The start of the 2010 Auburn football season is days away, and the excitement has been impossible to contain.
Auburn fans are ready for Gene Chizik's second season and a possible run at the SEC title.
After recording the second-most wins by a first year head coach and becoming the first Auburn head coach to take his team to a bowl game in his first season, Chizik and company capped off a great off-season with a top five recruiting class.
Expectations are high on the Plains, and anything less than a nine or 10 win season will be seen as a disappointment by many Tiger faithful.
The 2010 Auburn class has 24 seniors, with veterans on both sides of the ball, so experience should not be an issue.
The Tigers have one of the best and most experienced offensive lines in the country led by senior tackle Lee Ziemba, who chose to forego the NFL for his senior season at Auburn.
If Ziemba can keep the false starts to a minimum, he will be a great leader for the line, and junior quarterback Cameron Newton should have plenty of time in the pocket to find Darvin Adams, Shaun Kitchens, Trovon Reed and other playmakers.
The defense is led by senior linebackers Josh Bynes and Craig Stevens, both named to the Butkus Award watch list.
Unlike last year, Bynes and Stevens will not have to play every snap and will have relief from Daren Bates, who moved from safety to linebacker.
Depth was a serious issue at this position last year, but the signing of Jessel Curry, LaDarius Owens, Jawara White, and Jake Holland should provide plenty of extra depth to significantly improve the linebacker core.
The defense will also see the return of veteran safeties Aairon Savage, Mike McNeil, and Zac Etheridge who will make all the difference at the defensive back position.
Offensively, replacing Ben Tate might be easier said than done.
The 5'-11", 218-poundformer Tiger broke through in his senior season, rushing for 1,362 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Looking to fill this void is senior running back Mario Fannin.
Fannin has spent most of his career as a hybrid wide receiver, but has the talent to rush for 1,000 yards or more.
Runningbacks coach Curtis Luper promised Tate would rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season and has made this promise again for Fannin.
Fannin will be accompanied by highly recruited freshman runningback Michael Dyer, who, like many other freshmen, will see a lot of playing time early on.
Auburn's schedule is in its favor, with big games like Arkansas, LSU, and Georgia at home, while all but maybe the Iron Bowl should be victories on the road.
Because of this, I think the Tigers will end their regular season with a 10-2 record and a possible bowl win.
Finally, in order for Auburn to call its season a success, the Tigers must beat one or more of its rivals.
Auburn currently has a three game losing streak against LSU and a four game losing streak against Georgia, which could be detrimental to Chizik's job security if this doesn't change soon.
Auburn has come a long way since last year and is even predicted to win the SEC West by ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit.
Although I want it to happen more than anything else, I think the Tigers will need another year or two to get to the big show.
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