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Auburn Football: Athlon Sports Has No Confidence in 2016 Tigers

By Jake Mastroianni

Nov 28, 2015; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn looks on during warm-ups prior to the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 28, 2015; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn looks on during warm-ups prior to the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports /
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Athlon Sports is the first to release their preview and predictions for the upcoming 2016 college football season, and they aren’t exactly high on Auburn football turning things around.

The online sports and magazine publication company ranks every college team, and they have Auburn listed at number 35, which isn’t terrible until you consider that it places them ninth overall in the conference and sixth in the SEC West.

They don’t see Auburn doing any better than they did in 2015 when they finished 6-6 as they have the Tigers finishing with the same exact record. If I had to guess, I’d say they think we beat Arkansas State, Louisiana-Monroe, Vanderbilt, Alabama A&M, Mississippi State and either Texas A&M or Arkansas.

Auburn football kicker Daniel Carlson
Sep 6, 2014; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers place kicker Daniel Carlson (38) kicks a field goal during the second half against the San Jose State Spartans at Jordan Hare Stadium. The Tigers defeated the Spartans 59-13. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports /

The publication also released its All-Conference teams for the SEC. Auburn had two players named to the first team in offensive lineman Alex Kozan and kicker Daniel Carlson. Carlson is a no-brainer as he was a Lou Groza finalist a year ago and should be the favorite to win it this season.

Kozan will be a senior in 2016 after starting 13 games last year and 14 games the year before that. He’ll bolster an offensive line that lost two key pieces from 2015 in Shon Coleman and Avery Young who both entered the NFL Draft after their junior seasons.

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Another offensive lineman, junior Braden Smith, was tabbed to the second team along with senior defensive lineman Carl Lawson. Lawson is looking to stay healthy all year and prove that he’s a first round draft pick.

Yet another offensive lineman made the list as junior Austin Golson was named to the third team. Sophomore cornerback Carlton Davis was also named to the third team after an outstanding freshman season.

And finally, on the fourth team were running back Jovon Robinson, defensive lineman Montravius Adams and Johnathan Ford who made the team as a safety and a kick returner.

Alabama had the most players named to all four teams (counting players twice that were named to offense/defense as well as special teams like Ford). Auburn had the sixth most with 10, while Will Muschamp’s Gamecocks had the least with just one.

Here is how it shakes up:

Alabama: 15

Arkansas: 5

Auburn football running back Jovon Robinson
Dec 30, 2015; Birmingham, AL, USA; Memphis Tigers linebacker Jackson Dillon (34) prepares to wrap up DUPLICATE***Auburn Tigers running back Jovon Robinson (29) in the 2015 Birmingham Bowl at Legion Field. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports /

Auburn: 10

Florida: 11

Georgia: 11

Kentucky: 3

LSU: 12

Missouri: 3

Miss. State: 6

Ole Miss: 7

South Carolina: 1

Tennessee: 11

Texas A&M: 9

Vanderbilt: 5

Here is a link to the full article by Athlon Sports

College football preview articles are fun to look at and discuss, but we know how meaningless they are once the season actually starts. We got duped by most outlets a year ago that had Auburn football listed as the favorite to win the SEC and even the National Championship. I for one am glad that the expectations aren’t quite as high this year. Hopefully we’ll prove them all wrong and sneak up on some teams.

A year ago most outlets such as Athlon Sports had Jeremy Johnson as the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy, so take all these articles with a grain of salt.

I think six wins should be the minimum number of wins to expect for Auburn football this year. With a little consistency I don’t think eight wins is that far out of reach. And if we find a quarterback to run this offense, then all bets are off for Auburn football in 2016.

From this preview we see that the offensive line shouldn’t take much of a step back after Young and Coleman departed early. Kozan, Smith and Golson have the ability to give Auburn football one of the best offensive lines in the country, which will help out whoever our quarterback will be, and should open up some big holes for a fourth-team all-conference running back in Robinson.

Next: MLB Draft: Grier, Palacios and Four Other Auburn Players Selected

The best thing about these preview articles is that it means the Auburn football season is right around the corner!

War Eagle!

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