2020-21 Football Predictions

[Zeek 16,616]

Assuming we get to play every game (I'm still holding out hope)

2020-21 Auburn Football Schedule

September 5th - Alcorn State

September 12th - North Carolina (Atlanta, Georgia)

September 19th - @ Ole Miss

September 26th - Southern Miss

October 3rd - Kentucky

October 10th - @ Georgia

October 17th - Texas A&M

October 31st - @ Mississippi State

November 7th - Arkansas

November 14th - UMass

November 21st - LSU

November 28th - @ Alabama

 

[Zeek 16,616]

Here are my thoughts... I'm making a lot of these picks with the wild assumption that Chad Morris is going to have a legitimate impact on this offense

Alcorn State 

Should be an easy win and a great tune up game. Our OL is going to need time to gel and the defense returns a lot of experienced backups that will be asked to step up into bigger roles (Smoke, Sherwood, McCreary, Big Kat). I earnestly think Chad Morris will get the most out of our skill players returning.

Prediction (AU 62- AS 10)

North Carolina 

Lately, we've been pretty good with these Out Of Conference games despite my pessimism. I'm glad it's not the first game of the year like Oregon & Washington were. UNC will be coming off an interesting road trip against UCF (not confident the Knights can't pull the upset). Regardless this is a critical game for us. If we can get past them we will have a tremendous potential to be (5-0) going into the Georgia game with a, hopefully, developed offense.

Prediction: (AU 31- UNC 21)

@ Ole Miss

Not on the Lane-Train. Other than FAU he has left every program in disgrace and with controversy - which is why Ole Miss who just got off probation made an odd decision hiring him. Even if he ends up being successful it'll take him a minute to turn them into a program that should threaten us. Barring a brain fart (like last year where our offense was dormant) we should win this in emphatic fashion with a more consistent offense.

Prediction: (AU 34- OM 17)

Southern Miss

Should be another big win without much drama. For reference they lost to Alabama 49-7 last season.

Prediction: (AU 52- SM 6)

Kentucky

Not a team we should sleep on and fans need to be aware if it's a single digit game or within 20 it's not a surprise. They played Florida within 8, Miss State within 15, South Carolina within 17, held UGA to 21, and loss to Tenn by 4. Yes we should win but I don't see it being a blowout unless we're absolutely rolling at this point.

Prediction: (AU 34- UK 17)

@ Georiga

Don't like our odds on the road here. We should have a lot of momentum but the Mutts have had our number between the shrubs and their defense is going to be brutal. Our offense almost always looks the worst against them. 

Prediction: (AU 17 - UGA 21)

Texas A&M

Thought Jimbo was going to have a bigger impact. Really was amazed when we pulled off the win last year on the road and being at home should make it even more in our favor.

Prediction: (AU 35- Texas A&M 21)

@ Mississippi State

Mike Leach is worrisome. He can put up points and we'll be dealing with the dumb a** cowbells al game after a slew of tough games.

Prediction: (AU 48 - MS 35)

Arkansas

Bad hire when they needed a splash. Don't think they'll be any better this year.

Prediction: (AU 56 - ARK 10)

UMass

I don't know much about UMass but what I remember is they're one of the worst football teams there is in D1 football. Should be an emphatic win and Cord Sandberg should get some backup passing reps.

Prediction: (AU 63 - UMass 3)

LSU

We were a few hold calls away from beating them this year in Death Valley. We were a few terrible pass interference calls away from beating them the year before that. With it being at home and LSU losing SO much talent and coaching staff I like our odds. Coach O is an okay manager but I don't think he makes up for the loss of Dave Aranda and Joe Brady. Not to mention the massive slew of NFL talent gone.

Prediction: (AU 31 - LSU 24)

@ Alabama

We haven't beaten the Turds in back-to-back seasons for a long while now + it's on the road + Saban missed the playoffs for the first time + Waddle/Smith/Najee all return on offense. I hate this matchup for us. Plus, they play Texas A&M (less physical than LSU) the week before and will be playing their 3rd home game in a row. I believe we have a chance but for now...

Prediction: (AU 31 - AL 41)

Bowl Game:

Someone we'll under perform against lol

[Carnell 592]

7-5 we could do better with 1 high school coach but unfortunately we have 2.

