Auburn Tigers
Head Coach: Gene Chizik
2011 Record: 8-5 overall, 4-4 SEC West
2011 Bowl Result: Beat Virginia 43-24 in Chick-Fil-A Bowl
Odds to Win SEC West Division: 12/1
Odds to Win SEC Championship Game: 25/1
Odds to Win 2013 BCS Championship: 75/1
Over Under Regular Season Wins: Under 7 1/2 -160 / Over +130
All Odds Courtesy of Bovada

Two seasons ago, Auburn won the BCS Championship under coach Gene Chizik, thanks to the outer worldly play of quarterback Cam Newton. The season before arch-rival Alabama won the national title. Last year, Alabama won it again. Auburn fans would love to continue that trend of alternating titles with Alabama. That might be asking a bit much, but Auburn is still a dangerous and talented team.

Auburn went 8-5 last year, the first without Newton at quarterback. The five losses came to Clemson, Arkansas, LSU, Georgia, and Alabama, all by 14 or more points. All five of those teams played in Bowl games that were played on New Year’s Day or later. The Tigers had quality wins over Mississippi St, South Carolina, Florida, and Virginia in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. Teh most memorable game might have been the season opener at home against Utah St. The Aggies were up 10 points with under 4 minutes to go. Auburn scored 2 touchdowns in the last 2 minutes of the game, and also recovered an onside kick. Auburn survived the upset bid 42-38 in a wild game.

Offense

Last year’s offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn left to become the head coach at Arkansas St. Temple offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler was hired to replace him. Malzahn used a no huddle offense that put more of an emphasis on rushing, while Loeffler prefers a more balanced passing and rushing attack. Last season Auburn averaged 337 yards, per game with 182 rushing yards per game. The passing game was #105 out of 120 teams with just 156 yards a game. Auburn scored 25.7 points per game, which was #70 in the country.

Auburn used two quarterbacks last year. Barrett Trotter and Clint Moseley combined for just under 2,000 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions last year. Trotter is gone, but Moseley, a junior returns. He was locked in a tight battle with sophomore Kiehl Frazier in the spring and fall for the starting QB job. Moseley is a pure drop back passer and won’t run the ball. He was sacked 17 times last year, which was 13 percent of his drop backs. Frazier is a dual-threat quarterback who will run. In only 76 carries last year he was the third leading rusher for the Tigers with 327 yards and 3 touchdowns. He didn’t show much in the passing game as he was sacked twice and intercepted twice in his 12 attempts last year. It was announced this week that Frazier was named the starting quarterback, but Moseley could see a few snaps as well. True Freshman Zeke Pike will be the third string quarterback.

The Tigers must replace leading rusher Michael Dyer who was suspended indefinitely before the bowl game last year. Dyer rushed for over 1,200 yards with 10 touchdowns last year.  He later left the team and transferred to Arkansas St to join Malzahn. Last month, he was pulled over for speeding, and police found a gun and marijuana. He was kicked off the Arkansas St team, and this week enrolled at tiny Arkansas Baptist College. Senior Ontario McCalebb returns after he had 112 carries, 641 yards, and 5 touchdowns. He was also the second leading receiver for the Tigers with 32 catches, 344 yards and 2 touchdowns. Sophomore Tre Mason had 161 yards on 28 carries last year with a touchdown. He will be the primary back-up. Sophomore Corey Grant is a transfer from Alabama. He is versatile and can be used as a running back, returner, or receiver. Redshirt freshman Mike Blakely and true freshman Jovon Robinson will also get some carries. Illinois transfer Jay Prosch was an All-American fullback. He is one of the best blocking backs in the country, but won’t get any carries.

Receiver Emory Blake had 36 catches, 613 yards, and 5 touchdowns. He returns as does tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen, who had 24 catches, 238 yards, and 7 touchdowns. Travante Stallworth had 13 catches, 214 yards, and a touchdown. DeAngelo Benton had 7 catches, 136 yards, and a touchdown. Sammie Coates, Quan Bray, and Trovon Reed will also get targets.

Senior John Sullen moves from right guard to left guard. The rest of the line will be made up of freshmen and sophomores. The line could struggle with growing pains until the kids get up to speed.

Defense

Auburn gave up 408 yards and 29 points a game last year. Both were in the low 70’s nationally out of 120 teams. Auburn had the second worst defense in the SEC last year. Coordinator Ted Roof left to become the coordinator at Central Florida, and was hired by Penn St after that. Chizik brought in Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Brian Van Gorder to run the defense. Van Gorder has promised to blitz more with an experienced line. In fact, Auburn returns 9 starters on defense.

Junior defensive end Corey Lemonier had 47 tackles, including 13.5 for loss, and 9.5 sacks last year along with 5 forced fumbles. Junior Nosa Eguae will start at the other end. He made 38 tackles, including 6 for loss, and recorded 12 quarterback hurries. The tackles will be some combination of Jeffrey Whitaker. Kenneth Carter, and Gabe Wright. Dee Ford is the only senior on the line, and he battled back injuries last year.

Senior Daren Bates leads the linebackers. He led the Tigers in tackles with 104, including 8.5 for loss and 2.5 sacks. Jake Holland had 43 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 3.5 tackles for loss. Jonathan Evans made 40 tackles last year on the strongside. Kris Frost could also get some time at outside linebacker. Chris Landrum and Justin Garrett will also get time in the rotation.

Junior Chris Davis will start at one corner after making 60 tackles last year. Senior T’Sharvan Bell will start the other corner after making 45 tackles, 3.5 for loss, and 2 interceptions. he missed several games last year with a knee injury. Juniors Ryan Smith and Demetruce McNeal will start at the safeties. Robenson Therezie, Erique Florence and Jermaine Whitehead will also get time in the secondary rotation.

Special Teams

Junior kicker Cody Parkey made 13 of 18 field goals last year, including 6 of 10 from 40-49 yards.

Junior punter Steven Clark averaged 40.8 yards per punt, but he had 33 inside the 20 and forced 34 fair catches.

The kickoff return unit led the SEC averaging 24.7 yards per return. Tre Mason averaged 26.4 yards per return and Ontario McCalebb averaged 30.7 yards per return. The punt return wasn’t terrible but could be better. Quan Bray averaged 7.4 yards per punt return.

Schedule

Auburn opens at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta against Clemson, then travels to Mississippi St. Then comes three home games against Louisiana-Monroe, LSU and Arkansas. Then comes a road trip to Ole Miss and Vanderbilt. The Tigers then host Texas A&M, New Mexico St, Georgia, and Alabama St. The last game of the season is the Iron Bowl at Alabama.

Outlook

The offense will have more depth at running back, but I don’t know if they can equal the production of Dyer. Plus they are breaking in a new quarterback. The defense should be better just because of the experience. The schedule is tough but most of the more difficult teams come to Auburn except Alabama and Clemson which is a neutral site game in Atlanta. The Tigers won 8 games last year. That sounds about right for this year too.

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