College Football Playoff: Which Top 25 teams are contenders, pretenders?
In 2017, the Auburn Tigers will go as far as transfer quarterback Jarrett Stidham is able to take them, and so far, the results have been mostly positive.
After abstaining from football during the 2016 season following his departure from Baylor, Stidham has looked understandably rusty at times, while also flashes just how good of a player he’s capable of being. He has only averaged 211 yards per game through the air, with three touchdowns to two interceptions, he has also completed a career high 70 percent of his passes.
Many fans had hoped that the pairing of Stidham with former Arizona State offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey would be incredibly potent, but in reality, the Tigers offense has actually dropped from 43rd in the nation in 2016 to 68th in the nation in 2017 with no one player stepping up to serve as Stidham’s primary target.
However, on the defensive side of the ball, Gus Malzahn has brought the pressure to Auburn, Alabama. The unit, led by defensive end Marlon Davidson, has risen from the 28th ranked squad in 2016 to the 4th ranked unit in the nation, while only allowing opposing offenses an average of 236.3 yards per game through four weeks.
While the Auburn Tigers do have the infrastructure in place to be a scary team in 2017, their Week 2 loss to Clemson will seriously impede their chances of making a play for the college football playoffs.
With an unprecedented four more ranked teams left on their schedule in 2017, the Tigers will struggle to get through the remainder of their schedule without another loss, especially with the team’s appearance in the Iron Bowl against top-ranked Alabama waiting for them on the final game of the season.
If head coach Gus Malzahn can carry the momentum his team has built this season into the next, his team could be something special in 2018, but it’s incredibly unlikely that Auburn will find a spot in this season’s playoff.