Auburn football: Updated game-by-game predictions for 2020 season

Talent is not the question but with so much inexperience, can Bo Nix raise his level of play and make Auburn football a contender in the SEC?

Year in and year out, Auburn faces one of the toughest schedules in the entire country and even in a conference-only season, that will not change.

With the SEC’s revised schedule, the Tigers will face off against Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Texas A&M and if they make it that far, a rematch with Georgia or a game with Florida will await them in the SEC championship.

Despite losing nearly the entire offensive line and their three best defensive players, there’s a lot of optimism surrounding Auburn this season due to the expected leap that super talented quarterback Bo Nix is expected to take. With his top three receivers back, as well as a talented backfield and new offensive coordinator in Chad Morris, Nix could take a big step forward and make Auburn a contender in the SEC and for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

While there is potential for this Auburn squad to be a contender, there are some questions that will need answering and they won’t have a lot of time to get them figured out with a trip to Athens on deck for Week 2 of the season.

The offensive line is replacing four starters and that could be a big issue because of the emphasis that Auburn puts on running the football. The defense is missing big time playmakers upfront in Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson graduating and going to the NFL. Noah Igbinoghene was a shutdown corner and his presence in the secondary will be missed.

Auburn has recruited well over the years so talent is not the question, but inexperience in the SEC can be deadly and that puts extra emphasis on Nix to develop as a passer and be more of a true threat throwing the football.

Here is how the Tigers’ 2020 conference only season will play out.