A Look into our Magic Crystal Ball
“Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.” – W. Clement Stone
Today I will set aside my overtly pessimistic ways to lend some optimism to the 2008 Auburn Tigers.
Seriously, I may be the most pessimistic person you’ll ever meet. I could be in a room full of cash and complain it’s all in one dollar bills.
I’m that bad.
I don’t just think of the worst, I expect it.
I expected losses to Georgia, LSU and South Florida last year. I even thought Mississippi State would give Auburn a run for its money; they did a little more than that.
This year, Auburn will play all those teams again, but with an entirely different attitude.
Never in all my years following Auburn football would I have thought I’d see such a radical transformation in one off-season.
Think about it. New offense, new defense, new quarterback. Everything is stacked up for Auburn to fail, yet expectations for the team couldn’t be higher.
And frankly I couldn’t agree more with the talking heads. In fact, I am willing to take it a step further.
How far? The freaking moon! Not a trip to Atlanta Dec. 6. Not an SEC Championship. I’m talking about taking the cake. The whole sloppy enchilada: a national championship.
Yes, I did just make that prediction.
Is it outlandish? Yes. Undeserved? Maybe. Capable? Certainly.
Never in all my time following Auburn football have I seen a team with more talent and potential. That includes the season I choose not to speak of. (The one in 2004.)
Tony Franklin has more toys on offense than Michael Jackson has on Neverland Ranch.
Paul Rhoads has more speed on defense than Keanu Reeves could handle.
To say the Tigers have a few stars is like saying McGriddles have only a few calories. (By the way, whoever invented McGriddles should be given a Rhodes Scholarship. Two pancakes with a thousand calories packed in between spells genius to me.)
Just look at the running backs. There are so many good backs. Franklin moved maybe the best one, Mario Fannin, receiver. Brad Lester is a home run threat. Ben Tate would be starting and have more than 1,500 yards on any other team in the nation. Tristan Davis, when healthy, is a slasher built for the spread offense.
I haven’t even gotten to the so-called “quarterback situation.”
Kodi Burns can take a broken play and turn it into a 30-yard gain. Chris Todd has a canon attached to his shoulder and knows Franklin’s offense inside out. I think Franklin has a great problem having to choose a starter this week.
(Prediction time! Lester and Tate will have more than 10 touchdowns a piece, Robert Dunn will be an ESPN highlight machine, and Fannin will keep opposing defensive coordinators up at night.)
The defense will do what it has always done in the Tommy Tuberville era: dominate. The speed of the linebackers and especially the defensive line will swarm to the ball on every play.
The secondary is young, but talented. Zac Etheridge and Mike McNeil will cause more than a few wide receivers to use their alligator arms.
(Prediction time, again! Tray Blackmon will compete for the Butkus Award. Antonio Coleman will lead the SEC in sacks, and Jerraud Powers will be an All-SEC cornerback.)
In the end, I see the potential for a perfect season, but hey, do you hear that sound?
Knock, knock, knock.
That’s me knocking on wood, because I am scared more than anyone that it could all fall apart.
