any better?

[autigers1 0]

I am very excited about the new season. It is nice to see AU ranked so high in the preseason polls. My question to all of you is if we end up with 3 or 4 losses again will we be happy? Or calling for another change at coordinator. Will we praise CTF this year if the offense is productive and mention his name as the best choice for the next HC at AU? Some of you may remember the mention of Borges as a good choice for the next HC back when the offense was productive. Some of us were quick to blame Borges when the production slowed. Maybe Borges deserved the criticism. In short what is acceptable? 11-1? CTF as new HC? Or 9-4? Another OC change? WDE!!!

[aubiescottie 1]

I really don't think anything less than an SEC championship game birth is acceptable, nor is a loss to bama

[Rhetortiger821 3]

11-2 at best 10-3 at worst

[OKieAuburnDoug 1]

agree...anything over 3 losses will be a joke....OU fans here still think Auburn is overrated in the polls due to the HUGE giveaway vs. SF last year. Personally I think the WV game is the biggest game of the year with the biggest national spotlight for AU. Earn it or get chuckled at.

[Hoopie 6]

I know everyone is super positive, but this is the SEC and we have 2 new coordinators. CTT is very good at inserting coordinators, but that is not something to assume works seamlessly. I'm OK with up to 3 losses in the reg season. As far as Bama? I think if they win 7-8 they are doing good, however if a miracle season occurs and they only have one loss going into the IB, they would be favored at home. It's OK to make predictions now, but for fans of any school in the SEC to "expect" perfection is folly. Keep in mind that the talent and parity in the SEC resembles the NFL where the last undefeated season was 1972.

[CircleDrill 178]

Keep in mind that the talent and parity in the SEC resembles the NFL where the last undefeated season was 1972.

I never thought of it that way, but it's true in the sense that you can never take any opponent for granted in the NFL.

[Duder 238]

I don't expect a weak finish, but if it happens it would certainly be understandable. I don't think there is any reason anyone would be calling for new coordinators after ONE season. Our defense will be stellar--CPR won't make it worse. Sure, he doesn't have the intensity of Muschamp but he took a mediocre bunch of football players at Pitt and turned them into one of the best in the country last year, ranked ahead of ours actually. If he can shut down WVU with Pitt defenders he can certainly work magic with our athletes. As long as CTT is on The Plains, we will have a solid defense--period.

As for the offense, let's call a spade a spade, it can't get much worse than it was last year. If AU averaged even one more score per game last year, we have a completely different season. Surely a better athlete at QB with a new philosophy and the same supporting cast is worth AT LEAST one more score per game, right? Sure, we'll struggle early which is why our soft opening is a great thing. By the time we get LSU on The Plains the team should be a good bit more comfortable in the offense. Look what they did after a few practices in the bowl game. Imagine what they can do with the whole offseason to study the playbook plus spring training and summer camp to acclimate to the speed.

I'm not expecting a national title but I don't think the SECW spot in ATL is a far stretch. We have a lot of talent which can close learning gaps much quicker than a lot will give us credit for.

[TexasTiger 13,556]

I won't be happy with 4 losses. If three losses include two close ones to national champion GA, we'll see.

[IslandTiger 0]

Surely a better athlete at QB with a new philosophy and the same supporting cast is worth AT LEAST one more score per game, right?

Not to start this debate again or come off negative because I believe we're going to have solid production from KB, but don't forget how many BIG SEC road games were won over the last two years by Brandon Cox due to his experience vs his athleticism-IMO Cox's problem was his lesser athleticism didn't allow for "Cowboying" up and making something happen with his legs when this decision making or touch in the passing game was off-opposing D's often pinned their ears back and let him have it. KB is exceptionally more gifted athletically as a QB than Cox ever was without question-but how smart will he play? You're right in that he's a better athlete, but maybe his inexperience will cost us one or more turnovers or opposing D score's per game? Remember how inconsistent Campbell was during his RS Soph year? He showed flashes of brilliance but he needed more experience. KB consistently winning in the SEC as a full-time starting QB won't happen by athleticism alone-he's going to have to know how and when to pull or not to pull the trigger or when to or when not to rely on his legs instead-Only time under center and experience will develop that skill set to compliment his athleticism.

At any rate, I think he'll be an awesome QB for us by next year and I'm hoping that we'll see enough improvement out of him this year to have a reasonable shot at the SECCG-one way or the other, he hasn't played enough for us to immediately believe his superior athleticism will give us more wins than what we had last year. With that being said, I think we'll know by game number 4 if his smarts are developed enough to direct his athleticism-if so, I'm looking forward to Atlanta....

Just my $.02

[autiger4life 3]

I will only be happy with a people's choice National Championship

[PChamp119 96]

I have said this for the past three seasons and I will say it again:

The season will come down to the Alabama game.

