Auburn Tigers Preview

One of the more surprising top rated teams heading into the 2006 season are the Auburn Tigers. Although the team has indeed seen success in recent years, including becoming co-national champions just three short years ago, Auburn has, by and large, flown just under the radar despite being a talented and always tough team.

Heading into 2006, Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville has his hands full with a young but incredibly talented Auburn squad that is already building some hype. In the top ten in every poll and even making the occasional appearance in the top 5, Auburn is also listed by many as a legitimate contender to compete in the BCS Championship in January if it can survive a tough SEC schedule. Although the reasons why can’t always clearly be seen in terms of returning talent compared to many other schools, it is the outstanding coaching at Auburn and young talent that give Auburn a chance to develop into one of the best teams in the country this year.

With all of the interior offensive line, quarterback, and star running back Kenny Irons, who is also listed as a potential Heisman candidate, Auburn’s running game should be back and strong like usual. That being said, new receivers and new tackles will make it so that getting a passing game established early will be essential for the Tigers in order to establish a balanced offensive attack.

On defense, Auburn returns 6 starters, including two of their best linebackers and two star cornerbacks. What this translates to is that Auburn will need to be able to prove they can shut down the run game since opposing teams will be wary to pass too often against Auburn’s experienced linebacker core and secondary.

Can the Auburn Tigers repeat their championship run in 2003? That is a difficult question to answer, although all of the talent is indeed in place for Tommy Tuberville to mold into a championship caliber squad.