Auburn Football: 2017 Game-by-game predictions
The Alabama Crimson Tide have ruled the SEC for what feels like forever. Could 2017 be the year that Auburn football takes back control of the SEC West?
The College Football Playoff has existed for three seasons. Alabama has been the SEC representative every single year. That not surprising, but it’s also not set in stone moving forward. Eventually someone else will seize control over the SEC West? Why not Auburn? And why not this year?
Auburn has upgraded their offense through the addition of newly appointment starting quarterback Jarrett Stidham. They have some young, but experienced pass catches and a pair of elite running backs. Those offensive pieces, combined with one of the best defenses in the country will be enough to give the Tide a test, at the very least. Let’s take a look at each game of the 2017 Auburn football season and take a stab at predicting all 12 outcomes.
The Eagles joined the FBS in 2014. Leading the charge that season was current Tulane head coach Willie Fritz. He went 9-3 and 9-4 in two FBS seasons with Georgia Southern before moving on. First year coach Tyson Summers was called upon to replace him, but Summer was only able to manage a 5-7 record, finishing sixth in the Sun Belt Conference.
Not many folks outside of the southeast had heard of Georgia Southern prior to last year’s NFL Draft. The Eagles had two players selected, which isn’t all that incredible until you juxtapose that number with the number of players selected from the University of Georgia: 1. Were the Eagles more talented than the Bulldogs? Probably not. But something is going on at Georgia Southern.
As if the task of going toe-to-toe with an SEC giant wasn’t hard enough already, the Eagles are going to have to find a way to do it after replacing key pieces on offense. Quarterback Kevin Ellison has run out of eligibility as has last season’s leading rusher Matt Brieda and leading receiver B.J. Johnson.
There’s always one or two lower tier teams that gives a big name a wake up call at the beginning of the season. That’s not going to happen here. Auburn will roll through Georgia Southern en route to a solid season opening victory at home.