Predicting Auburn’s 2018 Football Season

Auburn pylon

It was as if beating No. 1 Alabama in the Iron Bowl last season took everything Auburn had left. After a 26-14 win over their oldest enemy, Auburn didn’t turn up in their 28-7 loss to Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, or in their Peach Bowl loss to UCF for that matter. The goal for the Tigers in 2018 has to be to finish the season with more fire than they did one year ago.

By Steve Wright

September

9/1/18 Washington (in Atlanta) – This might be the biggest opening day test in the entire conference. Washington is CFP level good – they should cruise through the Pac 12 – and Auburn is 1-6 against ranked teams all time in Week 1 (with that win coming back in 1957). The pseudo-home field advantage will help in Atlanta, but will it be enough? Auburn 21, Washington 17.

9/8/18 Alabama State – There will be a letdown in the first half here regardless of who comes out on top in the opener. Then Auburn will take off and take over. Auburn 38, Alabama State 7.

9/15/18 @ LSU – The SEC media is predicting LSU to finish fifth in the SEC West. That tells you everything you need to know about this game. Auburn 35, LSU 10.

9/22/18 Arkansas – The Hogs will be better – potentially much better – in 2018 under Chad Morris. His up-tempo scheme will allow Arkansas to score some points here, but they are a couple of years away from reaching their full potential. Auburn 38, Arkansas 21.

9/29/18 Southern Miss – The first of two games against the Golden Eagles (2020) is a no brainer. Expect Jarrett Stidham and the other starters to get some time off during this one. Auburn 48, Sothern Miss 10.

October

10/6/18 @ Mississippi State – The Tigers first true road game of the season is against the most difficult to predict team in the league. Mississippi State will have a big revenge game factor here after Auburn smashed the Bulldogs 49-10 last September. Auburn will have to win the battle of the defensive lines to escape Starkville with a victory. Auburn 31, Mississippi State 24.

10/13/18 Tennessee – Tennessee is a mess. New head coach Jeremy Pruitt has the tools to right the ship, but it will take more than one offseason after a 2017 campaign that saw the Vols lose eight games for the first time in program history. Auburn 45, Tennessee 13.

10/20/18 @ Ole Miss – The Rebels will be a tricky team to face because they have the best receiving group in the entire conference. A.J. Brown is a legitimate superstar and Ole Miss needs to find a way to contain his game breaking potential. Auburn 42, Ole Miss 35.

10/27/18 BYE

November

11/3/18 Texas A&M – This game is more difficult because it is later in the season Jimbo Fisher has $70 million reasons to turn the Aggies around quickly and he cannot afford a late season fade in his first year with the school. Auburn 45, Texas A&M 30.

11/10/18 @ Georgia – This 2017 SEC Championship Game rematch will likely go a long way towards determining the participants for that game – and for the CFP – in 2018. Auburn has revenge on its mind, but this game being in Athens is a huge factor. Auburn 20, Georgia 28.

11/17/18 Liberty – One way of looking at this is that it is the mother of all trap games. The other is that it is Liberty at home. Auburn 31, Liberty 0.

11/24/18 @ Alabama – The Iron Bowl will once again decide the SEC West and it will. The difference between this year and last will be the ability of Tua Tagovailoa to throw the ball and keep the Auburn defense from stacking the box against the Alabama running game. Auburn 14, Alabama 28.

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