Auburn softball took care of business this past weekend as they thumped East Tennessee State 11–0, outlasted Cal 4–3 in extra innings, and then sent the Bears home on Sunday with a solid 8–2 thrashing. ETSU had no chance at Auburn, but it took a questionable call at the plate for Auburn to stay in the game with Cal before Alyssa Rivera knocked in Brittany Maresette to win the game. Sunday’s 8–2 score wasn’t nearly that close. Auburn cruised to the win after the Tigers scored seven of their eight runs in the first two frames. Auburn will now host Oklahoma in a Super Regional rematch of last year’s national championship finals. First pitch will be at 3:00 p.m. CT Friday and will be broadcast on ESPN2.
The other stick team, Auburn baseball, plays today in the SEC Tournament. By a twist of fate the Tigers will play Ole Miss in a rematch of last weekend’s final regular season series. The Rebels won the last game, but the Tigers won the series. Today’s winner will get the opportunity to play No. 1 seed Florida tomorrow in the double-elimination part of the tournament. The loser will go home.
The much anticipated return of Auburn receiver Kyle Davis came to fruition as he was part of team meetings the night before the summer courses began. It is very interesting that the story of a player with such limited impact last year has had such a rabid following. Much of that has to do with the media. Auburn has continued to stay out of the limelight this late spring, which is a terrific thing as only bad things seem to happen this time of year. As a result, Davis’ story has been one of the lone talking points during this slow time. While Auburn has been quiet about the reason Kyle Davis missed the entire spring, the rumor mill was consistent that the “personal business” Gus Malzahn gave for his absence involved taking care of his sick mother.
At any rate, it’s certainly good news to have the talented receiver back in the fold. In his Track ‘Em Tigers’ Scouting Report, Davis was described as a big-bodied, ideal deep threat guy with terrific size who fights hard for the ball. That’s exactly what Auburn fans saw when he had opportunities. While it was no surprise that he would return to Auburn, it is important that he is making summer workouts. Of course, fans hope that his “personal business” has come to a satisfactory conclusion. Auburn will have a quartet of young receivers now with Davis rounding out the talented group of Darius Slayton, Nate Craig-Myers, and Eli Stove.
His return is absolutely massive, and it impacts no one more than potential starting quarterback Jarrett Stidham. Stidham hit long ball after long ball in Auburn’s spring game, specifically to Nate Craig-Myers. No one should take anything from Craig-Myers, but he isn’t the optimal deep threat on this roster. In fact, he might be third behind Darius Slayton and, you guessed it, Kyle Davis. The combination of Slayton and Davis could allow for play after play of deep shots against tired defensive backs.
Vegas released the over/under on win totals for many college football teams last Monday. Included in that list are the Auburn Tigers, for whom Vegas set the line at eight wins. Auburn fans know that Auburn finished the 2016 season 8–5 last season after a letdown in the Sugar Bowl. 8–5 has been the calling card for Auburn teams other than some spectacular years such as 2004, 2010, and 2013.
Eight wins is one way to look at it. Five losses is another. Outside of Clemson and Alabama, every single game on Auburn’s schedule is winnable. Whom do they believe will beat the Auburn Tigers? Obviously, Georgia comes to mind, which has been nearly unbeatable against Auburn since Tommy Tuberville left. Likewise, that game against LSU in Baton Rouge. Make no mistake, that’s a tough place for anyone to win, but it is folly to give Ed Orgeron so much credit this early.
In other words, oddsmakers must have no faith that Jarrett Stidham will succeed as Auburn’s starting signal caller. If they did, they would notice that Auburn’s last nine-plus win seasons came with JUCO quarterbacks. Outside of a very bad call against Texas A&M in 2014 and, later, a fumbled snap, Auburn would have three nine win seasons – all with JUCO guys. Still, eight wins seems low for a team with this much talent, whether Stidham starts or not.
Speaking of Stidham and odds, Vegas finally added him as a 40–1 shot at winning the Heisman. That puts him in the same bracket as three other quarterbacks: Texas’ Buechele, Mississippi State’s Fitzgerald and South Florida’s Flowers. All three were essentially day-one starters last season, something Stidham cannot boast about. Truly, outside of Stidham, only Texas’ Buechele has a legitimate chance, which is no reflection on the other two. South Florida and Mississippi State do not have what Texas and Auburn have: a legitimate chance at national prominence. And, of the two teams, Auburn is really in a much better place than Texas due to the Longhorn’s simply awful defense.
Until next time …
War Eagle!
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