2017 Season Outlook

After that frustrating loss to Clemson last Saturday, it’s time for Auburn to bounce back and they must do it quickly because there are still some difficult games approaching.
With all due respect to Mercer and their football program, the Auburn Tigers should be able to absolutely annihilate them in their match-up at Jordan-Hare Stadium this weekend. I, along with almost every Auburn fan out there am expecting a complete domination on all aspects of the game.
However, it becomes strenuous after that. The Tigers will still have to play Mississippi State, @ Texas A&M, @ #12 LSU, #13 Georgia, and the game we’re all gonna be waiting for: The Iron Bowl...Auburn vs #1 Alabama. As you can see, if the Tigers can’t improve both offensively and defensively (to make up for any offensive shortcomings), they could be in for a disappointing season.
It’s incredibly essential that Auburn is able to run the ball against some of the ranked teams that are scheduled. As you saw against Clemson, not being able to run is going to put a huge impairment on the offense. Let’s be real, no cornerbacks in college football are going to be losing sleep over facing any of the Auburn wide receivers, that is easily the weak point in the offense. The run game opens up a lot of opportunities for Stidham to be successful throwing the ball and if you’re unable to run the ball, your offense becomes very vanilla which leads to the plays being extremely predictable.
The offensive line has to do whatever it can to open up holes for the running backs or I can assure you that these upcoming games will look pretty similar to the one you saw against Clemson. Whether it’s Kam Pettway or Kerryon Johnson, they have to find a groove and be consistent while running the football.
Now, if the Tigers are indeed able to run the football successfully, I honestly could see them only losing one more game and that’s to Alabama.
Luckily, Mercer comes to town this weekend and that could be just what the Tigers need in order to get their confidence up when it comes to running the ball.


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