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Power of positivity: Best-case scenarios for huge Auburn season in 2018

By Rob Maxwell

Darrell Williams had 2.5 tackles for loss. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Darrell Williams had 2.5 tackles for loss. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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Jarrett Stidham leads the way for Auburn players on the preseason All-SEC team. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Sept. 1: Auburn vs. Washington

We’re not going to get into game-by-game predictions yet. That comes later.

But we will look at what should happen in the opener in Atlanta against the top-10 Huskies from the Pac-12.

Best-case scenario: The Auburn fans show up in big numbers and give the Tigers a 70-30 or better advantage in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. From there, we see:

  • An Auburn offense ready for the national stage. A season after an embarrassing performance in a Week 2 loss to Clemson, the Tigers hit on all cylinders.
  • Stidham throws for 300 yards and a running back eclipses the 100-yard mark.
  • Auburn scores first, builds a first-half double-digit lead and doesn’t buckle in the second half the way it did against Louisville in 2015.
  • With a first half lead, the front seven on defense is able to pin back its ears and get after Washington QB Jake Browning, making him uncomfortable in the pocket all day.
  • Washington RB Myles Gaskin struggles finding any running room and the Huskies face third-and-long all afternoon.
  • In the fourth quarter nursing a lead and trying to run out some clock, Auburn’s depth on offense leads to fresh legs in the backfield and a long touchdown run that solidifies the Tigers as a team to watch in the playoff hunt.
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