoxville in front of over 100,000 fans but the Vols are terrible. I think playing a good team in front of 87,451 screaming fans might cause him to make freshman mistakes. I give the edge to War Eagle.
#3 Notre Dame at #10 Miami: It’s crazy to think undefeated Miami (8-0) is only ranked tenth. They have had some luck on their side against Florida State and Georgia Tech. They are coming off of a 28-10 win against #13 Virginia Tech so their confidence is high.
The Fighting Irish are thirteenth in total offense. Quarterback Brandon Wimbush is a good runner and he’s improved his passing game.
RB Josh Adams has rushed for nearly 1,200 yards and averages 8.7 yards per carry. I think this will be a close game but Notre Dame should win.
#5 Oklahoma vs. #8 TCU: Both teams have one loss. The only chance the Big 12 has to make the college football playoff is for one of these teams to win out. The Sooners are led by Heisman frontrunner, quarterback Baker Mayfield.
The offense is clicking, coming off of a 62-52 win over in-state rival Oklahoma State. That’s also alarming that the defense gave up so many points. They’ve looked bad since the Ohio State game.
Both teams lost to the Iowa State and you know the Cyclones aren’t a great team. That tells me they both lack focus.
I think the Horned Frogs are a more complete team. TCU is sixth in total D and Oklahoma is 87th. That’s going to cost them against a good team like TCU.
#2 Alabama at #16 Mississippi State: The Bulldogs looked like contenders at the beginning of the season. They had a blowout win against LSU and we didn’t know the Tigers were overrated at the time.
Then Georgia and Auburn blew them out in consecutive weeks. Miss State is on a four game winning streak.
The Crimson Tide get to play with a chip on their shoulder after being demoted to number two.
They rank second in defense and 17th in total offense. They’re the most complete team in the nation. Mississippi State has shown that they can’t compete with elite SEC teams so this will be another bad loss.
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch August 5
Auburn Preview
By: Christian Goeckel
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Gus Malzahn and the Auburn Tigers enter 2017 in an interesting position.
With the transfer signing of quarterback Jarrett Stidham and the return of the SEC’s leading rusher, Kamryn Pettway, the Tiger’s are optimistic they can revive their offense.
On defense, the Tigers face the unenviable task of replacing 3rd round pick, Montravious Adams and 4th round pick, Carl Lawson. Tray Matthews should step in as the emotional and vocal leader of the unit, but the jury is still out on if this defense can withstand a pretty brutal gauntlet of opposing offenses.
Just like with any team, Auburn has plenty of question marks. Do they have enough answers to stand up to LSU and Alabama?
Who’s coming back?
Offense: Auburn returns nine starters on offense this year, including the dynamic running back tandem of Kam Pettway and Kerryon Johnson. The duo combined for an outstanding 2,119 yards on the ground in 2016. Those numbers should only improve if new QB Jarrett Stidham can open up the field with the deep passing game.
Gone is leading receiver, Tony Stevens. I say “leading receiver” in the most apathetic way possible, as Stevens only accumulated 487 yards through the air and the next best was over a hundred yards behind him.
To say the passing game was weak last year would be like saying Nick Saban takes his football serious. Rising sophomores Darius Slayton and Kyle Davis will be leaned upon heavily, but showed promise last year.
The line is the best unit on the team. Redshirt Senior Darius James is the corner stone of a group made up completely of upper classmen. At least two of these guys will be picked in the first three rounds next year, and will be paving the way on the Flats all season.
Defense: On defense, Auburn returns seven starters. Adams and Lawson are gone, and that can’t be understated. Pass rush is a major question, but Auburn can take solace in the fact that it’s secondary and linebacking corps are rock solid.
Senior Tre’ Williams returns at inside linebacker to lead a group that could be the most underrated in the conference.
In the secondary, Seniors Tray Matthews and Stephon Roberts will be shutting down quarterbacks and stuffing running backs with reckless abandon.
If the secondary can hold up long enough for the pass rush to find its’ stride, this could be a very good bunch.
Biggest thing that has to happen to have a great season? Gus Malzahn and Chip Lindsey find a groove: Make no mistake, this is still Gus Malzahn’s offense, but Chip Lindsey was brought in from Arizona State to open up the passing game and bring it back from the laughing stock it has been since Nick Marshall left.
If the brilliance of Gus’ running attack can blend with Lindsey’s aerial attack, Auburn’s offense could be elite.
Biggest thing that could spell disaster for Auburn? Stidham isn’t the savior: Jarrett Stidham is in an unenviable position.
Not since the days of Cam Newton has a quarterback had as much preseason pressure thrusted upon him on the Flats as Stidham has.
The worst thing that could happen to Auburn is if he’s just… ok. If Stidham doesn’t come out and light it up, Malzahn might regress to his old habit and hop back on the quarterback carousel. If this happens, prepare for another seven or eight win season on the Flats.
Expect Stidham to be somewhere in the middle, between Messiah and bust. The Tigers have two great backs to lean on, and will be solid on defense.
A bunch of things have to fall their way to make it to Atlanta, and don’t count on them happening. This will be a good season for Auburn fans, but probably not the great one they’re getting their hopes up for.
Prediction: 8 – 4 Outback Bowl
