Auburn: Runner-up to Playing in the SEC Championship this Fall?

When media, coaches, and players assembled in Birmingham, Alabama for the 2015 SEC Media Days, they predicted the winner of the SEC Championship game as well as divisional winners. Alabama and Georgia, the favorites in their respective divisions, were covered in the original post of this series. This post will focus on the team that was predicted finished second in the West but first overall.

Yes, you read that right. The media picked Alabama to win the West but has Auburn as the favorite to win the whole SEC. Do not ask, I cannot explain it either.

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In this article we are going to look at what needs to happen for Auburn to represent the SEC West in Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game. We will take a look at what needs to go right for them to win big, while also discussing what could happen to derail their season of high hopes.

Auburn should be considered the co-favorite with Alabama. While they finished behind Alabama in total points, they eclipsed them in first place votes 108-92. No team in the West comes close to Georgia’s 166 first place divisional votes.

On to the speculation . . .

What Needs to go Right

Without a doubt, Auburn needs Jeremy Johnson to be the quarterback so many are predicting him to be. Analysts and radio personalities are constantly claiming that Jeremy Johnson will be an upgrade at quarterback over SEC Champion Nick Marshall. As with Alabama and Georgia, Auburn receives its first real conference challenge in week

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3 (week 3 is stacked with quality match-ups). Jeremy Johnson will have to be a stud to go into Death Valley and pull out a victory, though they catch a break with it not being a night game. The receivers should be fine, so long as the story on Duke Williams is just a blip on the radar and he returns soon. Auburn draws Georgia at home and Kentucky away from the East, which is more manageable than co-favorite Alabama’s draw. Auburn needs to at least split these match-ups and win the Iron Bowl to win the SEC West.

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What Could go Wrong

The running back situation is not a concern, as Malzahn churns out 1,000 yard rushers. Auburn could be in serious trouble, though, if they lose one of the top receivers in the league in Duke Williams. The situation is murky still so we will avoid speculation there. But so far the “what could go wrong” portion of these articles has been similar. An unproven quarterback (though Johnson is by far the most proven of the 3 covered so far) could lose to a hostile opponent and send the team reeling to regather its footing. If Auburn travels to LSU and loses, things could pile up quickly. The very next week they host a Mississippi State team that they lost to last year and would not have a chance to recover. Auburn could also easily split a 4 game stretch of Arkansas, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and Georgia later in the season. If that happens, Auburn would be out of contention before the Iron Bowl and would be left to play spoiler.

Worth Considering

Auburn is team that could play for and win the SEC Championship. At the same time, though, they could end up playing one of the lower-tier SEC bowls in Birmingham or Memphis. That fact is more of a testament to just how deep the SEC West is rather than in any way condemning of Auburn’s talent this fall.

Right now Vegas has Auburn at 15/4 odds to win the SEC Championship. With as many things that could go wrong, I would not touch those odds. Auburn did catch a break in terms of scheduling compared to the two teams listed ahead of them, though. That still is not enough to confidently pick them to win the West. Then again, there is no safe pick in the SEC West this year.

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