Auburn is one of the country’s most recognized brands. They continually contend for the titles in the country’s toughest division (arguably). They are looking up this year. Though they ended last season with a loss to eventual national champion UCF, they beat college football playoff winner Alabama and they return possibly the country’s best QB in Jarrett Stidham.
Prestige Ranking (If NCAA Football 19 existed):
5*… Auburn has almost 800 wins all time, as well as two national titles (one as recently as 2010). They are a fringe six-star program, but with zero trips to the college football playoff so far, I thought five was more appropriate.
Last Year’s Record: 10-4 (7-1 SEC)
Projected Returning Starters:
Offense: 6
QB Jarrett Stidham, WR Darius Slayton, WR Ryan Davis, H-Back Chandler Cox, OL Prince Wanogho, OL Mike Horton
As previously mentioned, Auburn brings back star QB Jarrett Stidham, who threw for roughly 3200 yards and 18 TDs last season. Stidham will bring back his top two receivers in terms of yards, Slayton and Davis, who combined for about 1400 yards and 10 TDs last year. They also bring back one of their backup receivers, Nate Craig-Myers, who added three TDs last year. They bring back both their starting H-back and starting TE, though Auburn doesn’t tend to run a lot of sets with a TE in formation. Lastly, they only bring back two of last year’s starting linemen and will need some new guys to step up to keep at a high level.
Defense: 6
DL Marlon Davidson, DL Dontavious Russell, DL Derrick Brown, LB Deshaun Davis, LB Darrell Williams, DB Javaris Davis
Auburn will bring back a good unit in a conference that usually doesn’t have a lot of teams who throw around the ball. They only bring back one of their starting DBs, though they also bring back a nickelback. The one DB they bring back did lead the team in INTs last year. On the other half of the defense, Auburn returns five of their front seven. They also still have four of their top five leaders in sacks, as well as three of their top four leading tacklers (including leading tackler Deshaun Davis). This unit will likely be strong for Auburn and put them in a good position to win games.
Special Teams: 2
P Aidan Marshall, KR Noah Igbinoghene
Auburn had two punters over the course of the season last year, but Marshall took significantly more punts, and averaged almost 40 yards per. They will also return Noah Igbinoghene, who averaged 24 yards per kick return last season for the Tigers
Key Losses:
RB Kerryon Johnson, RB Kam Pettway, WR Will Hastings, DL Jeff Holland, DB Tray Matthews, K Daniel Carlson
While Auburn brings back a lot on both sides, they still need to replace a lot of production. Kerryon Johnson was a star for the team last year, rushing for 1400 yards and 18 TDs; Kam Pettway also added 300 yards and 6 TDs in relief of Johnson. Hastings was 3rd on the team in receiving yards and receiving TDs. DL Jeff Holland led the team in sacks last year (9.5), which is 5.5 more than anyone else on the team had. Lastly, Tray Matthews was 2nd on the team in tackles and tied for 2nd on the team in INTs. All of their production will surely be missed this upcoming year for the Tigers.
Five Year Recruiting Rank (Bill Connelly): 7
This is a great ranking for the future of Auburn football. Their recruiting needs to be top notch to keep up with Alabama in the SEC and in recruiting at least, they are succeeding. In the fertile recruiting hotbed of SEC country, a lot of SEC teams typically have high recruiting rankings, and Auburn is part of the top section of the conference in that right.
Alcohol Prediction for Fans By Seasons End:
A shot of Smirnoff Orange with a mix of blueberry, which will be like the 1-2 punch Auburn will be this season.
The Tyroil Smoochie-Wallace All Name Team:
Big Kat Bryant. I would assume this is a nickname, but on the roster he is listed as “Big Kat” and if by some miracle his real name is Big Kat, it just makes it that much better.
Outlook: Auburn is one of the few SEC teams that schedules a tough non-conference game. Week 1, Auburn is in probably the game of the week as they have a neutral site game against the Pac 12 favorites, the Washington Huskies. Their conference schedule isn’t the easiest, as they have a cross division game against Georgia, on the road no less. They also have to travel to Starkville to take on Mississippi State. Two of their last three games are at Georgia and at Alabama in the last week; luckily for Auburn, they get to break up those two games with a game against the Liberty Flames. Regardless, Auburn has an extremely difficult schedule and will most likely not return to the SEC title game.