If Auburn wins the Iron Bowl, Auburn fans will be happy (unless we have like a .500 record, but fans will still be happy with Seven).

If Auburn loses the Iron Bowl, the AU fans know we will hear crap from Bammers all year long and do not want that. After all the bragging the last few years (as we have had the right to do) and claiming that Saban is not the answer, they will be drilling us.

In 2003, The Bama win might of saved Tubs his job (or played a role in it).

In 2004, we went undefeated, but that would've stung had we not pulled it off.

In 2005, we had a bad start with GT and a tough loss with LSU. The season was still succesful, mostly due to the UGA and the dominance of Bama. The bowl game hurt, but the fans were VERY happy regardless.

In 2006, we had a fantastic start only for Arkansas and UGA to destroy us. That hurt a little bit, but winning the Iron Bowl made us just as happy as the last couple of years and fans didn't even recognize that we were inches from the MNC game.

In 2007, we had some BAD losses (MSU, USF, UGA) and the LSU heartbraker, but those quickly went away when we won the Iron Bowl. After three games in the season many of us (me included) claimed the season was a major disappointment. But that Bama victory (and UF helped as well) made it all worth it.

As bad as it sounds to have to compare ourselves to Alabama when they are not in the best of times, that is our benchmarker. Auburn is not a program that is going to end up with 6 or 7 wins. We have reached the point where we are contenders. And as long as we maintain our rival, we will be happy. We don't have expectations of national titles or else you are fired. As long as we stay competitive, the fans will be content. Winning an SEC title once in a while is basically all we ask, other than defeating Bama.

People can debate what the general population really "expects" or demands. But I will take the bets. If Auburn wins the Iron Bowl - Tuberville has nothing to sweat. If Auburn loses the Iron Bowl, Atlanta may be the only thing to savor it from the fans point of view. No Iron Bowl Victory and no Atlanta and you will hear a lot of fans pissed. Sounds crappy, but that's the reality.

[CircleDrill 178]

Not to start this debate again or come off negative because I believe we're going to have solid production from KB, but don't forget how many BIG SEC road games were won over the last two years by Brandon Cox due to his experience vs his athleticism-IMO Cox's problem was his lesser athleticism didn't allow for "Cowboying" up and making something happen with his legs when this decision making or touch in the passing game was off-opposing D's often pinned their ears back and let him have it. KB is exceptionally more gifted athletically as a QB than Cox ever was without question-but how smart will he play? You're right in that he's a better athlete, but maybe his inexperience will cost us one or more turnovers or opposing D score's per game? Remember how inconsistent Campbell was during his RS Soph year? He showed flashes of brilliance but he needed more experience. KB consistently winning in the SEC as a full-time starting QB won't happen by athleticism alone-he's going to have to know how and when to pull or not to pull the trigger or when to or when not to rely on his legs instead-Only time under center and experience will develop that skill set to compliment his athleticism.

At any rate, I think he'll be an awesome QB for us by next year and I'm hoping that we'll see enough improvement out of him this year to have a reasonable shot at the SECCG-one way or the other, he hasn't played enough for us to immediately believe his superior athleticism will give us more wins than what we had last year. With that being said, I think we'll know by game number 4 if his smarts are developed enough to direct his athleticism-if so, I'm looking forward to Atlanta....

Just my $.02

I agree with this post and fully expect that novice play will likely hurt us at crucial points this season. However, the question to me is not whether that will be the case, but whether we can compensate for it by scoring enough points when we are not screwing up and by strong play from the defense.

[boyjeddah 1]

AU will win the MNC this year or the next (assuming CTT stays) .. bank on it..

[mowegl 4]

I wouldn't say anything we do this season would really be "acceptable" or "unacceptable". I've felt going into this summer that anything less than an SECCG appearance would be a disappointment for me. I think we are the best team and the best coached team in the SEC West, so I don't think it's unrealistic to have that expectation. Beating LSU is 1st priority since that's the first step to the SEC CG.

As bad as everything went last year we still finished 9-4. We lost to teams like South Florida and Mississippi State. I don't care how you feel about MSU, they aren't in our league, and we let them take one from us. We were missing our #1 RB for the first 6 games. Our best senior missed half the season with a foot injury and wasn't the same for some of the games after that. Our QB play was terrible at best. We started freshmen all over the place including some of the more critical ones - 3 OL, K, P. Even our Kicker and punter got hurt last year. We basically all our tough SEC games on the road, and this year we drop UF.

