Alabama and Auburn Season Preview Part 2

Here is part 2 of my season preview. Before I move onto Auburn, I want to mention a few things about my Alabama preview from Tuesday. I talked a great deal about the QB situation for Bammer. I want to say that I think basically every other position will be good, but a QB controversy can cause lots of problems on a good team. Like I said Tuesday, the D will win them more games than the O.

Next up, Auburn:

My predictions are assuming that Russel Wilson decides not to go to Auburn (which looks to be the case). Auburn will be very young but very talented on defense this year. Lots of the young players played last year, but very few were starters. D-line is the most troubling. How do you replace an absolute monster like Nick Fairley? Also, don't forget how good Antoine Carter was on the edge. The D will have to make up for a very inexperienced offense. The O-line was a real strength lst year, but seems to me to be the real weakness this year. That is not good for SEC play. I don't think Barrett Trotter or Clint Mosley are too impressive at QB. Trotter could be a very good game manager who picks up needed short yards with his feet, but I doubt he will make it through the year without getting hurt. Auburn's QBs will be similar to Bammers in performance, but coaches will pick one and go with it. At this point, I think it will be Trotter. If Frazier is named the QB during Fall Camp, then we could be in for a long year as he learns the speed and complexity of play at the collegiate level. RB should be a strong point assuming no one gets injured, and we have talent to burn at WR regardless of experience.

Game 1 VS Utah State
A tune-up game to start before AU jumps into the SEC schedule. I think the D will be able to keep Utah State from scoring too many times. I think whichever QB starts will probably have multiple TOs this game. Much like Alabama, the D and Dyer will do more than enough to put this game away by the first half of the third quarter.
Final Score: Auburn 38-13

Game 2 VS Mississippi State
I really wish this game was a little later in the season. Lucky for AU, the game is home and State has some QB issues of their own. I'm not convinced Relf has what it takes to move to the upper level of SEC QBs. This game will be an early test for the rest of the season. Lose this game, and Auburn could struggle the rest of the year. This is an early must win for AU. I think this game will be back and forth, coming down to the last possession, but this year a State receiver makes the wide open catch.
Final Score: Mississippi State 20-17

Game 3 VS Clemson
I really don't know why so many Auburn fans think this game will be a loss. Clemson lost all of its biggest playmakers from a team that wasn't that good. Clemson plays no one before Auburn which leads me to believe Dabo will game plan for this game all summer long again. As a Bammer Alum, I think he really gets a hard-on thinking about beating AU even though it will have little to no effect on the outcome of Clemson's season. With that being said, I think the first half will be competitive, but the second half will be all Auburn.
Final Score: Auburn 27-17

Game 4 VS Florida Atlantic
This is a well placed game to give AU a little break before the brutal stretch to follow. Auburn wins easy.
Final Score: Auburn 41-3

Game 5 @ South Carolina
USCe will be a solid team this year. Assuming that Stephen Garcia can just not get arrested or piss off Spurrier again their O could be one of the best in the SEC. They have a legit running and receiving threat in Marcus Lattimore and they have the SEC's best receiver in Alshon Jeffrey. Their D has been consistent over the last two years. I hate to lose to a team like Carolina, but I just don't see Auburn being able to pull off the upset in Columbia. Carolina and Lattimore hand AU its second loss of the season.
Final Score: USCe 24-13

Game 6 @ Arkansas
If you read my Bammer preview yesterday you know I am high on Arky this year. Petrino has his most well rounded team since arriving at Arkansas. The only question is the QB, but I think Tyler Wilson will be able to get it done. This one could get ugly.
Final Score: Arkansas 27-10

Game 7 VS Florida
This is a good chance for AU to get back on track against a solid team. Florida will be competitive, but lacking the players to fit their offensive scheme will hurt them all year against quality defenses. Auburn will have a quality D that is young, but extremely athletic. I expect AU to keep the ball on the ground, grind it out, and beat Florida by keeping the ball out of their hands.
Final Score: Auburn 24-10

Game 8 @ LSU
The game is at night in Baton Rouge, and the home team has had an advantage for most of the recent history of this rivalry. This will be an exciting game with lots of fireworks (defensively and on special teams). I expect a few big plays for both sides. Hopefully, it will come down to LSU needing to manage the clock to win. If it does, I say AU is a lock. Unfortunately, it probably won't, so I have to go with LSU winning (despite Les Miles) due to their collection of freak athletes.
Final Score: LSU 27-20

Game 9 VS Ole Miss
Ole Miss gets to experience Arkansas' frustration with Houston Nutt this year. Unfortunately for Nutt, Ole Miss has a quicker trigger finger than Arkansas. By this point he will be a dead man walking.
Final Score Auburn 24-6

Game 10 @ Georgia
UGA has had this game marked since Nick Fairley crushed their dreams and ate their children last year. Talk to any UGA fan, and it is clear they are still butt hurt over what happened to Aaron Murray when his O-line decided to take the night off. This is a tough game to call. If the UGA of last year shows up, then I will get to twist the knife a little deeper into all my UGA coworkers. However, if Richt can get his act together, then this will be a very close game. Personally, I think Richt does just enough to keep his job which means this game comes down to a coin flip since it is played in Athens. Hopefully, we come up on the right side.
Final Score: Auburn 20-17

Game 11 VS Samford
Rest the players. Prepare for the game that really matters.
Final Score: Auburn 45-3

Game 12 VS Alabama
Dyer has an absolutely sick game of over 200 yards. The AU defense will have experience to go along with their talent and speed. Both teams will struggle to move the ball in the air, keeping the score relatively low considering the rushing yards for both teams. A late Bammer turnover wins it for Auburn in front of a wild Jordan-Hare crowd.
Final Score: Auburn 17-16

I am probably on the sunny side for AU. We could easily have 1-2 more losses. However, we also could pull out 1 more win. I think the SEC West ends up as follows. I think there won't be more than two games separating 1-5. Many have predicting Auburn to finish last in the West. I just can't see us being worse than Ole Miss. It will suck to finish that far down in the division, but the West is so competitive that finishing fifth doesn't mean a terrible year. I would certainly be satisfied with 8 regular season wins given the schedule and inexperience on the team.
1. Arkansas
2. Bammer
3. LSU
4. Mississippi State
5. Auburn
6. Ole Miss