Auburn Football: Just How Bad This Season Could Be for Defending Champs

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer) Last year, Texas went from the BCS title game to home for holidays. For the first time in many years, the Longhorns did not even make a bowl game.

Will that be Auburn's fate this year?

So far, nobody's showing them any respect as the defending national champions in any of the preseason polls, and quite frankly, why should they?

Last year in their national championship campaign, they won five games by three points or less, including wins over usual "also-ran" teams like Kentucky and Mississippi State.

Then they lose 30 players off that team including most of the team's play makers. Even coach Gene Chizik has said that Auburn could be "a little light in the pants" this year.

That may be an understatement.

In looking at the 2011 schedule, Auburn may only be favored in just four games: Utah State, Florida Atlantic, Ole Miss and Samford.

All of these pitiful teams only had four wins each in 2010. Having four cream puffs on the schedule however, will only get them so far.

To make it to a bowl game, they'll have to upset two teams from the list of Mississippi State, Clemson, South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida, LSU, Georgia and Alabama.

And at least at this point, that doesn't seem likely.

Auburn could wind up being another 5-7 like Texas and watching the bowl games from televisions.

This could be one of the most dramatic falls from grace for any BCS winner in recent history and just emphasizes just how quickly a team can go from hero to zero in the world of college football.

The sad news for Auburn may be short lived however. If Chizik can continue to recruit the way he is, Auburn could be back in the bowl game hunt by the 2012 season as many of the team's talented youngsters start maturing.

Football has always had a history of teams going up and down. For Auburn, this season will be a hard and fast fall.