Auburn football: From QB recruiting to clearing stubborn double-digit win hurdle
By Rob Maxwell
4. Double-digit wins
It’s difficult to believe that an Auburn football program that has won a national title, lost in the national title game and has fallen one win from making the four-team playoff has only won 10 or more games in back-to-back seasons once in program history.
That’s right. You have to travel back to the 1988 and 1989 seasons under Pat Dye when Auburn went 10-2 in both seasons to find double-figure victory totals in consecutive seasons.
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That drives a lot of Auburn fans mad. And with good reason.
The 2004 team was 13-0 and fell to 9-3 the next season.
The Cam Newton-led 2010 team went 14-0 on its way to winning the BCS title and followed that with an 8-5 dud.
The 2013 Tigers were 12-2, lost to FSU in the BCS title game and again went 8-5 the following season.
Followed by 7-6 and 8-5 seasons, Auburn improved to 10-4 last season. Auburn finished the regular season 10-2, but lost the final two games (to Georgia for the SEC title and to UCF in the Peach Bowl).
Will the snap be broken in 2018?
All signs point to yes.
The Tigers bring back only their second 3,000-yard passer in school history in Jarrett Stidham. They also have their single-season receptions leader (Ryan Davis) back. The defense is expected to be better than last season when it was very good. And both coordinators return, which has been rare for Auburn football.