Standing On The Precipice: A Defining October Lies Ahead For Auburn Football

European philosopher George Santayana once opined, "Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it."

Doubtless, he did not have Auburn football in mind when expressing this view, but it nonetheless applies to the 2010 Auburn Tigers. 

A year ago, they left Knoxville 5-0 and full of confidence that something special may lie ahead. Reality proved much harsher with three straight losses to Arkansas, Kentucky, and LSU. A year later, following a routine win over LA-Monroe, Auburn has again emerged from its opening five games with an unblemished record and the same three teams that derailed their season a year ago are ready to do so again.

There's no denying, however, that a year later, things feel different. Last year, Auburn fans knew that Auburn's defense was flawed. The depth issues would only get worse before they got better. Concerns remained over whether Chris Todd's arm and health would hold up in the rigors of SEC play. Special teams play never really looked like improving (outside of the kickers), and so it didn't. Auburn seemed to be doing it with smoke and mirrors.

Fast forward a year, and it looks like more of a triumph of substance over style. Auburn is still a flawed football team, but it appears significantly improved in many areas. Chris Todd's all-around solid play has been replaced by the all-around dynamic play of Cam Newton. The defense still has its issues (notably in the secondary), but a defensive line that looked soft at best a year ago (outside of the Iron Bowl) is now dominant and shutting down the running game for a living and putting the fear of Yahweh into opposing quarterbacks. The special teams, aided by young, talented players eager to prove their worth, appear to be significantly improved. The overall team depth is still far from ideal, but a highly rated recruiting class has alleviated the issue at least somewhat.

Nowhere was this clearer than in Saturday's 52-3 victory over the Warhawks. Last year, Auburn gave up 30+ points to both Ball State and Furman when it emptied its bench in the second half of those games. Against LA-Monroe, a defense stock full of freshman, both red-shirt and true, kept a solid defensive performance intact. Indeed, many of these young players probably staked a claim to more significant playing time in the upcoming games.

September provided a tougher challenge this go round as well. A relative walkover against Arkansas State was followed by three tough, physical, grind them out games against Mississippi State, Clemson, and South Carolina; each opponent offered a tougher test. October could provide a similar challenge. Kentucky being an SEC road game is challenging enough. But in Randall Cobb and Derick Locke, they also have two players that can hurt Auburn's defense on the perimeter in a similar way to what Clemson did.

Ryan Mallett and company will have liked what they've seen on film of our passing defense thus far. LSU may be the most poorly coached team in college football, but also one of the most talented, and the Mad Hatter has had more than a little success against Auburn. After a disastrous September, Ole Miss seems to be turning a corner and Houston Nutt often performs miracles when none are expected.

None of this is to say that Auburn fans should fear the month of October. Quite the opposite. We should all be looking forward to an exciting month that could see the pendulum shift from week to week. The stakes are high, but so are the rewards, mainly a spot in the driver's seat as Alabama's main challenger to the throne of SEC supremacy. There is a swagger about this team that gives Auburn fans hope against their better judgment that no task looks impossible. Anything is doable, even if losing is too.

But having spent the last couple of paragraphs looking ahead to an entire month, I'll now narrow my focus to next Saturday and a trip to Lexington. SEC road games are usually tough, not even taking into account the fact that Kentucky beat Auburn last year. Auburn can and probably should beat a solid Kentucky team, but the Wildcats won't care about perception. They didn't last year. A night game in the Bluegrass will be provide a true baptism of fire for a tough slate of SEC games; a slate of games that could catapult this team to any number of things, from good to great or something less.

I'll be there in the stands, frayed nerves in hand, watching with wild hope and expectation to see if the 2010 Auburn Tigers can continue to separate themselves from the frailties of the 2009 version.