To build excitement for the upcoming season, I will be releasing an individual team preview for each of my top 25 teams every day until the season starts. The preview continues with #3 Auburn.
2013 Review
Auburn had a new head coach, coming off of a 3-9 season and a winless conference record. They were expected to do better, although most people didn't give them a chance against the likes of Alabama, LSU or Texas A&M in the SEC West. The Tigers would open the season with three wins against Washington State, Arkansas State, and Mississippi State, before losing to LSU. The LSU sparked something as Auburn would go on to win all of their last eight games, with four of them coming against ranked opponents. The last two games of Auburn's regular season were classics, starting with a hail mary touchdown pass at the last second to beat Georgia 43-38, followed by what will go down as one of the most iconic moments in college football history, when Chris Davis returned an Alabama missed field goal 109 yards with no time on the clock for a 34-28 Auburn win. The memorable "kick six" would send Auburn to the SEC Championship game, where they used their unstoppable run game to beat Missouri 59-42. Winning the SEC championship was enough to push the Tigers into the final BCS National Championship game, where they would blow an early lead and fall 34-31 to Florida State.
Season Outlook
Auburn won't be surprising anyone this season, although if their offense can run as effectively as it did last year, they should be fine. They open the season with a conference battle against Arkansas, before an easy win over San Jose State. Their third game will be a key Thursday night non-conference match-up on the road against Kansas State. After an easy win over Louisiana Tech, Auburn will have to take on LSU, who was the only team to beat the Tigers last year. After another win against Mississippi State, they will face five preseason ranked teams in their last six games, with home games against South Carolina, Texas A&M and Samford, and road games against Ole Miss, Georgia and Alabama, which could be the most hyped regular season game in history. Auburn will have another great year, but I don't think that they will be able to win the SEC again.
Season Prediction
11-1 (7-1) 2nd in SEC West
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