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I know what lines are there for so save me the diatribe and just read.

FWIW we are -13.5 against KSU. Over/under is 45

Nothing earth shattering in the article. Don't really agree about the lesser amount of talent but think it is a lesser amount of experience.

Top 25 Breakdown, No. 11 Auburn

August 10, 2007

By Brian Edwards

VegasInsider.com

2006: Auburn wasn’t much of a money maker last year, finishing with a 6-7 spread record, but the Tigers did win 11 games, including a 17-14 Cotton Bowl victory over Nebraska. They were the only team to beat the national champs, dropping Florida by a 27-17 count in a thriller on the Plains.

However, the Auburn faithful have to look back on 2006 with a tinge of disappointment because its only losses came as a double-digit home favorite. In both instances, Tommy Tuberville’s squad pulled complete no-shows, losing 27-10 to Arkansas as a 15-point favorite and losing a 37-15 decision to Georgia as an 11 ½-point ‘chalk.’

Strengths: Auburn has a veteran quarterback in Brandon Cox, who has passed for 4,879 career yards with a 33/19 touchdown-interception ratio. As always, the Tigers are reloading rather than rebuilding in the backfield. Brad Lester (9 TDs, 4.9 yards per carry last year) and Ben Tate (3 TDs, 7.3 YPC LY) should get most of the touches.

The Tigers have one of the nation’s premier pass rushers in senior DE Quentin Groves, who garnered first-team All-SEC honors with 9.5 sacks last season. Groves has 23 career sacks.

Weaknesses: Cox’s go-to wide receiver Courtney Taylor is gone, leaving a slew of young wideouts behind to fill his shoes. The defense lost its emotional leader (Will Herring) and best cover corner (David Irons). The special-teams units lost their heart and soul (Tre Smith), not to mention an outstanding kicker (John Vaughn) and punter (Cody Bliss).

Finally, can Tray Blackmon – Auburn’s “on-paper” version of Jevon Kearse – stay out of trouble in order to get on the field?

Auburn Schedule

Date/Game

Sept. 1 Kansas State Wildcats

Sept. 8 South Florida Bulls

Sept. 15 Mississippi State Bulldogs

Sept. 22 New Mexico State Aggies

Sept. 29 @ Florida Gators

Oct. 6 Vanderbilt Commodores

Oct. 13 @ Arkansas Razorbacks

Oct. 20 @ LSU Tigers

Oct. 27 Mississippi Rebels

Nov. 3 Tennessee Tech Eagles

Nov. 10 @ Georgia Bulldogs

Nov. 24 Alabama Crimson Tide

Players to Watch: Groves is the best player on the team and the best pro prospect. Tate is the true sophomore that Tuberville is hoping will have a breakout season. However, there’s no question that this team will live and die with the play of its senior signal caller.

Cox’s numbers are ok. He’s been solid through his career, but certainly not spectacular. Cox has always had tons of talent around him, but perhaps to a lesser extent this year. With that in mind, he needs to be at his best, and I’m not sure that his best will be enough for this to be a top-10 team in 2007.

Returning Starters: 5 offense, 7 defense

Schedule: The non-conference slate features a pair of cupcakes (New Mexico St. and Tennessee Tech) and a couple of respectable programs in Kansas State and South Florida. (In fact, USF is one of my sleeper squads in ’07.) The four SEC road games are about as tough as they come: at Florida, at Arkansas, at LSU and at Georgia. The Tigers might be double-digit home favorites in every home game except the Iron Bowl.

Letdown: Oct. 6 vs. Vanderbilt. The Commodores come to the Plains following Auburn’s trip to Florida. Watch out for Earl Bennett, Jonathan Goff and Co. to be dangerous – at least for our purposes -- catching a bunch of points in this spot.

Look Ahead: Sept. 22 vs. New Mexico State. This is a look-ahead spot with a trip to The Swamp on deck for Auburn. The Aggies will be worth consideration catching a huge number here. They return 10 starters on offense from a team that scored 28 points or more in eight of its 12 games (hence, the backdoor will be open). New Mexico St. might have the best QB in America that you’ve never heard of – Chase Holbrook. The junior QB completed 70 percent of his passes in ’06 for 4,619 yards. Holbrook had a sensational 34/9 TD-INT ratio.

Good Bets:

Nov. 10 at Georgia: There’s a good chance Auburn will be an underdog in this spot, and that’s a good thing for AU backers. Since 2004, the Tigers have only been underdogs four times, but they took the money on each of those occasions. And, lest we forget, the road team absolutely owns this series, posting an 11-3-1 straight-up record in the last 15 games. Also, this will be a nice revenge spot for Auburn.

Prediction: I’ve got Auburn finishing 9-3 with losses at Florida, at Arkansas and at LSU. On the bright side, I think the Tigers will win the Iron Bowl for the sixth consecutive year and pick up a road win in Athens. If there’s a tricky game where Auburn could be ripe for an upset, it might be in Week 2 against South Florida. Remember, the Bulls won outright at West Virginia last year.

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