Auburn football 2020 season preview: Record predictions, depth chart analysis, breakout players

The Auburn Tigers hope to build off a big 2019 with an even better 2020.

The 2019 Auburn Tigers were one of the best surprises of the season. They were led by a stud freshman quarterback in Bo Nix. This means, barring a transfer out of nowhere, they have their lead signal-caller for at least the next two or three seasons. That’s huge for a college program that’s looking to compete with Alabama, LSU, Florida, and Georgia just within their conference.

Last season, Auburn had a couple of huge wins, including beating Oregon in the first game between ranked opponents of the season, and the Iron Bowl against Alabama at the end of the season. Obviously, Tua Tagovailoa was out for Alabama, but putting up 48 points against a Nick Saban defense is a confidence boost for any team.

They weren’t without their disappointments. The Tigers faced three other top-ten opponents and lost every game. They gave a serious run to LSU, something nobody else was doing last season, but they fell short after scoring a touchdown with 2:32 left in the game. They failed to recover the onside kick, and LSU was able to drain the clock for the victory. Against Florida, Auburn just didn’t show up on offense. They scored zero points in the second half. Then, against Georgia, the Auburn offense didn’t wake up until the fourth quarter. By then, they were already down 21-0. Bo Nix attempted to lead a comeback with a rushing and passing touchdown, but it was too big a hole to climb.

It was a wild season for the Tigers, but now there are serious expectations. The NCAA has them starting the season in the Top 10. Now that the schedules are finalized (for now), we can make serious claims to Auburn’s season and where they could end up. This means they have some of the highest-ranked teams in the nation coming up. This could be the season Auburn puts themselves back in the NCAA Championship picture. First, they need a few things to go right.