College Football Top 25: Buying or selling the 2015 preseason rankings

Apr 18, 2015; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn looks on during the spring game at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports

Highest Rank: 2 (SI)
Lowest Rank:  7 (Coaches)

SELLING

It’s easy to want to buy into Auburn as a Top 10 team, but I can’t. It’s ridiculous to think of them as a Top 5 team without having seen that defense and the new quarterback in action.

To think that Will Muschamp is going to be able to turn that defense around with 9 out of 11 defensive starters returning is just too much

Auburn’s defense was just unwatchable for much of 2014, finishing 63rd in scoring defense, 69th in rushing defense, 70th in passing defense and 66th in total defense nationally. To think that Will Muschamp is going to be able to turn that defense around with 9 out of 11 defensive starters returning is just too much. This unit will still struggle, and if you can’t play defense in the SEC, you’re done.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Tigers lose quarterback Nick Marshall, who had learned to run Gus Malzahn’s offense to perfection, and will begin the new era with mostly untested quarterback, Jeremy Johnson.

Cap that off with running backs Cameron Artis-Payne and Corey Grant being gone, along with receiver Sammie Coates and All-American center Reese Dismukes, and I just can’t see why Auburn seems to be everyone’s pick to come out of the SEC West.

Next: Oregon