| 23. Auburn Tigers |
| #7 in SEC |
I was very high on Auburn last year, and distinctly remember other disagreeing with my take strongly. A season opening neutral site win over Washington appeared to vindicate me, and while a 1 point home loss to LSU is forgivable, going back to back with a two touchdown loss to Mississippi State, followed by a home loss at Tennessee, is not. Their other two losses, at Georgia and at Alabama, were not horrible, but the margins of 17 and 31 were. The offense never seemed to fit together right, between Malzahn’s style, Chip Lindsey’s style, and Jarrett Stidham’s skill set. Those who watched the Music City Bowl saw how it was supposed to go, scoring 56 points in the first half. Those who only saw that performance would probably struggle to figure out how Auburn finished 10th in the SEC in per play offense, and 11th in total offense. So while Chip Lindsey is now the head coach at Troy, he was leaving either way. He had already taken the same position at Kansas. Guys don’t usually jump laterally from Auburn to Kansas on their own volition, even with the caveat that you are going from working for Gus Malzahn to Les Miles. And Stidham declared early for the Draft. But while the coordinator and quarterback are gone, there’s a chance the whole thing will click better this year. Malik Willis returns after being the #2 quarterback last year, seeing action in 8 games. But while Stidham wasn’t mobile enough for Malzahn, Willis’ arm is very problematic. The job may go to true freshman Bo Nix, the #1 dual threat quarterback recruit in the nation last year. If that isn’t enough, he just happens to be the son of Patrick Nix, the Auburn legend, who quarterbacked Terry Bowden’s undefeated team. So you know who the fans want. He can hurt you with his legs too, maybe not to the same degree as Willis, and Auburn should be running the ball plenty. Kam Martin wasn’t nearly as effective in 2018 as he was with his limited touches in 2017, but getting him back for a senior year behind breakout freshman JaTarvious Whitlow and an offensive line that returns all five starters should help boost an offense that was an unthinkable 11th in the SEC in rushing. It’s an offense that tried to fit it’s scheme to it’s talent, which is commendable when so many stubborn coaches try to fit their talent into their scheme, but at Auburn it simply didn’t work, and Malzahn did not like going from #7 to #26 to #63 over the past three years in terms of run call rate. Between the talent set of the quarterback, the depth at running back, and the experience on the line, this team should throw the ball far less anyway, but mix in the mess at receiver, and it’s even more obvious. They had a great possession-deep threat combo between the graduated Ryan Davis (69 catches, 7.9 ypc) and the early departed Darius Slayton (35 catches, 19.1 ypc), but now have to lean more on Seth Williams and Anthony Schwartz, who were productive freshmen, but have to grow up quickly. On defense it starts and stops with the line, which could be the best in the nation. It was already in the running for that title if projected first round pick Derrick Brown had left early, as expected. Instead, he shocked Tiger fans by returning for his senior year to push that group over the top. Even with Jamel Dean turning pro, the secondary still should be good. The linebackers are a major concern though, after starting three seniors a year ago. The projected starters entering the spring combined for 37 tackles, no sacks, no interceptions, in limited action last season. Omen Pappoe, the #1 rated outside linebacker recruit in the country, is enrolled early, and has a chance to start from Day 1.
| KEY PLAYERS |
| RB | JaTarvious Whitlow, Sophomore |
| WR | Seth Williams, Sophomore |
| T | Prince Tega Wanogho, Senior |
| . |
| DE | Nick Coe, Junior |
| DT | Derrick Brown, Senior |
| S | Daniel Thomas, Senior |
