Editor’s Note: This is the fourth of our series of articles looking at the Power Conferences in College Football. Each day one of our college football writers will pick a conference winner, and make a case as to why that team has what it takes to win the new College Football Playoff and become 2014 National Champions.
Winning seven of the last eight BCS titles makes it pretty hard to dispute the SEC’s place as college football’s premier conference. Was Florida State’s 2013 championship a minor setback for the SEC, or the beginning of the end of their reign? I’m going with the former, as I see multiple teams in the conference that could potentially go undefeated. From the SEC West, both Auburn and Alabama have to make the list. Auburn is coming off a trip to the BCS title game, and Alabama… well, Alabama is a college team coached by Nick Saban, which means you count them out at your own peril. In the slightly weaker SEC East, Georgia will have a new starting quarterback, but they still have the running back tandem of Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall in the backfield (provided both can stay healthy this year). That certainly takes the pressure off of whoever’s under center. There’s a new starting quarterback at South Carolina as well, but Dylan Thompson has started a handful of games in his career replacing an injured Connor Shaw. Ultimately, I think the winner of the SEC West will win the conference, and that you might as well flip a coin to pick between the Tide and the Tigers. I also think either Alabama or Auburn could potentially win the playoff, but I’m going to go with my gut and take the Auburn Tigers.
Auburn Tigers Offense
Quarterback Nick Marshall returns from last year’s SEC Championship team, having had an offseason to work on his passing skills. If they’ve caught up to his scrambling skills, watch out. Marshall is one of the most electrifying players not just in the SEC but in the country. The Tigers have several experienced players returning at both receiver and running back (although Tre Mason is gone), as well as at four of the offensive line positions. Admittedly, they will likely miss fullback Jay Prosch, a phenomenal blocker. Overall, though, the likely improvement to Marshall’s passing and the amount of experience on the offense overall means Tiger fans should feel very confident heading into September.
Auburn Tigers Defense
One key for the Tigers’ defense this year is that this is Ellis Johnson’s second year as defensive coordinator. For a lot of these players, it will be the first time in their college careers that they’ve had the same coordinator two years in a row. Six of last year’s starters return, including linebackers Casanova McKinzy and Robenson Therezie (Therezie led the Tigers in interceptions last season, with four), and some highly-regarded underclassmen have looked good in the spring. The 2013 defense did give up a lot of yardage per game (420.7 average), and finished a less-than-impressive 86th in total defense, but I see those numbers improving this year. (One bright spot last season was the red-zone defense, which ranked 10th). Auburn’s returning players gained some unexpected but beneficial experience last season, and don’t underestimate the impact of not changing defensive systems this offseason.
Schedule
The Tiger have about as favorable a schedule as you can get in the SEC West. They face LSU, South Carolina, and Texas A&M at home. Georgia will be their first real test on the road, and that game isn’t until November 15. The only other possible loss I see is a road game at Alabama two weeks later. The fact that those games are so late in the season could be a positive; both the offense and defense should be rolling by that point. However, it’s always possible that by that point in the season, injuries may have become an issue.
Prediction
Auburn finishes the season with at worst one loss, beating South Carolina for the SEC title and eking out a close win over Florida State in a rematch of last year’s BCS title game.
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