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Auburn Football: 2017 Game-by-game predictions

By Matthew Bartlett

NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 02: Chandler Cox #27 of the Auburn Tigers reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Oklahoma Sooners during the Allstate Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 2, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 02: Chandler Cox #27 of the Auburn Tigers reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Oklahoma Sooners during the Allstate Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 2, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

It won’t be without some close calls, but this year’s Auburn football team has the makings of a true championship contender. Winning out in the SEC isn’t easy, but it can be done. All you need is a few fortuitous bounces and an elite quarterback. Stidham looks to fill the latter, whether or not the first will come to pass remains to be seen. The kick six can’t happen twice, right?

Very few coaches have battled with Nick Saban and come away with a victory. Six, actually. That’s the number of active FBS coaches with at least one victory over Saban. Malzahn is in that elite circle of victors. It’s always hardest the first time, right?

Alabama’s defense suffered heavy attrition this offseason to the NFL Draft. They’ll reload, just like they always do, with a bevy of new 5-star studs. By the time the Iron Bowl rolls around they’ll look like seasoned NFL veterans. But this new group of Bama defenders might be missing one critical element that made the 2016 squad so effective. Luck.

That’s right, even the mighty Crimson Tide needed a little bit of luck last season. Alabama scored 11 defensive touchdowns in the regular season. You don’t do that without elite level talent and situational awareness. Still, it’s shocking that they were able to amass that many defensive scores in the first place. It’s not going to happen again in 2017. They’ll get a couple, but not 11.

The Crimson Tide found ways to make that back-breaking defensive touchdown to put a game out of reach for good. Jalen Hurts is a great quarterback. He has Bo Scarbrough behind him and Calvin Ridley split out wide. But he’s not used to playing from behind often. This year it’s Auburn’s turn for the lucky bounce, and they’ll take advantage of it.

Next: Ranking the top 50 players in college football in 2017

Final: Alabama 31, Auburn 35 (12-0, 8-0 SEC)

I know. I know it’s blasphemy to pick against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Bama fans will take this back to their message boards and roast me for being “biased” and “uneducated” – both points are false. The truth is this: Alabama has been both lucky and good over the past decade. They’re going to be one of the best teams in the country this season. However, this is the year of the Tiger.

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