2008 Auburn Tigers Football Preview

2008 Auburn Tigers season preview from Maddux Sports. Below you can find our official Auburn Tigers football preview as well as the 2008 Auburn Tigers Football Schedule. We also offer a free odds comparison service of lines and totals on the NCAA football odds page.

Coach: Tommy Tuberville (10th year at Auburn)
Team Name: Tigers
2007 Overall Record: 9-4
Returning Starters: 16

The Auburn Tigers (9- 4 overall, 5- 3 SEC) finished second in the SEC West, while the LSU Tigers topped that division. LSU went to the BCS Championship game, while on January 2, 2008, Auburn met and hammered Oklahoma 48-28 in the Fiesta Bowl. This season the Tigers of Auburn look poised to be atop the Tigers of LSU.

QB Kodi Burns (26 ATT, 10 COMP, 145 YDS, 2 TDs, 1 INT), a sophomore, has the chops to both throw and run. He looks to be the starter. Still, Chris Todd, a junior college transfer, has more experience and could still possibly get the nod. Look for the team to utilize a spread offense and to attempt to accumulate more passing yards. Last season’s average of 178.2 YPG in the air was a dismal 103rd nationally. Senior Rodgeriqus Smith (52 REC, 705 YDS, 5 TDs) returns as the team’s leading receiver. RB Ben Tate (202 CAR, 903 YDS, 8 TDs) can push through defenders and find holes. He’s back as Tigers’ leading rusher. Senior RB Brad Lester picked up 530 yards and crossed the goal line three times in 2007.

Defensive end Antonio Coleman is the team’s leading sacker from last season—8.5. The frontline has two new starters, but both saw plenty of work last season. The linebacking squad fields three vets— senior Chris Evans, junior Tray Blackmon and sophomore Craig Stevens. Blackmon, despite past injuries and off-field problems, has the potential to be an impact player. The secondary has talent but is extremely dependent on the performance of untested freshmen. In 2007, sophomore safety Zac Etheridge had 65 stops with 37 solo.

Swing games will be against LSU on September 20 and the following week versus Tennessee. Near the end of the season, Auburn is at home against Georgia. This will be a tough game for both clubs.

In nine years with Auburn, head coach Tommy Tuberville is 80-33. The team had a very weak offense last season so Tuberville hired a new coordinator—Tony Franklin. He’s also brought in a new defensive guru—Paul Rhoads—to replace Will Muschamp who went to Texas. Auburn looks like a contender for the conference championship. Their defense gave up just 16.9 PPG, making them sixth in the nation in that category. But the Tigers scored only 24.2 PPG, which was 84th in the country. More points from the offense would be helpful.

Auburn Tigers Football Schedule

Date	Opponent	Home/Away
Aug 30	ULM	Home
Sep 6	S. Mississippi	Home
Sep 13	Mississippi St	Away
Sep 20	LSU	Home
Sep 27	Tennessee	Home
Oct 4	Vanderiblt	Away
Oct 11	Arkansas	Home
Oct 23	West Virginia	Away
Nov 1	Mississippi	Away
Nov 8	Tennessee Martin	Home
Nov 15	Georgia	Home
Nov 29	Alabama	Away

 

For more info on the 2008 Auburn Tigers football program, view the Tigers official website or scroll down below to read up on the rest of the SEC competition.