SEC Preview: The Mystery that is Auburn

With Gus Malzah, the University of Auburn was always a mystery. A fun mystery, but a mystery nonethleless.

This was a team that would beat Georgia or Alabama or LSU one season, and lose terrible games to a poor Mississippi team, or – as was the case last year – a piss-poor South Carolina team.

But in the background was always Alabama, Alabama, Alabama. Never mind that Malzahn had taken his team to a National Championship Game where they lost in heartbreaker, won a National Championship Game as an OC, and won the SEC Championship twice. His 3-5 record against Alabama proved he could do it when others couldn’t (3-5 isn’t terrible), and his 3-5 record against LSU in one of the weirdest college football rivalries was none too shabby. His 2-7 record against Georgia was the only one that was awful. However, against others it was pretty mixed – a reason why he ended up with a 38-27 record.

Anyway, he was fired by Auburn, and paid off a hefty amount of get his ass booted.

After a protracted coaching search, Boise State head coach Brian Harsin who hired….and within a few months of his arrival, he managed to piss off the College Football world by refusing to partake in anti-COVID State PSA ads, and then getting COVID himself. 

Anyway, here we go with the Auburn 2021 Predictions:

OFFENSE

There’s a running joke about about Bo Nix. “This is the year. Bo Nix has improved so much under this new offense. He’s focused. He’s having fun. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a dark horse for the Heisman.”

The problem with Bo Nix is that we’ve only seen him have one or two completely good games – the 2019 victory over Alabama being one….and…..the last drive of the Oregon victory in his first game in 2019.

Harsin will be hoping and praying that OC Mike Bobo can get a lot better out of him than Malzahn did.

One of the great problems for Nix is the fact that Seth Williams, Anthony Schwartz and Eli Stove – his three biggest targets – are gone. Stove was the lowest on the receiving yards on 359 – the No.4 receiver and TE John Samuel Shenker – had 97. There will be a lot of hope that Georgia transfer Demetris Robinson can take up a lot of the slack.

That means that a lot of emphasis will be on the running game of Tank Bigsby. He was immense in his first year on The Plains, rushing for 834 yards and 5 TDs. We can’t wait to see him this season, especially with Shaun Shivers (2C76 yards, 1 TD) behind him, and Nix’s legs (388 yards, 7 TD).

His offensive line will hopefully be a lot better than it was in 2020 to make that happen.

DEFENSE

Auburn had one of the best moves of the offseason when they hired Derek Mason, who was one of the best DCs in the country before his ill-fated adventure as head coach of Vanderbilt. Now he’s back at the position – it could well be fun.

His defensive group brings back seven starters on a defense that was hopefully be well-improved, led by the LB couplet of Zakoby McClain (who led the SEC in tackles with 113) and Owen Pappoe are immense.

Sack leader and DE Derick Hall is also back (he had 4), alongside other DE Colby Wooden. Kansas transfer Marcus Harris will provide some back-up.

Secondary-wise, the Tigers are elite. The excellently-named Smoke Monday had 73 tackles and an interception return for a TD and Roger McCreary (5th in the SEC with 3 INTs last year) are excellent. Back-up Christian Tutt’s move to the NFL was awful. He’s now an UDFA. Why didn’t he just stay in college (even not at Auburn?

However, former four-star sophomore Chris Thompson Jr transfer to USC might leave a bit of whole (he was expected to be the starting safety), although there will be hopes that imported transfers Kamal Hadden and Dreshun Miller (West Virginia) will fill some of that gap.

SCHEDULE

Akron

Alabama State

at Penn State

Georgia State

at LSU

Georgia

at Arkansas

Ole Miss

at Texas A&M

Mississippi State

at South Carolina

Alabama

Auburn will go 2-0 before losing at Penn State in a thriller, and then rebound to pound Georgia State. They will contrive to lose in some nonsensical fashion at LSU (as is the trend) and lose to tight one to Georgia, as Bo Nix runs for his life. That’s 3-3, and The Plains is getting grumpy. However, wins over Arkansas, Mississippi State and at South Carolina should get them to a bowl game – even if losing at home to Ole Miss, losing at Texas A&M and then losing a closer-than-you-would-think Iron Bowl won’t exactly keep the haters happy.

PREDICTION: 6-6