2010 Auburn Tigers Preview Odds

Auburn Tigers

8-5, 6-7 ATS, 5th Place in SEC West

Odds to Win 2010 BCS Championship: +8000
Odds to Win SEC 10/1
at 5Dimes Sportsbook

The 2009 Auburn Tigers, behind the arm of QB Chris Todd and the legs of RB Ben Tate, won five in a row to get the season started. Gene Chizik’s first year as head coach of the team quickly returned to Earth, however, with losses in five of the last seven regular season contests. Now with Tate and Todd gone, the Tigers will need to find new talent once again.

Offensive Outlook: For a third consecutive year, the Tigers will need to find solid talent at the QB position. Senior Neil Caudle, sophomore Clint Moseley, and sophomore Barrett Trotter are all competing for the starting job. However, the job may be taken by a newcomer to the team in Cameron Newton. Newton, who dwarfs his competition at 6’6”, 245 lbs, spent two seasons at Florida behind Tim Tebow, and last year was hailed as the top JUCO player in the nation. As far as replacing Tate, the majority of the rushing game will fall on the shoulders of sophomore Onterio McCalebb. McCalebb averaged 5.4 yards per carry in 105 rushes and scored seven times last year. Sharing the running game with McCalebb will be a versatile player in Mario Fennin, who saw 34 carries for 285 yards and 42 receptions for 413 yards and three touchdowns. At wide receiver, star Darvin Adams is returning and will look to build on his 60 catches, 997 yards, and ten touchdowns in 2009.

Defensive Outlook: The Auburn defense of 2009 was middle of the pack material. The Tigers gave up 374.1 yards per game, 156.1 rushing yards per game, and 27.5 points per game. There is a huge opportunity for improvement, however, as the team will only lose four total defensive players. A heavily laden freshman and sophomore group of linebackers is now one year older wiser. At defensive back, though, there will only be two seniors in Desmond Washington and Gabe Barrett. Washington will be a valuable asset on special teams, as well, as he averaged 31.1 yards per kickoff return in 16 tries last season.

The Final Word: The Tigers are not rebuilding, but reloading. That said, there are a lot of question marks. Can Newton come in and play well on the big stage in the SEC? Will McCalebb be able to put big numbers, like Tate? And finally, can a defense ranked 79th in the nation in points allowed a year ago shut down its opponents? There is a lot of potential here, but with more solid teams in their division, don’t expect Auburn to be winning the SEC West.

2010 Auburn Tigers Prediction: 7-5, 5th place in SEC West

2010 Auburn Tigers Schedule
9/4 Arkansas State
9/9 @ Mississippi State
9/18 Clemson
9/25 South Carolina
10/2 Louisiana-Monroe
10/9 @ Kentucky
10/16 @ Arkansas
10/23 LSU
10/30 @ Mississippi
11/6 UT-Chattanooga
11/13 Georgia
11/26 @ Alabama