[Win4AU 4,052]

Rebuilding the Oline, Retooling the Dline, A new offensive scheme with minimal install because of no Spring ball.  A young but talented backfield on offense and defense will make as many mistakes as wow plays.  UNC makes me nervous as does traveling to Ole Miss the next week.  Kentucky is a very physical team and a threat every year now.  UGA earlier than later is good as they are installing a new offense as well.  Texas A&M May be the surprise team this year.  I’m not a believer of Leach in the SEC.  Arkansas will be bad.  LSU will probably be a 8-4, 9-3 team but at home will be nice.  Mac Jones proved to be a handful last year and should be better this year.  It all depends on that first half of the year.  Beat UNC, UM, and Kentucky 10-2, 9-3 not out of the question.  7-5 is also very possible if the Oline fails to hold up or gel with limited reps.  2021 could be the year Nix wins the Heisman and Auburn wins it all but 2020 could be bumpy.

[Sizzle 3,909]

3 hours ago, Win4AU said:

Rebuilding the Oline, Retooling the Dline, A new offensive scheme with minimal install because of no Spring ball.  A young but talented backfield on offense and defense will make as many mistakes as wow plays.  UNC makes me nervous as does traveling to Ole Miss the next week.  Kentucky is a very physical team and a threat every year now.  UGA earlier than later is good as they are installing a new offense as well.  Texas A&M May be the surprise team this year.  I’m not a believer of Leach in the SEC.  Arkansas will be bad.  LSU will probably be a 8-4, 9-3 team but at home will be nice.  Mac Jones proved to be a handful last year and should be better this year.  It all depends on that first half of the year.  Beat UNC, UM, and Kentucky 10-2, 9-3 not out of the question.  7-5 is also very possible if the Oline fails to hold up or gel with limited reps.  2021 could be the year Nix wins the Heisman and Auburn wins it all but 2020 could be bumpy.

Mac Jones was average. Waddle was the handful 

[Win4AU 4,052]

1 hour ago, Sizzle said:

Mac Jones was average. Waddle was the handful 

Bammers gonna Bam.  Mac Jones will put up huge numbers to whatever receiving core they put together.  If anything they may be more balanced running the ball next year.  He was a sophmore starting his 2nd game in one of the wildest atmospheres I’ve seen in JHS.  He’ll start the next 2 years before their new superstar Qb takes over and do just fine.  

[bigbird 60,368]

IMO, we go 2-2 between UGA, TAMU, LSU, and bama

[CodeRocket 410]

44 minutes ago, bigbird said:

IMO, we go 2-2 between UGA, TAMU, LSU, and bama

I hope you are right. 2-2 doesn't seem all that bad with a new o-line and no spring practice.

[bigbird 60,368]

1 hour ago, CodeRocket said:

I hope you are right. 2-2 doesn't seem all that bad with a new o-line and no spring practice.

Well, no one is getting a spring so I figure we're all be a little behind and getting 5 games to work the kinks out should, hopefully, be enough for the OL.

I have much more faith in Bicknell than I did in JB. If anything, I know Bicknell's lines have always had a little attitude and toughness in them. That alone will be an upgrade and put us ahead of the last couple year's lines. Although replacing 4 starters (I'd be okay with opening all 5 up), I really think we'll see an addition by subtraction situation. The middle of our line was so soft and docile...we just got flat abused and embarrassed causing play after play to implode. You can only scheme to hide a weakness so much.. especially if it's right in the middle of everything.

 

I see this year's starters as

LT

??????

This is where Bicknell will earn his pay

Hamm (Mauler better suited for RT or a G)

Jackson (good size and athleticism but still very raw and learning)

Council (Tweener with somewhat lazy feet)

Coffey (Late summer arrival)

Toxell (46 knee injuries)

Zierer (step back in recovery)

LG                                                 

Manning/Stutts       

C

Brahms/Irvin

RG

Irvin/Jones

RT

Hamm/Jackson

 

I'd like to see Stutts/Irvin/Jones lock up the middle. That would give us a solid multi-year group with some necessary attitude.

I'm not saying they will be the strength of the offense, just that they have the potential not to be the absolute causation of a bad offense.

 

Side note: The Kentucky game has the potential to be a trap game especially if JG is able to waiver into next season.

[Sizzle 3,909]

5 hours ago, bigbird said:

Well, no one is getting a spring so I figure we're all be a little behind and getting 5 games to work the kinks out should, hopefully, be enough for the OL.

I have much more faith in Bicknell than I did in JB. If anything, I know Bicknell's lines have always had a little attitude and toughness in them. That alone will be an upgrade and put us ahead of the last couple year's lines. Although replacing 4 starters (I'd be okay with opening all 5 up), I really think we'll see an addition by subtraction situation. The middle of our line was so soft and docile...we just got flat abused and embarrassed causing play after play to implode. You can only scheme to hide a weakness so much.. especially if it's right in the middle of everything.

