College Football Futures: It has been a remarkable past four seasons for the Auburn Tigers and their fans. Head coach Gene Chizik and Auburn rode Heisman Trophy winning QB Cam Newton to the 2010 BCS national championship in his one and only season with the team. Two years later the Tigers were 3-9 and head coach Chizik was fired. Enter Gus Malzahn, the offensive coordinator of the 2010 Auburn title team. Malzahn brought his offensive genius back to the plains and combined it with a remarkable chain of luck to put Auburn back in the BCS title game where they could not hold off a late rally by Florida State in a 34-31 loss.
Auburn opened as a 10/1 choice to win the 2014 BCS national championship with an over under win total of 9.5. Auburn opened at 5/1 to win the Southeastern Conference championship and was a 4/1 choice to win the SEC West Division.
Offensive Juggernaut
The Tigers return eight starters to their offense that average 40 points per game last year led by senior QB Nick Marshall, who ran for 1068 yards and passed for a 143.2 QB rating last year. Defensive depth is a concern as the unit failed to hold on to that late lead in the BCDS title game and allowed 25 points per game in 2013.
Handicapper’s Notes
Auburn has lost 12 out of their last 18 games against the spread as a road dog and has been a reliable 49-33 ATS in SEC games the past decade.
Our Prognosis
It is possible that Auburn could be better than last year and yet not win as many games. The bizarre luck that Auburn had last year cannot be discounted and is likely to even out eventually. It is also hard to see Auburn repeating its mark of 12-2 ATS last year.
