What SEC team on Auburn's schedule will be improved over last season?

[VA Tiger 0]

Alabama? They have virtually no QB, their OL is a major work in progress, and their defense is replacing several starters. Their RB situation is good, but people will stack the box on them, And they play nobody until Mississippi, LSU, and us.

LSU? Same boat.

South Carolina is replacing Connor Shaw, an that will have a pretty big effect upon that team,

Georgia? Aaron Murray is gone, and they might be better defensively.

Maybe, but I doubt it.

Miss State? Can't pass the ball, and their QB will only get them so far. Defense is salty.

I think the only two teams that are on Auburn's schedule that will be better than they were last season will be Ole Miss and Arkansas. And only Ole Miss gives me worry.

What are your thoughts?

[AU64 10,122]

With all the departed QBs it's hard to predict that a team like UGa or Bama or LSU will be better than last season..at least until we see what they do with a their new QBs.

Arky should be much better IMO...they have had months to prepare for AU and I'm not yet willing to write-off big Bert as some incompetent as so many AU people seem to be doing....and I bet Gus is taking him very seriously too.

[Auctoritas 2,826]

I think Miss St. will surprise people this year. Dak Prescott is the real deal.

[caleb1633 1,418]

With all the departed QBs it's hard to predict that a team like UGa or Bama or LSU will be better than last season..at least until we see what they do with a their new QBs.

Arky should be much better IMO...they have had months to prepare for AU and I'm not yet willing to write-off big Bert as some incompetent as so many AU people seem to be doing....and I bet Gus is taking him very seriously too.

I don't think Arky's defense is good enough to keep us from scoring and I don't think their offense is good enough to keep up with ours. I'm most worried about the Mississippi teams right now, but who knows what will happen at TAMU, UGA, Bama, etc. No one saw us doing what we did last year.

[AUbritt 611]

I think Miss St. will surprise people this year. Dak Prescott is the real deal.

Agreed.

[hunter021003 0]

If Prescott stays healthy, I believe Miss State plays a big factor on who wins the west. He is a better passer than most give him credit for

[NoALtiger 3,849]

I would think logically the most improved squad on our SEC schedule would be Arky. Most improved doesn't mean best (Updyke/LSU/USCe) or biggest darkhorse (Mississippi schools), it simply means more improved than last season right? If so, gotta be Butthead and the pigs. JMO

[AUGoo 2,657]

Alabama? They have virtually no QB, their OL is a major work in progress, and their defense is replacing several starters. Their RB situation is good, but people will stack the box on them, And they play nobody until Mississippi, LSU, and us.

LSU? Same boat.

South Carolina is replacing Connor Shaw, an that will have a pretty big effect upon that team,

Georgia? Aaron Murray is gone, and they might be better defensively.

Maybe, but I doubt it.

Miss State? Can't pass the ball, and their QB will only get them so far. Defense is salty.

I think the only two teams that are on Auburn's schedule that will be better than they were last season will be Ole Miss and Arkansas. And only Ole Miss gives me worry.

What are your thoughts?

Why would anyone think Bama is not going to be good? Saban has proven over and again that at this point he only reloads. Beware! Even if we are ranked higher, the Iron Bowl is always a toss up.

USCe has a QB who at times over the last three years has started when Shaw went down without their O missing a beat. He is experienced and should not be overlooked. The Old Ball Coach rarely struggles on O.

The Hat always has a D and at least a running game. I would not overlook them.

Prescott at Miss St scares me.

I am mostly concerned with how much our D improves as to how we handle this season. I'll be worried about every team we play if our D is not vastly improved.

[WFE12 9,191]

Yes, i agree with caleb..when we get the urge to say that a certain team won't improve we have to think about what others said about auburn, it's definitely going to be one of the mississippi schools if not both

[AU64 10,122]

As noted...the OP was about improved and right now it's hard to believe that teams like Bama, UGa , LSU will be better than they were last year...not saying they won't be tough but AU should be better too....so IMO, we are in good position to handle them. So, maybe MSU....but Arky has a long way to come from last year so getting better should be pretty easy for them.

[ClaytonAU 4,606]

I feel like the Mississippi schools are always "dark horses" who have a ton of hype and they never impress me when it comes to the actual game. Maybe it's just me that feels that way.

[DKW 86 7,407]

Ole Miss will be a scary team. May not win any more games, but they are going to be much more mature than they were last year.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,627]

LSU will be overall better

Miss St/Ole Miss

If we're being real, Tennessee will be the most improved (even though we don't play them)

[macauburn 6]

Arkansas will be the most improved. They have a healthy quarterback, Brandon Allen, and a new defensive coordinator, who's name escapes me. But he has had plenty of time to defense the zone read and I bet he has watched the national championship game a zillion times now. I would not be surprised if Malzahn throws him a wrinkle or two, maybe will put JJ in as quarterback to loosen up the Arkansas defense. Arkansas has some good running backs as well. Bulimia is dead set on beating Auburn. Auburn is a thorn in his side for some reason. I believe the Auburn offense will put on a clinic for Arkansas, can't wait to see it. I don't remember ever having so much anticipation to see the Auburn Tigers play this season. .

