Auburn

Ah, yes, my beloved Tigers. It's hard to not see them through rose-colored glasses, particularly when they are already so good. Regardless, I will try my best to be relatively impartial.

Auburn's offense is loaded with talent: Brandon Cox, Kenny Irons, Brad Lester, Courtney Taylor, and a ridiculous offensive line. The only questions are found at receiver, obviously. If the new guys can play, great, but if they are only average, I don't think it will really matter. Auburn will lean on the run even more this year than in past years as part of Tommy's "be physical" mantra he's spouted throughout the offseason. Yeah, they'll still throw the ball, but only when they have to or when Borges is starting to fall asleep. Cox is a reliable passer and very accurate. What he lacks in arm strength he makes up for leadership. He is a steady leader (and his arm, honestly, is not all that bad). Courtney Taylor is finally healthy, so that is certainly a boost. He is a playmaker, not just a good receiver. He refuses to go down, and that's what makes him so dangerous. Then there's Irons and Lester. How good are these two? Irons has breakaway speed, hits holes like a mack truck, and isn't afraid of taking it to anybody. Lester, meanwhile, is one of the quickest players I've seen in quite some time and is the perfect compliment to Irons. Auburn can be confident that if either back is needed to be THE back on a given night, he will be. That's a nice situation to be in.

Defensively, I am a little worried. Yes, the defensive ends are great and the linebackers are solid. However, the defensive tackles are rather inexperienced, as are both safeties. The corners are a strength, as David Irons is a great lock-down corner, and Wilhite is one of the most athletic corners I have seen in quite some time. Teams that throw the ball around a lot, though, may catch our young safeties off-guard a bit. I'm sure they have the talent to play well, but there will be a learning curve, and opening against Washington State, a team that loves to throw the ball all over the place, is essentially a trial by fire.

I like Auburn to win the West, but when the match-up is relatively a draw between Auburn and LSU, who do you expect me to side with? Both teams are loaded and anything can happen. If Auburn beats LSU, this could be another 2004. If not, expect another 2005, but hopefully with a better ending.

So here's the schedule. Auburn opens against Washington State. I have been dreading this game all summer. A team with an experience QB and a great WR roll into Jordan-Hare, where Auburn has not exactly been spectacular in openers. Tack on some high preseason expectations and we have ourselves a trap game. Auburn is much more talented than Washington State, but they have to play to prove it. Auburn cannot win in a shootout. That's just not the way they get it done. I'm also worried that if Auburn jumps to an early lead that Tubs will call off the dogs early (see Alabama, two years running, VaTech in 2004). He does this and wins, but the final margin is not an indicator of the actual game. I don't really care one way or another except for the fact that Washington State, if given the opportunity, can put up some points in a hurry. If Tubs playes this one Spurrier-esque, Auburn wins easily. If he tries to sit on a lead, I'll be nervous until that last second ticks off the clock. Next up is Mississippi State. Auburn easily wins this one. LSU then rolls into town, and as I've already discussed, this will be a great game and could go either way. I think Auburn is slightly better, but I am very worried about the secondary. Buffalo is an easy win, but then the Tigers have to go to South Carolina. I am only worried about this game because of how badly Auburn crushed South Carolina last year. If the Tigers think they are going to win as easily this year, they are mistaken. QB Blake Mitchell will actually be playing in this game, for one, and he will be in his second year of Spurrier's offense. I think Auburn is still too talented for the Gamecocks, but Auburn has to show up and play the way they can. Arkansas is another interesting game. Yes, Auburn is more talented, but Arkansas has a couple of stud running backs and has historically given Auburn fits. They seem to always be good for about 14-17 points a game. I think Auburn can score more than this, so I'm giving them the nod, but I certainly do not want to miss this game, and I pray that it is somehow miraculously picked up nationally so I can watch it from Wisconsin. Florida comes to Jordan-Hare the following week, and they will leave with a loss. Without a running game to speak of, Auburn's defense will tee-off on Chris Leak. I refuse to believe the spread option will work in the SEC. Also, though Florida's defense is supposed to be good, Auburn's offense is simply that much better. If Auburn drops 20, they win. Tulane, Ole Miss, and Arkansas State should all be easy wins, but it's possible Ole Miss may put up a fight. We'll see how that goes later on in the year. The final two games are against UGa and Bama. Both teams have gotten worse in the offseason, and Auburn has gotten better. I have to give the initial nod to the Tigers, who beat both teams last year. If Auburn can stop the run, neither team has much else to rely on. So, the final tally could run from 12-0 (possible, but I wouldn't put my money on anyone in the SEC running the table) to 10-2. Over two losses would be a very disappointing regular season for Auburn, because as one sportswriter put it this summer, "the road may never again be as clear." I won't say never again, but it seems like this may be Auburn's year.