 

I see this year's starters as

LT

??????

This is where Bicknell will earn his pay

Hamm (Mauler better suited for RT or a G)

Jackson (good size and athleticism but still very raw and learning)

Council (Tweener with somewhat lazy feet)

Coffey (Late summer arrival)

Toxell (46 knee injuries)

Zierer (step back in recovery)

LG                                                 

Manning/Stutts       

C

Brahms/Irvin

RG

Irvin/Jones

RT

Hamm/Jackson

 

I'd like to see Stutts/Irvin/Jones lock up the middle. That would give us a solid multi-year group with some necessary attitude.

I'm not saying they will be the strength of the offense, just that they have the potential not to be the absolute causation of a bad offense.

 

Side note: The Kentucky game has the potential to be a trap game especially if JG is able to waiver into next season.

I feel confident for whoever on the right side of the line but that left could be rough. Sheesh

[CodeRocket 410]

24 minutes ago, Sizzle said:

I feel confident for whoever on the right side of the line but that left could be rough. Sheesh

A bad place to have a bad problem. The blind side, for a right handed QB.

[ArgoEagle 1,767]

16 hours ago, Zeek said:

Assuming we get to play every game (I'm still holding out hope)

2020-21 Auburn Football Schedule

September 5th - Alcorn State

September 12th - North Carolina (Atlanta, Georgia)

September 19th - @ Ole Miss

September 26th - Southern Miss

October 3rd - Kentucky

October 10th - @ Georgia

October 17th - Texas A&M

October 31st - @ Mississippi State

November 7th - Arkansas

November 14th - UMass

November 21st - LSU

November 28th - @ Alabama

 

My gosh!!! How drunk was our schedule maker to replace UGA with the National Champs? I was all in on moving the  UGA game from right before the Bama game every year, but we needed to replace that game with Arky or Ole Piss, not LSU!  That defeats the whole purpose of moving the UGA game. Why don't we just have our fans and players have a huge nut kicking contest and get it over with?

[ArgoEagle 1,767]

8 hours ago, bigbird said:

IMO, we go 2-2 between UGA, TAMU, LSU, and bama

I feel like we get UGA this year, especially since we moved the game up in the year. I also believe we had a better shot at finally beating LSU in Sept. or Oct., but made it an uphill climb by moving that game to Nov.

[DAG 33,955]

15 hours ago, Win4AU said:

Rebuilding the Oline, Retooling the Dline, A new offensive scheme with minimal install because of no Spring ball.  A young but talented backfield on offense and defense will make as many mistakes as wow plays.  UNC makes me nervous as does traveling to Ole Miss the next week.  Kentucky is a very physical team and a threat every year now.  UGA earlier than later is good as they are installing a new offense as well.  Texas A&M May be the surprise team this year.  I’m not a believer of Leach in the SEC.  Arkansas will be bad.  LSU will probably be a 8-4, 9-3 team but at home will be nice.  Mac Jones proved to be a handful last year and should be better this year.  It all depends on that first half of the year.  Beat UNC, UM, and Kentucky 10-2, 9-3 not out of the question.  7-5 is also very possible if the Oline fails to hold up or gel with limited reps.  2021 could be the year Nix wins the Heisman and Auburn wins it all but 2020 could be bumpy.

Explain why UNC makes you nervous?

They have very inconsistent line play. Their defense is very susceptible, especially against the run. 

[DAG 33,955]

15 hours ago, Zeek said:

Here are my thoughts... I'm making a lot of these picks with the wild assumption that Chad Morris is going to have a legitimate impact on this offense

Alcorn State 

Should be an easy win and a great tune up game. Our OL is going to need time to gel and the defense returns a lot of experienced backups that will be asked to step up into bigger roles (Smoke, Sherwood, McCreary, Big Kat). I earnestly think Chad Morris will get the most out of our skill players returning.

Prediction (AU 62- AS 10)

North Carolina 

Lately, we've been pretty good with these Out Of Conference games despite my pessimism. I'm glad it's not the first game of the year like Oregon & Washington were. UNC will be coming off an interesting road trip against UCF (not confident the Knights can't pull the upset). Regardless this is a critical game for us. If we can get past them we will have a tremendous potential to be (5-0) going into the Georgia game with a, hopefully, developed offense.

Prediction: (AU 31- UNC 21)

@ Ole Miss

Not on the Lane-Train. Other than FAU he has left every program in disgrace and with controversy - which is why Ole Miss who just got off probation made an odd decision hiring him. Even if he ends up being successful it'll take him a minute to turn them into a program that should threaten us. Barring a brain fart (like last year where our offense was dormant) we should win this in emphatic fashion with a more consistent offense.