So call me crazy, but 9-4 would be a huge disappointment for me. I think less than 11-2 would be a disappointment. I think Chris Todd is at least as knowledgeable on this offense as Cox was on his. There's always that intangible that Cox had as a winner. I don't wanna take anything away from Brandon, but I think that has as much to do with the Auburn team and style as it did with Cox. Then there's always what Kodi brings to the table as a playmaker. I don't think people factor in special teams nearly enough. If some of our kicks and coverage were better, a few less missed field goals, and more consistency in the punt game we could be looking at a 11-2 season despite all the other things that went wrong. Special teams should be better and more consistent. I feel like defense should be at least as good, and offense should see a definite improvement.

[WAR-MATT 2]

I have said this for the past three seasons and I will say it again:

The season will come down to the Alabama game.

If Auburn wins the Iron Bowl, Auburn fans will be happy (unless we have like a .500 record, but fans will still be happy with Seven).

If Auburn loses the Iron Bowl, the AU fans know we will hear crap from Bammers all year long and do not want that. After all the bragging the last few years (as we have had the right to do) and claiming that Saban is not the answer, they will be drilling us.

In 2003, The Bama win might of saved Tubs his job (or played a role in it).

In 2004, we went undefeated, but that would've stung had we not pulled it off.

In 2005, we had a bad start with GT and a tough loss with LSU. The season was still succesful, mostly due to the UGA and the dominance of Bama. The bowl game hurt, but the fans were VERY happy regardless.

In 2006, we had a fantastic start only for Arkansas and UGA to destroy us. That hurt a little bit, but winning the Iron Bowl made us just as happy as the last couple of years and fans didn't even recognize that we were inches from the MNC game.

In 2007, we had some BAD losses (MSU, USF, UGA) and the LSU heartbraker, but those quickly went away when we won the Iron Bowl. After three games in the season many of us (me included) claimed the season was a major disappointment. But that Bama victory (and UF helped as well) made it all worth it.

As bad as it sounds to have to compare ourselves to Alabama when they are not in the best of times, that is our benchmarker. Auburn is not a program that is going to end up with 6 or 7 wins. We have reached the point where we are contenders. And as long as we maintain our rival, we will be happy. We don't have expectations of national titles or else you are fired. As long as we stay competitive, the fans will be content. Winning an SEC title once in a while is basically all we ask, other than defeating Bama.

People can debate what the general population really "expects" or demands. But I will take the bets. If Auburn wins the Iron Bowl - Tuberville has nothing to sweat. If Auburn loses the Iron Bowl, Atlanta may be the only thing to savor it from the fans point of view. No Iron Bowl Victory and no Atlanta and you will hear a lot of fans pissed. Sounds crappy, but that's the reality.

I totally agree with you.

[DCWarEagle 0]

Expectations are high, no doubt. We have a lot of reason for optimism, but we also have some question marks with two new coordinators and a new QB. I hope to see us win an SECCG either this year or next. (or both )

Personally, I expect us to lose a couple of games. I just doubt that can get through LSU, Tenn, WVU and Georgia without two losses. And Bama is always tough as well. If we lose zero or one regular season game I'll be ecstatic. If we only lose two I will be very happy. If we lose three I will be okay with the season (unless one is the Iron Bowl). Four or more regular season losses will be a disappointment.

The two games I most want to win are Bama and West Virginia. Bama requires no explanation. I think it has been way too long since we have had quality regular season wins over good OOC competition. The Kansas State and Washington State games were nice, but I hated losing two USC and Georgia Tech twice. We always talk about how tough the SEC is, but we need to prove it by winning against good teams from other conferences.

[McWeagle 4]

9-4 would not disappoint me, if all 4 losses resembled the LSU game from last year.

11-2 would disappoint me, if both losses resembled the MSU game.

[TigerHeat 9]

9-4 would not disappoint me, if all 4 losses resembled the LSU game from last year.

11-2 would disappoint me, if both losses resembled the MSU game.

Ditto. Well stated.

[eagle76 1]

PC takes a lot of heat and grief. Much he brings upon himself. BUT, I agree with his assessment. If we pull an 8-9 win year with one of those against uat, not much will be said except woulda/coulda's. If we pull a 10 win year and lose to uat, we all know what we will be in store for. It will be unmerciful and relentless. cns will be crowned (most already have) the college football coach god and tuscalooser will be declared heaven (already by most). BUT, we all know how the media will play on a uat victory and as much as we don't want to admit it, it WILL influence recruiting decisions. An AU victory will not only keep the streak alive and well, we will do our own boasting for another year, and cns will definitely start feeling the heat form the dirt road alumni and big $ boosters alike.

It's too hard to predict SEC footbal given the caliber of teams and coaches. But I am optimistic about the upcoming year. Mistakes will be made by new qb's, co-ordinators will be off for a game (hopefully not on the same Saturday), and somewhere along the line we may get beat by ourselves by a team that shouldn't be running with us. That happens every Saturday. I look for at least 10 wins and one must (hopefully) be against uat. The AU Nation will be happy. Ecstatic is any wins above that.