2014 SEC West Prediction: 2nd Place Auburn

March is finally here, and spring practice for most schools is just around the corner. So why not go ahead and predict what each football team will do in 2014? It’s early obviously, and these predictions might change depending on any injuries, suspensions, or dismissals. Up next is 2nd Place, the Auburn Tigers.

There was no bigger surprise to the 2013 season than the  Auburn Tigers. A lot of people though that they might be better than they had been in 2012, but I don’t think any of us saw the miraculous season they had coming. Can they repeat it? I think they can to some degree, but it won’t be a complete repeat of last year. In what might be the strangest scheduling quirk, Auburn plays every team in FBS that is nicknamed Bulldogs except Fresno State. This is the way I see things playing out.

The Schedule

So, yeah it is going to be a great season, but they are going to have a minor disappointment. Georgia looks to be loaded, and considering that the game will be played in Athens, I think the UGA version of the Bulldogs exact their revenge for one of the strangest plays I have ever seen. The same will be the case in the Iron Bowl. The game gets played in Tuscaloosa, and the Tide will roll.

There is one thing that I will say about Auburn. They could have been 8-4 just as easily as they were 10-1 last year. A few plays here and there go differently, and Auburn’s season plays out in a completely different manner than the way it did. That being said, it wouldn’t surprise me to see them take a small step back. I think 10-2 is their ceiling, but I would not be shocked to see them lost to Ole Miss, LSU, Texas A&M, or us. I don’t expect it, but it wouldn’t surprise me. Regardless, I think Nick Marshall cotinues his solid development, and the Tigers make a run at a second straight SEC title that comes up just short.