Auburn football record prediction

[chimesAU 89]

Auburn's tailback position is far from solid. After OMac there is Mason, who had all of 28 carries last year. Then not a another rushing attempt from anyone else. Sure there is talent, but it is all on paper. Let's see how well Blakely picks up blitzes or how well Mason catches it out of the backfield or how Grant reacts to losing a fumble before we say how good they are going to be.

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It seems that everyone has failed to mention or consider that Prosch, an All American Fullback, will be in the backfield doing some lead blocking and  blitz blocking this fall. This, along with our RB's athletic potential and Luper's RB coaching credentials, eliminates any concern for me in this area. I like our chances this year.

11 - 2.

Good point. I completely forgot about Prosch when arguing that we'll be set in the backfield next year. Never hurts to have a bulldozer clearing the way.

[Gregini 0]

I think it is more important to look at how we play week in and week out than the number of wins or losses. Don't misunderstand me here, I want wins as much as the next guy but that is not always a great way to measure.

The 2012 team could be vastly improved from the 2011 squad. And I really think that will turn out to be the case.  But it may not show up in pure wins and losses.  If you look at last year being a 7 - 5 regular season, it is easy to jump ahead to 9 or 10 wins in 2012 because we have more experience and an easier schedule.  But we were really never in four of the five games we lost.  We jumped on Clemson early but got totally dominated in the second half.  So, we never had a real chance to win any of those games.  On the other side, we could have easily lost to Utah State, Miss.State and South Carolina.  Just change one play in each game and we lose.  And while we won the other 4 regular season games by pretty comfortable margins, only the Florida win was over a remotely decent team.

So, my measurement for 2012 is deeper than just wins and losses.  I will be hoping for 14 - 0 and will wake up every Saturday morning thinking we will find a way to win.  But I think an 8 or 9 win regular season is what should be prepared for next fall.  However, I think we see a team that is in every game we play and gives all our foes more than they bargained for every time out.  If we can see that and not get blown out, then I'll be pleased.

[Rednilla 5,447]

I think it is more important to look at how we play week in and week out than the number of wins or losses. Don't misunderstand me here, I want wins as much as the next guy but that is not always a great way to measure.

The 2012 team could be vastly improved from the 2011 squad. And I really think that will turn out to be the case.  But it may not show up in pure wins and losses.  If you look at last year being a 7 - 5 regular season, it is easy to jump ahead to 9 or 10 wins in 2012 because we have more experience and an easier schedule.  But we were really never in four of the five games we lost.  We jumped on Clemson early but got totally dominated in the second half.  So, we never had a real chance to win any of those games.  On the other side, we could have easily lost to Utah State, Miss.State and South Carolina.  Just change one play in each game and we lose.  And while we won the other 4 regular season games by pretty comfortable margins, only the Florida win was over a remotely decent team.

So, my measurement for 2012 is deeper than just wins and losses.  I will be hoping for 14 - 0 and will wake up every Saturday morning thinking we will find a way to win.  But I think an 8 or 9 win regular season is what should be prepared for next fall.  However, I think we see a team that is in every game we play and gives all our foes more than they bargained for every time out.  If we can see that and not get blown out, then I'll be pleased.

Logical, but I don't really agree. Because we lost so little from last year's team, we are now a year bigger, faster, and stronger across the board. Look at how many starters are gone from those teams that dominated us.

Beyond that is the X-factor, and his name is Kiehl Frazier. Now, Frazier could spend this year struggling and settling into the role of quarterback (provided, of course, that he wins the position), and in that case what I said in the previous paragraph holds true. On the other hand, he might very well take hold of this team and burst onto the scene in a big way now that the reins have been loosened a little.

Ladies and gentlemen, if that happens, then this is going to be a fun ride for the next couple of years.