Prediction: (AU 34- OM 17)

Southern Miss

Should be another big win without much drama. For reference they lost to Alabama 49-7 last season.

Prediction: (AU 52- SM 6)

Kentucky

Not a team we should sleep on and fans need to be aware if it's a single digit game or within 20 it's not a surprise. They played Florida within 8, Miss State within 15, South Carolina within 17, held UGA to 21, and loss to Tenn by 4. Yes we should win but I don't see it being a blowout unless we're absolutely rolling at this point.

Prediction: (AU 34- UK 17)

@ Georiga

Don't like our odds on the road here. We should have a lot of momentum but the Mutts have had our number between the shrubs and their defense is going to be brutal. Our offense almost always looks the worst against them. 

Prediction: (AU 17 - UGA 21)

Texas A&M

Thought Jimbo was going to have a bigger impact. Really was amazed when we pulled off the win last year on the road and being at home should make it even more in our favor.

Prediction: (AU 35- Texas A&M 21)

@ Mississippi State

Mike Leach is worrisome. He can put up points and we'll be dealing with the dumb a** cowbells al game after a slew of tough games.

Prediction: (AU 48 - MS 35)

Arkansas

Bad hire when they needed a splash. Don't think they'll be any better this year.

Prediction: (AU 56 - ARK 10)

UMass

I don't know much about UMass but what I remember is they're one of the worst football teams there is in D1 football. Should be an emphatic win and Cord Sandberg should get some backup passing reps.

Prediction: (AU 63 - UMass 3)

LSU

We were a few hold calls away from beating them this year in Death Valley. We were a few terrible pass interference calls away from beating them the year before that. With it being at home and LSU losing SO much talent and coaching staff I like our odds. Coach O is an okay manager but I don't think he makes up for the loss of Dave Aranda and Joe Brady. Not to mention the massive slew of NFL talent gone.

Prediction: (AU 31 - LSU 24)

@ Alabama

We haven't beaten the Turds in back-to-back seasons for a long while now + it's on the road + Saban missed the playoffs for the first time + Waddle/Smith/Najee all return on offense. I hate this matchup for us. Plus, they play Texas A&M (less physical than LSU) the week before and will be playing their 3rd home game in a row. I believe we have a chance but for now...

Prediction: (AU 31 - AL 41)

Bowl Game:

Someone we'll under perform against lol

Sam Pittman is actually a really good hire for Arkansas. He was a big reason for their Feistiness and competitiveness  during there 2013-2015 run with BB. He loves Arkansas and won't ostracize the community like coach chad did.  I bet they will be back to being a competitive bunch in two to three years wit him at the helm. 

[Mikey 16,550]

Slightly off topic, but we got hosed on switching the UGA game. Yes, UGA is moved. So we go from having UGA> weak opponent> UAT to LSU>UAT back to back. That's nothing but out of the frying pan and into the fire. We were better off before. This way, we could have LSU>UAT>SEC game on three consecutive weekends. That's much worse than what we had before. SUX.

My season prediction is 10-2.

[Sizzle 3,909]

2 minutes ago, Mikey said:

Slightly off topic, but we got hosed on switching the UGA game. Yes, UGA is moved. So we go from having UGA> weak opponent> UAT to LSU>UAT back to back. That's nothing but out of the frying pan and into the fire. We were better off before. This way, we could have LSU>UAT>SEC game on three consecutive weekends. That's much worse than what we had before. SUX.

My season prediction is 10-2.

Yeah I don’t know who did that but they f***ed up. 

[Eisenhower_1952 87]

What's the odds of redshirting Zierer and Coffey? I don't really see them playing much unless it is in mop up duty.

[Win4AU 4,052]

44 minutes ago, DAG said:

Explain why UNC makes you nervous?

They have very inconsistent line play. Their defense is very susceptible, especially against the run. 

They return most of their offense including their line and their Qb is pretty awesome.  They lost some players defensively but were a top 50 unit last year.  With it being game 2 and the above mentioned line issues for Auburn I worry they could upset Auburn.  Auburn has more talent on the roster than UNC but when has that stopped Auburn from losing before? 

[gr82be 14,402]

38 minutes ago, Mikey said:

Slightly off topic, but we got hosed on switching the UGA game. Yes, UGA is moved. So we go from having UGA> weak opponent> UAT to LSU>UAT back to back. That's nothing but out of the frying pan and into the fire. We were better off before. This way, we could have LSU>UAT>SEC game on three consecutive weekends. That's much worse than what we had before. SUX.

