Auburn Wins BCS National Championship: 11 Bold Predictions For 2011
This season was preceded with doubt and very few expectations from anyone outside of the Auburn Family. There were some doubters inside the family as well, but every year you start undefeated. Bold statements can either make you wise or burn you. I’m shooting for wise.
A few decisions in the next few days by key players can make or break some hope for the 2011 season. Replacing 23 seniors is no small task by any stretch, but it can be done. The past two seasons in recruiting have been very successful but can those guys step up and make plays now that the senior leadership will be diminished?
Auburn played 12 true freshmen across the board this season on offense, defense, and special teams. This figure does not include redshirts which also accounted for more than their fair share of playing time this season. This recruiting year is the first in the Gene Chizik era that players may be turned away from commits. The Kris Frost episode is a prime example.
With that being said, depth shouldn’t be a huge worry except for losing four of five offensive line starters. That is a huge loss but with the experience and talent returning Auburn has a legitimate shot in 2011 for another run. Let’s take a look at some facts and assumptions that can lead back to the title game.
Cam Newton Stays
1 of 11
All indications point to Newton leaving this season for the NFL. But who are these indications coming from? The media and sports reporters are the only ones that seem to be commenting on it. Last night Newton gave a comment saying that he would sit down with his coaches and family to discuss his future.
With the final declaration date looming in the next week, Newton and Co. sure hasn’t seemed to be placing much emphasis on his departure. Would it be a good idea for Newton to declare? That is not my line of expertise but from all that has been written and the games that I have watched there is something that is just not quite there yet for the NFL.
He needs work on his footwork. Newton also has shown to have issues with reading a zone-man defensive scheme. Play tight corners on the outside and mix zone and man coverage in the middle and the more time to make a decision it seems the worse they become. Two throws in the Georgia game that went for touchdowns would have been picks at the next level.
Of course Newton is a physical force at the major collegiate level but games against Alabama for instance show that when facing a lot of surrounding talent, he can be tamed from time to time. Is he unstoppable? Or course not, but at this level he is close.
His skills will surely mix well in the future and in the NFL but at this point I think Newton stays.
Auburn Finishes with Top 5 Recruiting Class
2 of 11
Last season Auburn landed a top 4 class in the recruiting world. For a school that seemed to always recruit low and develop players, it was a surprise to see the Auburn Tigers in the elite ranks of the recruiting services. Not only was the class highly rated, but almost all of them made it to campus and some contributed.
Look for Auburn to pull another strong finish this season in recruiting as well. Currently Auburn is 11th according to the Rivals affiliate AuburnSports.com. With only 17 public verbal commits there is plenty of room to grow and with guys like Ray Drew, Gabriel Wright, and Erique Florence left on the board it is most likely that this class will continue to climb the rankings.
Winning the National Championship will no doubt help some of these recruits make their final decision but those recruits must be ready to come in and contribute. If nothing else Auburn will need guys that want to excel on special teams and typically underclassmen fill that role well.
The Auburn Coaching Staff Stays Put
3 of 11
One of the keys to this year’s success was the lack of coaching turnover. The Auburn staff was the only group of the 12 SEC powers that didn’t have any coaching turnover. As schools are finishing up the coaching search process Auburn may be safe at this point yet again.
One of the Graduate Assistants has departed to join the Samford Bulldog staff but other than that, everyone remains. Despite the rumors and interviews that Gus Malzahn found himself to be a part of, Auburn retained its mad scientist of an offensive coordinator.
Staff continuity breeds success. These players are coming from a National Championship and have the opportunity to be with the same coaches for a third year in a row. That experience and leadership is huge. These guys know each other and know how to push each player to his limit. Keeping a staff this successful together this long may be Chizik’s best recruiting job so far in his Auburn tenure.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Gene Chizik Gets a Raise
4 of 11
With a 2.1 million dollar salary Chizik found himself amidst the lowest of paid coaches in the SEC. Looking back, Jay Jacobs got the deal of a lifetime. However low the salary of Chizik is, it is incentive laden and after this season all of those marks have likely been hit.
Look for a solid renegotiation for Chizik very soon however. Something I would assume in the lengthy five year range. He has proven himself to be a winner on and off the field and has truly embraced the Auburn way and mentality. Expect Gene to stay for a while.
I am not sure to the length or buyout that may be on Chizik’s contract now, but I would expect to see a buyout of generous proportions to be added with his renegotiation.
Auburn Starts Out of the Pre-season Top 10
5 of 11
For whatever reason, Auburn has never been a media darling. 2011 should be no different as the preseason rankings come out. Expect Auburn to be no higher than number 11. With or without Cam Newton on the team there are just too many other teams that look promising.
Ohio State for instance. Look at the way the beat Arkansas. That is a sure sign that they will be in the top 5 to start the season. Auburn has a lot of experience to replace on the offensive line for next season but it returns a defense with experience and an offense that loses only one skill player to graduation.
