Auburn Tigers

5-7 (2-6)

Week 1: September 3rd vs. Utah State - Utah St. is a WAC team and like most WAC teams they can score, and they have 9 returning starters coming back from last years 4-8 team. This game is sure to have a rowdy crowd being the first game of a new season after winning the national title, and Utah State won't stand much of a chance. Barrett Trotter will need to get his legs under him quick because the SEC schedule starts next week.

Week 2: September 10th vs. Mississippi State - Auburn's offensive line was gutted this offseason, and they are going to have to come together quick against Josh Boyd, Fletcher Cox and #5 D-line in the league. The Tiger's have great running backs as always but will they have enough room to run with that inexperienced line? State's linebackers are the main question, but with the above being said and Auburn QB Barrett Trotter getting his first taste of an SEC defense will Auburn be able to expose that possible weakness. I don't think Auburn matches up well at all when MSU has the ball either. State has a returning QB and WRs vs. Auburn's very inexperienced defense which I rate at near the bottom in every unit and #11 overall. This game is also going to be an 11:30 kick so the Auburn faithful will not have all day to get revved up. I'm going with Mississippi State to pull away with a sound victory.

Week 3: September 17th at Clemson - This game was a classic a year ago, going into overtime with Auburn winning 27-24 at home. Clemson loses their QB Kyle Parker, but Auburn losing their QB, and Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton. Still, Clemson has 9 returning starters on offense and 5 on defense. They play Troy and Wofford in the first two games while Auburn is coming off their first SEC test the week before vs. Mississippi State. This game is at Clemson and I think Auburn goes down in another tightly contested game.

Week 4: September 24th vs. Florida Atlantic - Auburn should have some things to work on after a couple of tough games in September. It will be good for their inexperienced players to gain that experience early on and when they come into this game at home I think they will be ready to blow through the Owls.

Week 5: October 1st at South Carolina - The Gamecocks should be riding high and welcome the defending national champions into town. Auburn will struggle to cover Alshon Jeffrey and I'm not sure they have the front 7 to contend with Marcus Lattimore and put pressure on Stephen Garcia. I think South Carolina matches up really well against Auburn and they will win this game.

Week 6: October 8th at Arkansas - There's been some years where this game has been an upset, by a large margin, for both teams. If it happens this year it will be Auburn winning, especially with the game in Fayetteville. Arkansas has way too much offense for an Auburn D that will most likely struggle all year. The good news for Auburn in this game is that Arkansas will be coming off two big games and they could be banged up, the bad new is that this is their second consecutive road game, most likely both against Top 10 opponents...and they've got Florida next week. Arkansas finds comfort at home and wins by a couple scores.

Week 7: October 15th vs. Florida - This is in the middle of a brutal stretch for both teams. This is the only home game during a stretch which I think is the most brutal in the SEC for Auburn and Florida is coming off games vs. Alabama and at LSU. So both teams could have major injury and fatigue concerns heading into this game and into the 4th quarter. If Charlie Weis is able to mold Florida's offense into what it's capable of then I think Auburn's D will have a hard time catching up. Florida's D is young and athletic and could cause major problems for Auburn's inexperienced QB situation. I think this game will be close, and Auburn/Florida games are always great games which Auburn usually wins. But I'm calling for the Gators to go into Jordan-Hare and steal one.

Week 8: October 22nd at LSU - This is one of the best games in the SEC every year, and it usually has a lot to say about who wins the West. I'm not so sure it will this year since Auburn lost everyone, but you never know. I think LSU beats Auburn in every single category except running back. And if that's the case and this is the 4th straight game against some of the top competition in the country for Auburn, it's not good news for War Eagle. The game is in Death Valley...and while Auburn will have some fight, LSU wins the game.

Week 9: October 29th vs. Ole Miss - This game could determine which team finished 5th in the West (stays out of the cellar) and which team goes to a bowl game. Auburn has been quietly dominating this series over the last 6-7 years. Unfortunately for Ole Miss, they are catching Auburn later in the season, when I think their young, talented players will have gained a lot of experience and played in a lot of big games. With this game in Auburn, I'm going to go with the Tigers.

Week 10: Bye - Really Auburn needed this bye during that stretch of South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida, and LSU...but they'll have a chance to catch their breath here with three games to go. I'm only predicting a 3-6 mark before the bye, but that still leaves the window open for a chance at a bowl.

Week 11: November 12th at Georgia - It's hard to gauge where a team who has so much youth going into the season will be at this point of the season, and that is a factor for both of these teams. But as I see it right now, Georgia has Aaron Murrey and some play makers on offense that should be able to move the ball against a less than stellar Auburn defense. The game is in Athens, and I'm picking UGA.

Week 12: November 19th vs. Samford - This is an easy game and Auburn will blow them out in preparation for the Iron Bowl, which will be the end all be all for Auburn's season.

Week 13: November 26th vs. Alabama - This is the Iron Bowl and the one game in the entire country where you can truly throw the records out. In '09 Alabama was undefeated and looking for a SEC and national title, they had to come from behind to get it in Auburn. The Tigers were in the exact same situation last year and had to do the same thing, but on a larger scale. Bama has some really big expectations this year, and Auburn is rebuilding. Bama has more experience and virtually every position except quarterback and runningback where they are about the same...but like I said throw the records out. Auburn upsets Bama because I want them to.


JB