Athlon Makes Game-By-Game Predictions for 2014 Auburn Tigers

Oct 5, 2013; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers linebacker Kris Frost (17) celebrates with fans after the Tigers beat the Mississippi Rebels 30-22 at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

As we know, the prediction season is running at full force. The actual college football season is less than one month away, and while we wait, we make predictions about everything under the sun or examine others that do.

The Athlon Sports pre-season magazines have been on newsstands for months, but just last week, a group of Athlon contributors put together game-by-game predictions for the 2014 Auburn Tigers football season. Included were Athlon’s Steven Lassas, Braden Gall, David Fox and Mark Ross, as well as Josh Ward from MrSEC.com and Brandon Larrabee from TeamSpeedKills.com.

Because predictions are much more art than science, this group varies considerably in their projections. Of course, it is very difficult to make prognostications of each game at this point of the year because we have no way of knowing what will happen between now and then. However, it is good to know where the Tigers stand heading into 2014 in the eyes of an impartial jury.

Larrabee is the most optimistic of the panel and pegs the Tigers to go 11-1. Fox and Ross are the most pessimistic, each foreseeing an 8-4 record for Auburn. Here are the picks according to each person:

Lassan: 10-2, with losses to Georgia and Alabama

Gall: 10-2, with losses to Georgia and Alabama

Ward: 9-3, with losses to Mississippi State, Georgia and Alabama

Fox: 8-4, with losses to South Carolina, Ole Miss, Georgia and Alabama

Ross: 8-4, with losses to Kansas State, Ole Miss, Georgia and Alabama

Larrabee: 11-1, with a loss to Alabama

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No one on the panel believes that Auburn can win this year’s Iron Bowl, and only one of the six feel the Tigers will be able to beat Georgia. All signs point towards a second place finish in the SEC West, at best, according to Athlon.

While it is true that Auburn will have to travel to Athens and Tuscaloosa this season, and last year’s wins over the Georgia and the Crimson Tide were very dramatic, it is interesting how much the words “luck” and “fluke” have been used when describing both contests. And, because there is a large portion of the media that feels that the wins over Georgia and Alabama in 2013 were “lucky,” it seems that the general consensus is that the Tigers have no chance in 2014.

Then, there is some concern that Auburn will fail to beat Kansas State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State or South Carolina. While anything can happen on the football field, the Tigers seem to have the edge on talent, if not always experience, in each case. Also, it is interesting to see that nobody believes the Tigers are in danger of losing at Jordan-Hare Stadium, but that they are quite vulnerable elsewhere.

So what is the reasoning behind these predictions? There are no groundbreaking observations, but the biggest concerns among the group include the Auburn defense and the difficulty of the schedule.

Both are fair observations. Yet, the fact of the matter is that every team in the nation has concerns at one position or another, and everyone must beat the teams on their schedule to compete for conference championships or a national title. Plus, as we learned last year when Auburn was coming off a three-win season, predictions don’t often hold up.

Where do you stand looking ahead to the 2014 Auburn Tigers football season? Let us know in the comments below.