Auburn’s future at the offensive line position seems to be solid with a wealth of talent waiting in the wings it will just make for an early season adjustment to mesh the guys together, but Jeff Grimes has shown his ability to mold talent to success. Take Brandon Moseley this year. Moseley was a guy that had played tight end all his life and in a summer workout season, fall camp, and on season became a dominating offensive tackle in the SEC.
All this to show that weakness’ can be deceiving and despite this Championship win; Auburn will still lack the pre-season respect.
Darvin Adams Stays And Makes the All American Team
6 of 11
Darvin Adams (aka Smooth) has been a guy that has made plays when Auburn has needed them most in the past two seasons. There are times however that he will alligator arm some catches and will lose eye contact with the football anticipating a hit.
Adams was 10 or so catches away from an amazing season and the great season he had this year. Adams is a leader on this team and despite having many responsibilities that many of us forget some of these guys have, I think he stays. Adams
has consistently been overlooked by other big name pass catchers in the SEC.
With Julio Jones and A.J. Green leaving for the NFL this season, Adams could solidify himself in 2011 as a go to threat in the Auburn passing game and also earn himself some recognition on the national stage. Look for Adams to fix the few errors that are found in his play and to make it past the 1200 yard mark on 2011.
Michael Dyer and Onterio McCalebb Get Nicknames
7 of 11
For some reason it seems the major media outlets love to grant nicknames on tandem backfields. I expect no less from the like in 2011. Look for the two to have some catchy nicknames that follow them throughout the season.
Michael Dyer set himself apart from the pack by rushing for 142 yards in the title game and finishing the season at over 1000. McCalebb ran lights out all season and bulked up to avoid injury like in 2009. If Newton returns as predicted, then there will no doubt be an all-encompassing nickname for the entire strike force. Maybe that makes the cut, Strike Force!
Who knows, but I better leave that up to the multi-million dollar marketing groups.
Auburn Wins the West
8 of 11
With Auburn’s toughest road contest next year being on the road at LSU, there is a chance that Auburn could repeat as Western Division champions. To get to the top of the West, Auburn needs to win its major games at LSU, at home against Mississippi State and Mississippi, and a pivotal road game to Arkansas.
Even though the majority of folks look to the LSU game as huge, and it will be, the Arkansas game my stick out the most. Arkansas has been a tough place for Auburn to win in the most recent past. For Auburn to get a win in that game on Oct. 8th they must bring the A game.
Petrino will have yet another year to impart his ways on his team and as many saw this year on CBS, the backup to Ryan Mallett can play ball too. Tyler Wilson looked all the parts of stud against Auburn this season.
Of course, the road to the Division title is seemingly going to finish at the Iron Bowl for the next few years at least. The game to finish the season against Alabama will be another huge, epic battle of SEC greats. 2011 could be even better than 2010 in the SEC West.
Auburn Wins SEC Title
9 of 11
My early favorite for the SEC East is Georgia. With so many changes occurring at Florida it would be hard to imagine the Gators having a huge year after the 2010 letdown. Georgia had its fair share of bad news and bad games this season but 2011 returns a very good quarterback and some experience on defense.
Auburn will be facing a Western Division that has the chance to super cede this year’s excellence. Some of the teams will have question marks however and with Auburn having a moderately favorable schedule again in 2011, the Tigers have as good a shot as any to make it back to Atlanta.
Cam Newton Wins Second Heisman Trophy
10 of 11
Again, staying with the boldest of bold predictions, Newton will be only the second player in The Heisman Trust to win two of the prestigious award known as the Heisman Memorial Trophy. Of course these things hang on the thread that he returns, but again, I think he does.
Newton showed this year that his dominance of the major college football level was attainable and worthy of reward. Is winning a second Heisman on his list of to do’s for the year 2011? It has to be. If there is one thing that the Auburn Family has learned about its quarterback this year is that he is resilient and very goal oriented.
Newton will excel much as he did this year, but with a more experienced and possibly more talented surrounding cast on the offensive side of the ball for the Tigers next year.
Auburn makes it to the 2011 BCS National Championship Game
11 of 11
Remember, bold predictions. With all jokes aside, looking at what the possibilities could be with a return of Cam Newton and a year more under the legs of McCalebb and Dyer this is not a prediction that seems so outlandish.
The offensive line of course will be a focus and a concern as spring ball starts out but Auburn showed back in 2006 that young guys can gel and play well together in their first year. The same guys that played their final game for the Tigers last evening have played every game since they were freshmen. At least Ziemba and Pugh have.
With the size and talent that has been recruited for the Tigers at the line position the last two years, there may not be the drop off that many expect. Grimes have proven that he can get guys to be successful but this coming year is going to be a large task without a doubt.
The defense in 2011 is going to look much the same as well. Losing Zack Etheridge will be a huge loss to a spotty secondary as will Demond Washington, but some younger guys that have more raw talent have been stepping up there play and adjusting to real time college football all season.
The Linebacker spot is another that will lose some starters but the backups have been battle tested. How Auburn fills holes in this recruiting class and expands on its much needed experience from this year will determine its destination in next year’s bowl season.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