[willthethrill1345162940 0]

With the talent and experience we have coming back it's easy to see us having ten wins this year. Hopefully csl will put in an offensive scheme that will help our defense. As much as I liked cgm's offense, there were many times he put our defense in tough situations. I like the way our schedule lays out this year also, our tough games are spread out enough that we shouldn't be too beat up going into them. I'm looking forward to many good things happening on the plains for many years to come. My prediction 10-2 regular season and bowl victory

[AUIH1 1,515]

I predicted a 9-3 regular season record earlier in this thread.  I will also say that if we lose three games like I predict we will, they cannot be of the absolutely humiliating losses we experienced last year.  I also expect the team to improve throughout the year on both sides of the ball which did not happen in 2011.

When we play Alabama A&M, the game needs to be over by the middle of the second quarter not by the middle of the 4th quarter like the Samford game last year.

Our coaching staff from top to bottom needs to step it up greatly to avoid another 2011.  2011 was OK from a record standpoint but from an improvement, effort when things got tough, competitive and coaching standpoint it was unacceptable.  I believe Chizik upgraded the D staff tremendously and I think Lefty has a lot of potential as the OC.  That is good because we don't play in the ACC or Big East,  we play in the SEC and the SEC West specifically and good enough will not cut it where we are.

wde

[Caindaku 0]

    Breaking down the AU 2012 schedule: 3 sure wins over ULM, NMS and ALA A&M. The next 6 games are 60/40 IMO @ Vandy, Clemson in Atl, @ Miss ST, @ Ole Miss, Arkansas and Texas A&M. These 3 games are the elite teams  LSU, UGA and @ bama. Imo Auburn wins the 3 sure wins, wins 4 of the 60/40 games and goes 1-2 against the elites. Looking at the schedule from a historical angle the road and out of conference is relatively easy with the hardest games being @ bama then Clemson in Atl leaving a record of 6-2, or 7-1. That leaves home conference games against  Texas A&M, Arkansas, LSU and UGA. Considering Auburn has lost 3 home games in 3 years I really can't believe we lose more then 2. So in summation 8-4 seems the most logical to me, 7 wins or less will be a bad year, 9 wins a great year and anything over 10 wins a phenominal year.

[Stripe 5]

How big of a melt down would the rest of the country have if the BCSNC stayed in the state of Alabama for a 4th straight year? Epic Proportions. We are talking Armageddon.  I think we have the pieces to win it all, now it's a matter of the coaches doing their part in preparing our guys to go out a win games.

[WarEagle1982 491]

2012 will hinge on improvement, or lack of improvement at the defensive tackle position.  If they improve 9 to 10 wins is forseeable.

[Weegle777 78]

How big of a melt down would the rest of the country have if the BCSNC stayed in the state of Alabama for a 4th straight year? Epic Proportions. We are talking Armageddon.  I think we have the pieces to win it all, now it's a matter of the coaches doing their part in preparing our guys to go out a win games.

The rest of the country's meltdown would pale in comparison to the bammer's epic meltdown if that happened.

[AUbritt 611]

How big of a melt down would the rest of the country have if the BCSNC stayed in the state of Alabama for a 4th straight year? Epic Proportions. We are talking Armageddon.  I think we have the pieces to win it all, now it's a matter of the coaches doing their part in preparing our guys to go out a win games.

The rest of the country's meltdown would pale in comparison to the bammer's epic meltdown if that happened.

Unfortunately, this is true. Bammers are so sad.

[Guest shadoww]

am i back? thank you. hey, flush, i am back.

[BornAU76 420]

How big of a melt down would the rest of the country have if the BCSNC stayed in the state of Alabama for a 4th straight year? Epic Proportions. We are talking Armageddon.  I think we have the pieces to win it all, now it's a matter of the coaches doing their part in preparing our guys to go out a win games.

The rest of the country's meltdown would pale in comparison to the bammer's epic meltdown if that happened.

Unfortunately, this is true. Bammers are so sad.

Well, let's just go out and win the whole damn thing. 

[peck4au 0]

to me it all hinges on leaders. who will step up and lead this team? that was a major factor last season, no one stepped up to lead the team. add to that the youth of the defense and you had games that ended up very ugly. i just hope someone is ready to take that step and lead this team cause talent like last yr wont be the issue it's gonna be keeping your composure and your wits about you when something goes wrong.

