AU's September schedule

[RunInRed 16,994]

ESPN.com's Chris Low shares his thoughts on September schedules in the SEC. His view of the teams with the toughest early roads include:

1) Tennessee (Oregon, Florida)

2) Georgia (@South Carolina, Arkansas, @Miss. State)

3) Vanderbilt (Northwestern, LSU, @Ole Miss)

4) LSU (North Carolina, West Virginia)

5) Alabama (Penn State, @Arkansas)

This analysis got me thinking, AU's September slate is very navigable, three home games and one Thursday night throwdown in cow bell city. The pivotal game is obviously Clemson however, SoCar is certainly no gimme. Taking a look a deeper look...

9/04/10 - Arkansas State: Pre-season warmup. Seriously, Arkansas State is no La Tech from last year. This already feels to me like a glorified A-Day game. The starters should be on the bench after the first few drives of the second half.

9/09/10 - Mississippi State: Dan Mullens, who is a pretty respected coach, will likely field an improved team in year two but the talent gap between the schools is real. Remember, this a team Malzahn and Co. hung half a hundred on last year. There will be early hype, 50k MSU fans will keep Starkville alive ... until Newton marches the white jerseys down the field and Fannin fires up the AU band. Good guys get an early SEC West win.

9/18/10 - Clemson: Many will be making their first trip of the 2010 season to the Plains to see the Tigers against the Tigers. ESPN is likely to pick this ACC/SEC matchup up in prime time. Clemson's deep threats (Spiller and Ford) are gone, which should give the D enough of a break to move AU to 3-0. ]

9/25/10 - South Carolina: It seems every year we hear the Spurrier hype. Yet, without fail, it begins to dissipate after their annual loss to UGA. How USCE found a QB yet? Will Lattimore make the field as a freshman. This has the potential to be a very fun early SEC game. Still, I can't find enough of a reason not to like the guys in Orange and Blue here.

So from my perch on a summer-like May afternoon, I see us escaping September undefeated. And I don't feel like this is going out on too far of a limb. Does every one else see it the same way?

View the complete 2010 Schedule here

[mcgufcm 4,107]

For me, the pivotal game is MSU. Conference game on the road against a team from the West? Much more important than a home game out of conference. We're not going to win the national title. So why's that game really all that important? If we get out September 3-1 and 2-0 in conference, it's not perfect, but I'll be satisfied.

[RunInRed 16,994]

For me, the pivotal game is MSU. Conference game on the road against a team from the West? Much more important than a home game out of conference. We're not going to win the national title. So why's that game really all that important? If we get out September 3-1 and 2-0 in conference, it's not perfect, but I'll be satisfied.

Pivotal? Debatable. Ultimately, I don't think we get much out of the MSU game. Let's be honest: it's a game we're supposed to win. And when we do, there will be a collective sigh from the college football world. However, the Clemson game will garner more attention and a solid win against the South Carolina Tigers will up the ante on the rest of the season.

[lca408 378]

Mississippi State may not be pivotal but its certainly going to be a big game for this team and coaching staff. State will be improved and their D returns 8 starters - the most in the SEC. They aren't championship material but a Thursday night game in the SEC is always big, and the atmosphere will be as good as it can be in Starkvegas.

If Auburn were to manhandle State like we all hope they will, it will be a big confidence builder considering its the first SEC win, a win on the road, and on the national stage. The next week's matchup with Clemson will bigger, but a big win over State will go a long way towards putting some attention on the Tigers for the rest of the year. Having the only college football game on TV at the time is significant exposure.

Think I'll probably be skipping class that day for the drive up to the game.

Ryan

[mcgufcm 4,107]

I guess I just find out of conference games as "un-pivotal" unless you're a team competing for a national title. That's a short list of teams. Looking back at 2005, it doesn't bother me that we lost to Georgia Tech or Wisconsin. It bothers me that we missed out on an SEC Title because we couldn't hit field goals in Baton Rouge. We weren't good enough to win a national title that year. I'm with Spurrier. The goal, every year, is to win the SEC. Nothing else matters. One year, you might luck into more, but you can't control that. The SEC ring is completely in our control every season. So I find MSU and South Carolina more important/pivotal/interesting games than Clemson.