My season prediction is 10-2.

The win out of this was not the opponent but the home and away aspect. Georgia is a road game and LSU is a home game. Surely no one thought they were going to replace Georgia with Arkansas. There will always be something to complain about but this shouldn't be it IMO. 

[DAG 33,955]

4 minutes ago, Win4AU said:

They return most of their offense including their line and their Qb is pretty awesome.  They lost some players defensively but were a top 50 unit last year.  With it being game 2 and the above mentioned line issues for Auburn I worry they could upset Auburn.  Auburn has more talent on the roster than UNC but when has that stopped Auburn from losing before? 

Anybody can lose with more talent. Alabama proved that last year. I 100% disagree with you in terms of UNC, but that is why they play the game.

[ArgoEagle 1,767]

52 minutes ago, gr82be said:

The win out of this was not the opponent but the home and away aspect. Georgia is a road game and LSU is a home game. Surely no one thought they were going to replace Georgia with Arkansas. There will always be something to complain about but this shouldn't be it IMO. 

uh, no on this. If we happen to beat both LSU and Bama back to back, then the very next week we get to play either UGA or FLA in the SEC CG. We would be totally banged up and exhausted at that point. Don't believe anybody could run that 3 game gauntlet. We need an Arky, Ole Miss, or Miss St. type team instead of LSU.

[McLoofus 35,182]

47 minutes ago, gr82be said:

The win out of this was not the opponent but the home and away aspect. Georgia is a road game and LSU is a home game. Surely no one thought they were going to replace Georgia with Arkansas. There will always be something to complain about but this shouldn't be it IMO. 

Sorry, but I just don't see any way that uga > Liberty > bama (2018, with both rivalry games on the road) to LSU at home > bama away is an upgrade for us. 

Why couldn't we have replaced uga with Arkansas, or one of the Mississippis? Other than the logistical complications of that, which didn't seem to prevent them from choosing LSU?

I'm not sure anyone in the country consistently has a November as difficult as ours. I doubt many teams go through it once in any given 5-year cycle, much less every single season.

The home/away thing is a win, but it's still a net no-gain at best in my mind, at least from a competitive vantage. I'm not privy to the cost-benefit analysis from an economic/logistical/admin perspective. There could be considerations there. I'm sure local businesses would prefer there be a guaranteed money maker Saturday every November. Might even raise their total 2-year margins. (Only one big home game to focus on each fall, so that game might bring more business each year than either big game has typically brought in individually on the odd years.)

But competitively? It's two steps back IMO.

[gr82be 14,402]

14 minutes ago, ArgoEagle said:

uh, no on this. If we happen to beat both LSU and Bama back to back, then the very next week we get to play either UGA or FLA in the SEC CG. We would be totally banged up and exhausted at that point. Don't believe anybody could run that 3 game gauntlet. We need an Arky, Ole Miss, or Miss St. type team instead of LSU.

I didn't say we didn't need an Arky, Ole Miss or Miss. St. like team before Bama. I said they weren't going to do that, at least in the quick time frame they did it in. You can come up with ideal schedule situations all day long but it doesn't mean you get them. You have to be careful what you wish for. Auburn fans as a whole wanted a change and they got it. November has never been easy for Auburn on the road so this breaks that up. My point about them not replacing Georgia with Arkansas was simply meaning that anyone who thinks Auburn was going to get an easier path along the way to an SEC championship was dreaming. 

[gr82be 14,402]

19 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Sorry, but I just don't see any way that uga > Liberty > bama (2018, with both rivalry games on the road) to LSU at home > bama away is an upgrade for us. 

Why couldn't we have replaced uga with Arkansas, or one of the Mississippis? Other than the logistical complications of that, which didn't seem to prevent them from choosing LSU?

I'm not sure anyone in the country consistently has a November as difficult as ours. I doubt many teams go through it once in any given 5-year cycle, much less every single season.

The home/away thing is a win, but it's still a net no-gain at best in my mind, at least from a competitive vantage. I'm not privy to the cost-benefit analysis from an economic/logistical/admin perspective. There could be considerations there. I'm sure local businesses would prefer there be a guaranteed money maker Saturday every November. Might even raise their total 2-year margins. (Only one big home game to focus on each fall, so that game might bring more business each year than either big game has typically brought in individually on the odd years.)

But competitively? It's two steps back IMO.

See my post above to Argo. It may not satisfy your questions but that's my take on it.