[IronMan70 3,322]

Ok, explain how anyone picks the 8-9 category when our schedule is more favorable and team more mature.  I am not fussing at you either, just wondering the rationale.  Our schedule last year was brutal compared to next season.

Weellllll, our qb will be untested. The oline will have less experience than last year's. Other than OMac the tailback situation is iffy. Who knows if we'll have a reliable wr other than Blake.

No way of knowing about the defense. One would think it will be improved but until it hits the field...

I think you're way off there. RB is one of the few positions on the field where talent usually trumps experience. We have a TON of talent in the backfield. If we were down to Omac and one other completely unproven guy you might have a point, but that's not at all the case. To be honest, Omac could end up being the most "iffy" out of all of them. Our RBs will unquestionably be a strength for us next year.

You are right on the talent aspect. Talent is why a RB like a Dyer, Lattimore or Crowell can come right out of high school and make an impact. You get a back like that and give them a year training and scout team work like Blakely and Grant and you have the best of both worlds. When those two hit the field and get their "first" carry, not only will they still posses the talent but they will know what they are doing out there.     

[AuburnEngineer 0]

Based on our OL performance last year, 9 wins. I could see 10 but thats about the max in my eyes.

I agree with the 8 to 10 win prediction.  To me it's not that we will be bad but it's because we play teams that are incredible. If we were playing an ACC schedule I would say 13-1 or 12-2 maybe even 14-0!

[aubill 0]

I really see a 10 plus win season....I really hope we beat ArKY AND Ga and one of Lsu and Bama 

[keesler 5,957]

This is the year to put it all together.  We have talent that has experience.  We have new and improved coaches on both sides of the ball.  We have talented depth.  We have a favorable schedule.  All the pieces are there, Coach Chizik just needs to put the puzzle together now.

[Rednilla 5,447]

This is the year to put it all together.  We have talent that has experience.  We have new and improved coaches on both sides of the ball.  We have talented depth.  We have a favorable schedule.  All the pieces are there, Coach Chizik just needs to put the puzzle together now.

The question is how quickly it will happen. We might have to go through a few bumps and bruises before it happens, but the team will still be pretty young this year so we could put it together somewhere in the middle of the season and then be dominant indefinitely...

[Jonesy 1]

7 or 8 wins

[Rednilla 5,447]

7 or 8 wins

Really? We return 18 starters, have a more favorable schedule...and you think we get 7 or 8 wins? Wow...

[Jonesy 1]

7 or 8 wins

Really? We return 18 starters, have a more favorable schedule...and you think we get 7 or 8 wins? Wow...

New offense and defense, unproven QB play, loss of an all SEC RB. Some injury concerns thrown in. There is a lot of uncertainty.

[YaBoyMaxWeezy 0]

7 or 8 wins

Really? We return 18 starters, have a more favorable schedule...and you think we get 7 or 8 wins? Wow...

I think we finish 8-5 again.

There were 2-3 games last season we probably shouldn't have  won. The teams we lost to last year straight up annihilated us, our SEC losses averaged a score of 45-10, and Clemson put up over 600 yds on us....i don't see how things can change that much in one season.

Our OL is still young and unproven. The only positions on the OL that people think are locked down are by 2 freshman and a sophomore....Nobody really knows who's going to play RG and RT...but looks like it could be Slade and Mack. Which would give us an OL of 2 Freshman and 3 Sophomores......that's not good.

We have no proven every down RB.

What most seem to believe is our front runner for the QB position has 12 passes, for 5 completions and 2 interceptions.

Another area of concern is our LBs....There isn't one proven/experience LB returning.

At CB our biggest "leader" is probably out, which leaves Chris Davis and some other inexperienced CB.

With that said.....I don't see why you are surprised that somebody could possibly think 7-8 wins is probable.

The only position I feel comfortable at is 1 WR, 1 TE, and 1 FB.

[Rednilla 5,447]

There were 2-3 games last season we probably shouldn't have  won. The teams we lost to last year straight up annihilated us, our SEC losses averaged a score of 45-10, and Clemson put up over 600 yds on us....i don't see how things can change that much in one season.

