Head football coach Gene Chizik will begin his sophomore year at Auburn Saturday night.
Chizik said he noticed a higher comfort level from year one to year two.
"There are some position guys that are new, but for the most part, a lot of our football team has heard it two years in a row now," Chizik said.
Chizik said he couldn't put his finger on what will make the team better this season, but he is pushing for consistency each week.
"Again, going back to last year, too many highs and too many lows," Chizik said. "For us to be better, it's more along the level of when we were playing at a high level. Those are the things that we've been stressing since day one, and those are the things we're trying to get started this Saturday."
Saturday's Arkansas State game is only the second meeting between the two teams. This game will be the sixth season opener on the road for the Red Wolves in nine years.
Head coach Steve Roberts said he wishes he could open at home.
"You just have to prepare a little differently for the weekend and all the traveling," Roberts said. "We're used to it, so it isn't really that big of a deal."
Roberts is not only preparing his team for the road trip, but also to face a nationally ranked team.
"We know that we're going to get multiple looks from what they do offensively, with different formations and personnel," Roberts said. "They have a good tempo and defensively, they have a lot of guys who can really run, so we know that we are going to face a very good football team."
Senior tailback Mario Fannin was named starter for his last season with the Tigers.
"It's a good feeling being able to suit up your senior season and be at the position you want to be at," Fannin said. "Now's just the time to show everyone you can fulfill that position; it's going to be a fun challenge, and I can't wait to get started."
Running backs coach Curtis Luper said recently he believes Fannin could have a 1,00-yard rushing season.
Fannin said he believes he can make it happens.
"Coach Luper is a great coach and him saying that shows he has that trust in me," Fannin said. I have a great offensive line who do the best work they can do. My success really goes to them and the coaches."
Auburn currently has a 90-25-2 record in season openers, second-highest in the SEC.
Auburn has also won four straight season openers, all by at least 10 points.
Chizik said an important element of preparing for Saturday was getting junior quarterback Cam Newton into a rhythm offensively.
"The most important thing for Cam is to be in this venue. There's going to be some good things that happen during the game, some bad things that happen during the game," Chizik said. "Anybody can be good when it's good. We want to know how everybody's going to respond, particularly the quarterback, when things aren't good."
Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said Newton has a good grasp on the offense, and he expects him to get better down the road.
"We saw his leadership early on and that's why we named him number one in the spring," Malzahn said. "There's some questions that have to be answered after the first game, and we'll get to know each other better."
ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit recently named Auburn as his pick to win the SEC West title.
Chizik said he was flattered to get the recognition, but no one's expectations for the team should exceed his.
"We've got to take every practice one day at a time, and I know that's coaching cliche, but the bottom line is our expectations of ourselves should be really high," Chizik said. "I didn't know he was going to pick us to win the West, but again, our football team hears those things, and we know at the end of the day that doesn't mean anything. You have to earn it on the field every week."
Senior Ryan Shoemaker recently won the starting punting position and said the race for the position was long and made him a better kicker.
"I've really worked on just being more consistent and it's really paid off throughout this entire camp, and I'm hitting the ball really well right now," Shoemaker said.
Senior place kicker Wes Byrum is only 73 points away from becoming Auburn's all-time leading scorer.
In last year's season opener, sophomore running back Ontario McCalebb became the first freshman since Bo Jackson to rush for over 100 yards in his first game.
Saturday's game is set to kick off at 6 p.m. in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
The game will be an All-Auburn, All-Orange event and will be televised on the Fox Sports Network.
"It's obviously game week, it's finally here and I know our players are excited, our coaches are very excited," Chizik said. "The last week, we've had some really good, upbeat, high-energy practices. It'll be fun, and we're all looking forward to it."
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