What does Success Look Like Saturday Night?

They are words we have longed for since January: It’s officially game week on the Plains.

More has been written about this team since the last snap in Birmingham than anyone cares to remember. Expectations are low for Saturday night and the season. There are more than a few questions on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

In other words, it’s Auburn football the way we like it. If history provides a guide, this is a year that players, coaches and fans thrive on. A week from now, what will success look like?

Virtually no one gives Auburn a chance to win against Clemson. But a whole lot of books in Las Vegas love for Auburn to cover in the opening weekend’s nightcap. The Las Vegas Sun says taking our Tigers over theirs is one of the top 10 picks of the season—that includes both the NFL and college.

With lines settling at around Clemson -8, covering the spread would be marked improvement for a team that’s lost nine of its last 11 against SEC competition. So back to our question, what will make us feel good walking out of Jordan-Hare Stadium late Saturday?

Obviously, that starts with a win, which is entirely possible considering all the pressure on Clemson, coming off a near title and having the Heisman favorite, Deshaun Watson, behind center. This is uncharted water for Dabo Swinney, and he’s going to find out quickly that being the hunted is not nearly as easy.

While the media has fallen in love with this team and especially Watson, overlooked is the mass exodus of key players on the defensive side of the ball. But don’t write them off yet. Last year, they replaced nine starters and still managed to finish in the top 10 nationally on defense.

This year could be tougher for Clemson though, with defensive ends Shaq Lawson and Kevin Dodd and cornerback Mackensie Alexander all off to the NFL.

Sean White will need to play a mistake-free game and get the ball down the field to what’s expected to be a much improved receiving corps. Gus Malzahn clearly needs to erase the swing pass from his playbook.

The word from camp is this defense is significantly improved over last year. Players and assistants have bought into Kevin Steele’s system, and they say it’s showing on the field. Are they good enough to slow Watson down and win? That will be a tall order but will likely determine the outcome of the game.

A close or respectable loss won’t crash the season. It could give this team a shot of confidence if it stays with Clemson until the end. With Texas A&M and LSU coming up fast, a narrow loss can still do some good.

Saturday is not win or bust. It’s more like play well or get real concerned. That’s a long way from win or be knocked out of national title contention and the Heisman race on opening weekend.

Those parallels are why all the heat is on Clemson, and why Auburn should have a reasonable opportunity to pull the upset.

The schedule is not very forgiving, but Auburn’s talent level is good enough to compete. The question is whether the Tigers can be good enough fast enough to win in September.

It’s almost time for the speculation to stop. Game week is here, and all is right with the world. Hope to see you there. Look for me, I’ll be wearing orange.

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