Auburn football: What people are saying about Tigers in front of SEC Media Days appearance
By Rob Maxwell
Gus Malzahn and three members of the Auburn football team will arrive in Atlanta for SEC Media Days 2018 on Thursday, but there’s been plenty of Auburn football-related content circulating since Monday.
Auburn won the SEC West last season, but lost the SEC Championship Game to Georgia. While most are predicting defending College Football Playoff champion Alabama to win the West (and SEC) this season, Auburn is getting plenty of attention this week leading up to its appearance at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
On Wednesday, Mississippi State and Tennessee (featuring new coaches) get things started and Alabama and Missouri will occupy the afternoon session. On Thursday, Auburn will be joined by South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
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First, here’s a sampling of what some media members are reporting/saying/tweeting about Auburn around SEC Media Days 2018:
Greg McElroy sounds like he likes Auburn as much as Bama, but: "My only issue with Auburn this year is their schedule. The problem is the way things are constructed since realignment. They go to Georgia and to Alabama in a three-week period. That's just flat-out unfair." #SECMD18
— Nick Cole (@NickColeSports) July 16, 2018
Doesn't-really-mean-anything stat: Jimbo Fisher said "Auburn" seven times during his press conference in the main room at SEC Media Days.
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) July 16, 2018
Ole Miss coach Matt Luke said the second half of last year's 44-23 loss at Auburn was the turning point of the season. Rebels were outscored 35-3 in the first half but won the second half 20-9. Went 5-2 to close the season after that.
— AUBlog (@AUBlog) July 17, 2018
Check out the covers of Auburn's 2018 media guide https://t.co/kwscHrKuZq pic.twitter.com/e8gho6SRVu
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) July 16, 2018
The fact that Auburn last went to Neyland in 2013 and won't go again until 2025 does speak for itself, even if Sankey's not listening https://t.co/M11iTsTBcw
— Jerry Hinnen (@JerryHinnen) July 16, 2018
The SEC Network posted the results of an ESPN.com/FPI poll about which team will win the SEC. Auburn fans shouldn’t be happy with the outcome.
Who has the best chance to win the SEC?
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) July 17, 2018
Georgia - 42%
Alabama - 36%
Auburn - 12%
via ESPN FPI pic.twitter.com/W3YwSfG1QC
It’s also the time of year when the college football season-ending award watch lists are released. As you’d expect from a team expected to begin the season hovering in the top-10 range, Auburn is well represented.
Quarterback Jarrett Stidham was front and center this week with the releases from the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien awards:
https://twitter.com/AuburnFootball/status/1019239222446903296
https://twitter.com/AuburnFootball/status/1018865206670364672
The Auburn defense had two players on the Bednarik Award watch list, given to the nation’s top defensive player (cough, cough, we can think of at least two or three more Tigers who should be on that list, but give it time).
https://twitter.com/AuburnFootball/status/1018890542468554759
And if you missed this one, well, take the 30 seconds to watch — and most importantly, listen — to this viral video turned into a recreation of the greatest finish to a college football game in history.
https://twitter.com/AuburnFootball/status/1017566519763591168