[RunInRed 16,994]

I guess I just find out of conference games as "un-pivotal" unless you're a team competing for a national title. That's a short list of teams. Looking back at 2005, it doesn't bother me that we lost to Georgia Tech or Wisconsin. It bothers me that we missed out on an SEC Title because we couldn't hit field goals in Baton Rouge. We weren't good enough to win a national title that year. I'm with Spurrier. The goal, every year, is to win the SEC. Nothing else matters. One year, you might luck into more, but you can't control that. The SEC ring is completely in our control every season. So I find MSU and South Carolina more important/pivotal/interesting games than Clemson.

Fair.

Which leads to this follow-up question: Do you think we are good enough to compete for a SEC title this year?

[mcgufcm 4,107]

Yep. I really do. Now, I don't think we should be favored for that. Alabama and Florida have to be the early favorites based on track record and pure talent level. That said, Auburn is a defense away from competing.

As far as I can see, I think our offense will be at least as good as last year. I think Fannin has less consistency and more talent than Tate. The WRs are more experienced and deeper. The Offensive line is talented and experienced and added depth. The offense is going to be there.

The defense is a question. I actually don't think our starting group is a question mark. That's why I think we're different than a team like Arkansas. Fairley needed experience and an offseason in the weight room. That guy's going to be a stud in the middle. Bynes got a LOT better last year. Washington and Thorpe are going to be fantastic on the corners. We've got top line talent. We need depth. I'm not of the opinion that we need a ton from the True Freshmen. We need guys like Eguae, Freeman, Evans, Bell, Bates, Lykes, and Ford to contribute. If those guys, the RS Freshmen/Sophomores, contribute, then we don't need a lot from the incoming guys. That's not to say they won't help, but it'll be icing on the cake.

If Auburn gets two or three possessions better on defense, we're a contender. That doesn't require us to become a dominant defense-first team (little chance of that), but it would drop our PPG from 27+/game to something more manageable at 21 or 22. If we do that, we'll be in the race. So yeah, I think that's possible, and that should be our goal. I guess some folks would be offended if our coaches outright stated that "the national title isn't on our list of goals," but quite frankly, it shouldn't be. It's unrealistic. The team should be focused on controllable, realistic goals. Anything above that should just be a nice surprise.

[RunInRed 16,994]

I like your optimism and think your analysis is mostly correct. However, I think we're one year away on D -unless Whitaker, Lemonier, Bonomolo, etc. are instant impact players- from contending for SEC titles. I would be thrilled if I'm wrong.

[Auburnfan91 1,408]

I really have to question why Auburn didn't make the top 5? I mean Low has Georiga at #2 but we play two of those three teams in September as well. Imo, Auburn has a tougher schedule in September than Alabama does. Penn State won't be near as good as they were last year. Clemson will be a better team than Penn State will this year so I don't know why Low didn't put Auburn in his top 5?

[Duder 238]

I like your optimism and think your analysis is mostly correct. However, I think we're one year away on D -unless Whitaker, Lemonier, Bonomolo, etc. are instant impact players- from contending for SEC titles. I would be thrilled if I'm wrong.

I respectfully disagree. With the offensive production we should get, our D needs only a bit of improvement to swing the odds in our favor some. Not to mention the possibility that the offense will be a step better. A few extra scores last year and the season would have been very different!

Yes our D is a year away from being a solid unit, but minimal improvement could make a world of difference.

[ECEstudentUA 9]

ESPN.com's Chris Low shares his thoughts on September schedules in the SEC. His view of the teams with the toughest early roads include:

1) Tennessee (Oregon, Florida)

2) Georgia (@South Carolina, Arkansas, @Miss. State)

3) Vanderbilt (Northwestern, LSU, @Ole Miss)

4) LSU (North Carolina, West Virginia)

5) Alabama (Penn State, @Arkansas)

This analysis got me thinking, AU's September slate is very navigable, three home games and one Thursday night throwdown in cow bell city. The pivotal game is obviously Clemson however, SoCar is certainly no gimme. Taking a look a deeper look...

9/04/10 - Arkansas State: Pre-season warmup. Seriously, Arkansas State is no La Tech from last year. This already feels to me like a glorified A-Day game. The starters should be on the bench after the first few drives of the second half.

