A Little Prognostication

Last year was an up-and-down experience as an Auburn fan. Highs (LSU/Florida) gave way to lows (GA/Ark); but, it was Tuberville's best year of coaching. This year, he may have to do an even better job to reach the ten-win mark. An extremely tough schedule, replacing four out of five OL's and finding a go-to receiver could result in a disappointing year for some AU fans.

Let's look at the first three games on AU's schedule. I'm also including some photos of the biggest "fans". Know your enemy and stuff. I'll wait to break down the other games after we play a few:

Sept. 1, 2007
Kansas State (ESPN) 6:45 pm CT: It's a quality opener. It's not Texas; but, it's not Western Carolina, either (ahem). More importantly, I am thankful it's not Texas. The D will have to be ready out of the gates, because the offense won't be. Look for an ugly win (but a win, nonetheless).

KSU was not exactly a world beater last year. They finished the year ranked 105th in scoring offense (21.2 points per game) and 122nd in scoring defense (22.7 points per game). It was a schizophrenic team throughtout the year, indicative of the youth it started on both offense and defense. KSU won its first three games (Illinois State, Florida Atlantic, Marshall), lost 4 out of its next 5 games (Louisville, Baylor, Nebraska, Missouri), rattled off three impressive wins (Iowa State, Colorado, Texas), and then promptly lost its last two (Kansas, Rutgers).

As I said, it was a young team (and will continue to be this year). Four out of its eleven starters on offense are sophomores (including returning starter Josh Freemen at quarterback). The defense is a little better with only two sophomore starters.

The Cats should be better this year with another year of experience under its quarterback's belt. The Texas win was huge (even though Texas's aptly-named quarterback, Colt McCoy, was knocked out early in the game) and probably gave the kids something to draw upon. However, AU should win this game.

Sept. 8, 2007
South Florida (ESPN2) 8:00 pm CT: Holy crap this game scares the bejesus out of me. USF's D is good and has the potential to be absolutely filthy. Last year, it ranked 18th in scoring defense; 26th in total defense; and returns seven starters. Offense is so/so, but USF's QB is a gamer. USF ranked 65th last year in offensive scoring (AU was 56th).

The major problem with this game is that, while it may be "just another game" to AU, it is the game of the year for USF. That means we are going to get their best shot. We better be ready and pumped. Otherwise, it could get ugly. Hope for a win; any win will do.

Sept. 15, 2007
Miss. State (LF Sports) 11:30 am CT: Thank you, Jebus, for allowing AU's SEC opener to be against MSU. Amen. I don't think I really need to break this game down. MSU is not, well, what we call a good football team. In fact, they, uh, suck.

I'm leaving the rest of the schedule up and will comment at a later time. Until then, I leave you with this great photo from the folks at Rivals:

That's Mario Fannin. He's going to be good. And stuff.

Sept. 22, 2007
New Mexico St.
6:00 pm CT

Sept. 29, 2007
at Florida
TBA

Oct. 6, 2007
Vanderbilt
TBA

Oct. 13, 2007
at Arkansas
TBA

Oct. 20, 2007
at LSU
TBA

Oct. 27, 2007
Ole Miss
TBA

Nov. 3, 2007
Tennessee Tech
1:30 pm CT

Nov. 10, 2007
at Georgia
TBA

Nov. 24, 2007
Alabama
TBA