Were you watching when we lost to Kentucky in 09 and then won the national championship in 2010? No, we didn't lose as badly in all the games that we lost in 09, but then again, all of those games weren't on the road, either.

On that note, I've seen this crap about how we lost by so much in those games that we lost and we can't improve that much in one season and blah, blah, blah, but that's a pretty narrow way of looking at it. We were a young team full of new starters playing on the road for 4 of those 5 games, and the other one was against the eventual national champion. We return almost everybody from last year, add a very good recruiting class, two top notch running backs, an All-American fullback, and, hopefully, a former four star wide receiver who played professional baseball for a couple of years.

And those tough road games? They're at home this year. Don't underestimate the value of 87,451 screaming Auburn Tigers. I know Urban Meyer doesn't, at least not anymore.

Now, I'm not saying we're going to win it all, but I do think it's about as likely that we'll win it all as it is that we'll finish 8-5.

[AUbritt 611]

There were 2-3 games last season we probably shouldn't have  won. The teams we lost to last year straight up annihilated us, our SEC losses averaged a score of 45-10, and Clemson put up over 600 yds on us....i don't see how things can change that much in one season.

Were you watching when we lost to Kentucky in 09 and then won the national championship in 2010? No, we didn't lose as badly in all the games that we lost in 09, but then again, all of those games weren't on the road, either.

On that note, I've seen this crap about how we lost by so much in those games that we lost and we can't improve that much in one season and blah, blah, blah, but that's a pretty narrow way of looking at it. We were a young team full of new starters playing on the road for 4 of those 5 games, and the other one was against the eventual national champion. We return almost everybody from last year, add a very good recruiting class, two top notch running backs, an All-American fullback, and, hopefully, a former four star wide receiver who played professional baseball for a couple of years.

And those tough road games? They're at home this year. Don't underestimate the value of 87,451 screaming Auburn Tigers. I know Urban Meyer doesn't, at least not anymore.

Now, I'm not saying we're going to win it all, but I do think it's about as likely that we'll win it all as it is that we'll finish 8-5. 

Well, Red, I'll be honest -- I'd like to believe this is true. But I don't. I think 8 wins are probably more likely than us winning the National Championship again.

That said, I appreciate the optimism and will, like you, be disappointed if we don't improve our win total over last year.

[YaBoyMaxWeezy 0]

There were 2-3 games last season we probably shouldn't have  won. The teams we lost to last year straight up annihilated us, our SEC losses averaged a score of 45-10, and Clemson put up over 600 yds on us....i don't see how things can change that much in one season.

Were you watching when we lost to Kentucky in 09 and then won the national championship in 2010? No, we didn't lose as badly in all the games that we lost in 09, but then again, all of those games weren't on the road, either.

On that note, I've seen this crap about how we lost by so much in those games that we lost and we can't improve that much in one season and blah, blah, blah, but that's a pretty narrow way of looking at it. We were a young team full of new starters playing on the road for 4 of those 5 games, and the other one was against the eventual national champion. We return almost everybody from last year, add a very good recruiting class, two top notch running backs, an All-American fullback, and, hopefully, a former four star wide receiver who played professional baseball for a couple of years.

And those tough road games? They're at home this year. Don't underestimate the value of 87,451 screaming Auburn Tigers. I know Urban Meyer doesn't, at least not anymore.

Now, I'm not saying we're going to win it all, but I do think it's about as likely that we'll win it all as it is that we'll finish 8-5.

Wow, we lost to Kentucky the previous year by I think like 14 points then had the best player college football at QB and DT, an OL, DL, and WR corps full of seniors and then we only won by 3 points thanks to an 8 minute 90 yd drive to hit field goal with time expiring the next year......so we made up for 17 point delta.

I'm failing to see how we make up for multiple 35 pts beatings in one year, with a brand new OC and DC.

I hope more than anything we go 14-0, but other than the 3 positions i previously mentioned we lack proven veteran talent and that is a fact brotha!

#keepinItReal