Auburn-Washington prediction: With early playoff implications, this one could go either way

The No. 9 Auburn football opens its season Saturday in Atlanta against No. 6 Washington.

No, you’re not dreaming.

The offseason that is slower than a snail dragging a 50-pound weight finally is over. So get your pompoms and superstitions ready because it’s time to cheer for your Auburn Tigers.

To quote Dr. Seuss’ “Oh The Places You’ll Go”: “Oh the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all.”

It doesn’t kick off with an easy one, either. Auburn travels Interstate 85 a short way to Atlanta to take on the sixth-ranked Washington Huskies. It should be a fun game so we’re all excited here at Fly War Eagle to give you our Auburn-Washington predictions.

Here. We. Go.

Rob Maxwell

Fueled by a orange-and-blue-leaning crowd at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Auburn gets off to a fast start, builds a lead and spends the rest of the game keeping the Huskies at arm’s length. Auburn’s depth on defense does enough to frustrate Washington QB Jake Browning most the afternoon and Chip Lindsey is able to keep a lot of people fresh on offense by throwing a barrage of running backs and receivers at the talented Washington defense. The Tigers strike the first big game off their list with a huge season-opening victory.

Auburn 27, Washington 21

Tyler Doyle

I’ve been going back and forth on this one the entire summer. Other than a blowout by either team, nothing would surprise me as to what might happen in this game. This game will come down to what happens in the trenches. I believe Auburn’s defensive line will create enough chaos in the backfield for Jake Browning and Myles Gaskin to really mess up their day. What has me most intrigued, though, is how an inexperienced offensive line group will look against Washington’s great defensive line, trying to create enough space for Kam Martin and company. I expect this to be a lower-scoring game than most predict. Washington is talented everywhere, so expect them to make a lot of great plays on both sides of the ball. However, what truly convinced me as to who will win this game came from a very important tweet that I found earlier this week:

“I’m not superstitious. I’m a little stitious” – Michael Scott

Washington 17, Auburn 14

Shea Brennaman

I love Auburn with my whole heart, but I am not here to pump sunshine and rainbows. Defensively, this will be a great matchup which could possibly be decided by a turnover. Offensively we have no idea what to expect from Auburn, as the biggest question mark heading into this season lies on how effective our offensive line will be. With the dark magic that Mercedes-Benz Stadium holds against Auburn coupled with a strong defensive matchup, I believe Auburn hangs tough but falls. (Side note: Auburn performs better when I pick them to lose so I hope this is doing us a solid).

Washington 20, Auburn 17

Kevan Lindsay

Both schools come into Saturday’s contest having little opening-game success against ranked opponents. Auburn is 1-7 against ranked opponents since 1957, while Washington is 6-11-1 all-time. Someone’s luck will change, and it should be the Tigers. The crowd will likely lean 70-30 in favor of the Tigers, who look to rebound from last season’s sour ending. Expect Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham to look much more comfortable even with new names scattered across the offense. On the flip side, the Auburn defensive line will need to get constant pressure on Chris Petersen’s offense and quarterback Jake Browning to come away victorious. Auburn wins a close one, potentially decided on an Anders Carlson kick.

Auburn 24 Washington 23

Let us know your Auburn-Washington picks either here in the comments section, on Twitter or visit our Facebook page to tell us what you think.