[PatBoCamRob 30]

I think it will be usce. Spurrier is usually cocky. But, he was exceptionally so during recent interviews. He must know something.

[aucanucktiger 1,789]

Improved as in better or improved as in better record? South Carolina is most improved and Ole Miss will have the most improved record IMO.

[eibua12 81]

Arkansas will be the most improved. They have a healthy quarterback, Brandon Allen, and a new defensive coordinator, who's name escapes me. But he has had plenty of time to defense the zone read and I bet he has watched the national championship game a zillion times now. I would not be surprised if Malzahn throws him a wrinkle or two, maybe will put JJ in as quarterback to loosen up the Arkansas defense. Arkansas has some good running backs as well. Bulimia is dead set on beating Auburn. Auburn is a thorn in his side for some reason. I believe the Auburn offense will put on a clinic for Arkansas, can't wait to see it. I don't remember ever having so much anticipation to see the Auburn Tigers play this season. .

Robb Smith and I wouldn't say he has had plenty of time to defense the zone read. If he watches tape from last year he is screwed because our O will be different this year and if we beat him early on deep routes because of the 4-3 and he moves to a 3 man front watch out (Ask Mizzu). However I think he will be a solid addition to the Arky staff only time will tell if they succeed.

Here is a decent rundown

http://www.arkansasfight.com/2014/3/20/5511644/a-look-at-arkansas-defensive-coordinator-robb-smiths-scheme-philosophy-razorbacks

[Wareagletd 0]

Where is everyone getting that USCe will be most improved? Their DL was gutted. If you can't win the trenches, you can't win games.

Bama will be Bama. They'll be fine.

LSU will have to rely on a strong OL and great RB and strong D to win games.

MSU is the team I'm most concerned about. Dak, D returns a lot of players.

Ole Miss is talented but their OL is absolutely thin. If one goes down, they lack depth.

Texas A&M will be great on O. But D is still lacking.

Arky is Arky. They're not ready just yet.

UGA is the team I'm most worried about.

[Dixie1860 27]

Arky will be better overall, but first game on the road will be too much. We will also be vastly improved over the team they faced last season.

USCe will be similar to the team last year, but with different strengths and weaknesses.

LSU won't be as good, but will still be good.

aTm, not even close.

MSU will be better, will be tough game.

Ole Miss, toss-up IMO, have some talent but depth is issue

UGA, about the same level as team last year.

Bama, takes small step back.

[Weegle777 78]

USCe scares me because there has been nothing but silence out of Spartanburg. Spurrier is usually running his trap big time. Bammer has a 75lb.park league schedule so they would win with a midget clown at QB, LSU with The Hat is always dangerous, Burt will crap all over himself again, Ole Sis will be better, but they still have Fabio at QB, with Goliath at QB, State will be dangerous, Muschamp will be fired, Tennessee is my sleeper in the East, Missouri is underrated IMO, A&M will decline, Georgia is overrated, and Vandy and Kentucky will be, well Vandy and Kentucky.

[aubearcat 2,132]

Ole Miss. I could see them in the top 2-3 of the west and a dark horse for the conference title game.

[AwesomeDave 1]

If Arky wins one SEC game, they will have improved by 100%.

Unfortunately, if this Coker dude is good, I think bama will be better than they were last year.

[alexava 6,972]

Ole miss , ms st and ark. Ark was not as bad last year as we were in '12. But I still think they are a ways back from threatening anyone. Lsu, bammer, Uga, use all very good but hard to predict improvement, however I think at least one or two of them does improve.

[lca408 366]

Arkansas will be the most improved of the teams that we played last year. Dee Ford said they were the most physical team we played last season. They'll be more physical this year with likely an improved offense and defense and an overwhelming desire to beat us. It's gonna be tough, no doubt. We'll have to weather the storm early and get a lead that we can work with to win this one comfortably.

Ole Miss should be pretty good. Alot like last year in team makeup but another year older, more mature, and confident - they could be a 1 loss team or even undefeated when we play them on November 1st but they have a tough road to travel in getting to us.

MSU is gonna be tough, Prescott is talented and will be better and their defense will be one of the best in conference but I'm still skeptical that Mullen will be able to field a team better than 7-5.

LSU and Alabama will likely either stay the same or take a slight step back. Losses at QB and on the O-line will hamper Bama considerably, even if Coker is decent because McCarron made that offense so much better - still no worse than a 2 loss team. LSU probably about the same - 2 to 3 losses max.

Georgia could be much better if they stay healthy but no Aaron Murray will change the nature of their offense considerably and I think the losses in the secondary could spell some trouble. A&M should be worse but not BAD by any means.

[RyanAUfan 0]

There is a few that maybe better, only two I think just like everybody else would be Ole Miss and Arkansas. Ole Miss always has a trend of never being the best but always surprising people. Arkansas wasn't the best last year so they can only go up. I would fear Ole Miss the most, but then again... who do we fear.