9/09/10 - Mississippi State: Dan Mullens, who is a pretty respected coach, will likely field an improved team in year two but the talent gap between the schools is real. Remember, this a team Malzahn and Co. hung half a hundred on last year. There will be early hype, 50k MSU fans will keep Starkville alive ... until Newton marches the white jerseys down the field and Fannin fires up the AU band. Good guys get an early SEC West win.

9/18/10 - Clemson: Many will be making their first trip of the 2010 season to the Plains to see the Tigers against the Tigers. ESPN is likely to pick this ACC/SEC matchup up in prime time. Clemson's deep threats (Spiller and Ford) are gone, which should give the D enough of a break to move AU to 3-0. ]

9/25/10 - South Carolina: It seems every year we hear the Spurrier hype. Yet, without fail, it begins to dissipate after their annual loss to UGA. How USCE found a QB yet? Will Lattimore make the field as a freshman. This has the potential to be a very fun early SEC game. Still, I can't find enough of a reason not to like the guys in Orange and Blue here.

So from my perch on a summer-like May afternoon, I see us escaping September undefeated. And I don't feel like this is going out on too far of a limb. Does every one else see it the same way?

View the complete 2010 Schedule here

My 2 cents.

Arky State....easy win

Mississippi State....Auburn should win this one pretty easy. Although, I think MSU puts up a good fight in the first half.

Clemson....Tough match up. Clemson is replacing some key offensive players, while Auburn is building depth on D. I think Auburn wins this one as well, it will be a good game. Won in the 4th.

South Carolina....Another good game. Spurrier coached teams are always tough. I think the lack of QB play for USC will allow the Auburn D to shut down the cocks.

Thats a good start 4-0, 2-0 in SEC. I seriously think the SEC west will be a 3 team race. LSU, Auburn, and Bama.

[ECEstudentUA 9]

I guess I just find out of conference games as "un-pivotal" unless you're a team competing for a national title. That's a short list of teams. Looking back at 2005, it doesn't bother me that we lost to Georgia Tech or Wisconsin. It bothers me that we missed out on an SEC Title because we couldn't hit field goals in Baton Rouge. We weren't good enough to win a national title that year. I'm with Spurrier. The goal, every year, is to win the SEC. Nothing else matters. One year, you might luck into more, but you can't control that. The SEC ring is completely in our control every season. So I find MSU and South Carolina more important/pivotal/interesting games than Clemson.

I agree 100%. It doesnt really matter what you do in OCG if you cant win your SEC games.

[AUslug 1]

I like how the September schedule breaks down for Auburn, hopefully Newton takes command of the offense early and the defense shows improvement from last year. The Mississippii State/Auburn game is ususally bigger of the Dogs considering when they win the matchup they normally have a good season ie. bowl game. One of the best runs in MSU history was from 1997-2000 and all 4 years they beat Auburn. I'm excited about Clemson coming to Jordan-Hare and hope lots of Clemson fans come and enjoy themselves, and it should be a good game between two schools that mirror each other in several different ways. I hope Auburn plays more ACC teams in the future, like NCST or Maryland. Darth Visor is coming back to the scene of one of his worst beatdowns and he might be brining his best Gamecock team since he has been there.

[Mikey 16,781]

I've been thinking the South Carolina game is our big September test. They showed a good defense last year and whipped Clemson handily at season's end.

If our offense can't get better in the second half of games this season, we'll have more times when we've got a lead at halftime and end up losing. I don't care how much the depth on defense improves, no defense can succeed when the offense is going through a long string of three-and-outs like we did in the second half many games last year.

[Duder 238]

I've been thinking the South Carolina game is our big September test. They showed a good defense last year and whipped Clemson handily at season's end.

If our offense can't get better in the second half of games this season, we'll have more times when we've got a lead at halftime and end up losing. I don't care how much the depth on defense improves, no defense can succeed when the offense is going through a long string of three-and-outs like we did in the second half many games last year.

I agree that South Carolina could be dangerous but I think by week 4 Cam has a good grasp of the O. I don't think we'll see as many offensive collapses this year. All of our skill players aside from the QB have been in the system for a year; Cam has boat loads of athleticism that we lacked last year at the QB. The O will be fine. I think Spurrier's offense still doesn't come together. It may well be a dog fight but we win it.