Auburn Football: Ranking Tigers’ 2020 opponents by toughness

Across the state of Mississippi, Lane Kiffin will be the new head man for Ole Miss. As far as head coaching personalities go, there may not be a more interesting rivalry than the Egg Bowl. This matchup has a recent history full of hatred, and these polarizing personalities will only add fuel to the fire.

For the Tigers, however, these two dates on the schedule will be winnable games against teams in a transition year. In Oxford, that transition will feature a quarterback battle between John Rhys Plumlee and Matt Corral. Plumlee completed just 52.7 percent of his throws a season ago, but he led the team in rushing with 1,023 yards and 12 rushing scores.

Kiffin’s offense is be a more pass-oriented and balanced scheme, so Corral should have the early edge.

The headline for the Tar Heels in 2020 will unquestionably be quarterback Sam Howell. He set a school record with 38 touchdown passes last season, and led an offense that finished the year with outputs of 56, 41 and 55 points.

Howell will be throwing to a couple of 1,000-yard weapons on the outside. Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome combined for 22 touchdown receptions a year ago, and along with a 1,000-yard rusher in Michael Carter, this offense could be scary this season.re

On the defense, it’s a former quarterback that leads the way. Chazz Surratt, who’s converted to linebacker, led the Tar Heels a year ago with 15 tackles for loss, as well as 115 total tackles.