Auburn Football: Winners and Losers From Tigers' First Month

The defending National Champion Auburn Tigers have had a roller coaster first month of the season, headlined by Saturday's win over South Carolina.

If not for the loss to Clemson two weeks ago, the Tigers could very well be ranked in the Top 10.

Through its ups and downs, the Tigers have had some great performances and some not so great performances.

Here are the winners and loser from the Tigers' first month of play. 

Winner: Michael Dyer

Despite a couple letdown games against Utah State and Florida Atlantic in which he didn't rush for over 100 yards, Michael Dyer has come up big when the Auburn Tigers needed him the most. 

In the Tigers' three biggest games of the season, Dyer is averaging 143.33 yards per game and has scored five of his seven touchdowns on the season.

It is hard to say where the Tigers would be without Dyer this season, but he sure has become an integral part of the offense in his second season under Gene Chizik.

With performances like he has had this season. Dyer's NFL Draft stock could be huge entering his junior season in 2012. 

Winner: Gene Chizik

When Gene Chizik was brought to Auburn, he was booed as he got off the plane upon arrival. 

Since then, all he has done is win a National Championship and start the next season 4-1 after losing their top offensive player, Cam Newton, and defensive player, Nick Fairley, to the NFL Draft.

In his time at Auburn, Chizik has a record of 25-6 and won bowl games in both of his first two seasons.

The 4-1 start to this year proves that he is the real deal at Auburn, and every single person who booed him back in 2009 owes this man their deepest apology. 

Loser: Auburn Defense

The Auburn Tigers defense has allowed 27.4 points per game in the first month of play, a number that will need to improve if they plan on winning key SEC conference games.

In recent performances, the defense has stepped up and allowed just 27 points in the past two games but in the three games before that, the defense allowed over 30 points.

Thankfully for the Tigers, the offense has been able to score points to counter the subpar defense, but that won't happen every week.

If the Tigers want to have a chance to play in a BCS bowl, the defense needs to step up and perform much better in the coming months. 

Loser: South Carolina Gamecocks

Last Saturday, the South Carolina had a chance to take the reins of the SEC East with a victory at home over the Auburn Tigers.

The Tigers did not oblige, and the Gamecocks walked away defeated. The loss prevented the Gamecocks from overtaking the Florida Gators, who lost to Alabama, for the outright lead in the SEC East.

A win would have put the Gamecocks in the drivers seat for a berth in the SEC Championship game in December.