The Auburn Tigers made the Sugar Bowl, but usually when a team makes the Sugar Bowl or another big New Year’s Day bowl game, it has a 10-2 or 11-1 record. Auburn’s regular season record in 2016 was 8-4. The Tigers were hurt at times by injuries, but they also encountered problems at quarterback which were severe enough to create losses even in games when the defense played well. Auburn held national champion Clemson under 20 points but still lost. It held Georgia under 20 points and lost that game. Head coach Gus Malzahn is regarded as an offensive guru, but he hasn’t been able to get the most out of his offense in recent years. How can he put all the pieces together? That will enter into the important questions of the offseason.
How will Jarrett Stidham perform at quarterback?
This could be the fact which saves Auburn and Malzahn. It is true that Malzahn has been unable to recruit his own quarterback within the Auburn system, but now he might have received the help he needed from an outside source. As the Baylor program disintegrated, a lot of players left that sinking ship due to scandals and the disgrace which accompanied them. One of them was Jarrett Stidham, who was not an opening-day starter for Baylor in each of the last two seasons, but who gained significant playing time in 2015 when previous starter Seth Russell went down. He showed enough ability as a runner and thrower to create the idea that he could be just what Auburn needs. He certainly felt Auburn was the place where he could get playing time and compete for a championship. If he is everything he thinks he can be, Auburn might have the quarterback who could make the rest of the offense come together. Then the outlook becomes different for the Tigers this season.
Who will be offensive coordinator?
There is a big question attached to the arrival of Stidham as the starting quarterback: Who will replace Rhett Lashlee as offensive coordinator? It is true that Malzahn could call plays while other assistants focus on scouting and game planning during the season. However, Malzahn handed over play-calling responsibilities to Lashlee during the 2016 season, so that might indicate a need to have a new coordinator call plays in 2017 as well. This coordinator, if hired, will need to develop a rapport with Stidham and fit smoothly within the Tigers on a number of levels. This might not be an easy fit, and Malzahn has to act quickly to fill this spot, if he doesn’t want to call plays himself.
Will the defense improve from 2016?
When Auburn’s defense played well, it was great. Auburn’s best games against Clemson and Georgia and LSU were all exceptionally strong. However, this same defense was shredded by Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl and exploited to a certain extent by Ole Miss. Coordinator Kevin Steele has to be able to ensure that against good passing offenses (such as what Oklahoma offered), this defense can cover downfield.
The good news is that this unit will have seven starters returning next season. That’s plenty to work with but sometimes the question is quality and not quantity.
Is Malzahn on the hot seat?
We’re in the middle of January and there is plenty of hype already about the 2017 Auburn Tigers. This is a team that could very well be Alabama’s chief competitor in the SEC next season. But as is per usual for the Tigers in the Malzahn era, the question of direction of this team will be constant. The Tigers started the 2016 campaign having lost two of three and then Malzhan was supposedly going to be fired by the end of the season. But then the team changed their trajectory and won six straight games. Then he was a hero. Finally, the Tigers lost three of their final four games, which puts some pressure on Malzahn entering the 2017 campaign. Yes, there is hype. Yes, the team should be good with Stidham under center. But if the Tigers are to stumble early on or if they’re to deliver another five-loss season, that could spur the calls for change at Auburn.
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