AuburnUndercover
by Bryan Matthews
AUBURN, Ala. -- Auburn won the SEC Championship and came within 13 seconds of winning the BCS national championship last season. Can the Tigers make another championship run in 2014?
Below are five reasons why this year’s Tigers are poised for another championship season.
1. The passing game
There’s no doubt that Auburn emerged from spring practice as a better passing team. Those 15 practices were huge for Nick Marshall as he became more consistent throwing the ball and more confident running the offense.
It’s also clear that Auburn’s receiving corps came out of spring better, and is perhaps the deepest and most talented position on the team. Sammie Coates and D’haquille Williams look like legit No. 1 SEC receivers and there’s plenty of good players behind them.
2. Quarterbacks are MIA
At least eight SEC teams will be breaking in new quarterbacks this season including five of the eight on Auburn’s schedule. Gone are LSU’s Zach Mettenberger, South Carolina’s Connor Shaw, Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel, Georgia’s Aaron Murray and Alabama’s A.J. McCarron. That’s a lot of very talented and very successful quarterbacks Auburn won’t be facing this season.
Now, some of their replacements will be very good, some will be average, and some probably won’t be starters by the second half of the season. Regardless, it’s an advantage for Auburn to be facing so many inexperienced signal callers.
3. The line of scrimmage
Lawson is Auburn's top pass rusher.
It’s long been said and still rings true, you can’t win in the SEC without winning at the line of scrimmage. That bodes well for Auburn in 2014. The Tigers return four of five starters on the offensive line and come out of spring practice with at least six players that the coaches are confident can be SEC starters.
On the other side of the ball, Auburn has five senior defensive linemen plus an exciting group of second-year players including Carl Lawson, Elijah Daniel and Montravius Adams. With six more defensive line signees reporting this summer, this will be a very deep and talented group.
4. Gus Malzahn and his staff
Gus Malzahn has been successful in all eight years at the college level and enters this season with a 21-5 record in two years as a head coach with two conference championships. He knows how to win, and he and offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee have proven they can put up yards and points against the best defenses.
Auburn has a veteran coaching staff that includes defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson, and his side of the ball looks like it’s ready to take a step forward in year two. Malzahn’s staff also includes strength and condition coach Ryan Russell, who was integral in molding last year’s team and is pushing this year’s players to be even better.
5. Power football
There’s a lot of opposing fans that just don’t get it when it comes to Malzahn and his offense. You still hear works like spread and gimmicky when they describe it. I wonder if these people have ever sat down and actually watched Auburn’s offense and if they were paying attention when this team rushed for an SEC-record 4,596 yards last season. This is power football and teams that don’t understand that or can’t prepare for it, usually get knocked five or more yards off the ball.
With an improved passing game and an experienced offensive line, Auburn’s running game should be just as powerful in 2014. The Tigers may not average 320 rushing yards per game, but there’s a good chance it tops last year’s average of 39.5 points per game with a more diversified attack.
