here is plenty of anticipation and excitement on the campus of the University of Auburn. The reason for this is the students and fans of the Tiger’s football program are excited about their chances of crashing the party not only in the SEC but the national scene as well. In the second season under Head Coach Gene Chizik and Offensive Coordinator Guz Malzahn the Tigers look to improve on last season’s 8-5 mark that culminated with a bowl victory over the Northwestern Wildcats. To a man the entire team says 8 wins just will not suffice this year. Now it is time to breakdown the Tigers to see what the buzz is about.

OFFENSE: For the first time since Jason Campbell left campus there is no QB controversy coming out of spring ball. The job is solidly in the hands of JUCO transfer Cameron Newton. Newton is an incredible specimen standing 6’6″ and 250 pounds and he has drawn comparisons to being a “hybrid” of Vince Young and Michael Vick. However at this point in his career Newton is a much better passer than either Young or Vick were at this stage. Newton was not the only newcomer to hit the campus with high praise; freshman RB Michael Dyer is drawing comparisons to former Tiger RBs Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams. He will have to learn the offense and the blocking schemes so he will probably not crack the starting line-up right away. So while he is learning, Newton will hand-off to veterans Mario Fannin and Onterio McCalebb. At wide-out Newton’s primary targets will be Darvin Adams and Terrell Zachery; Adams was just shy of 1000 yards receiving and he also had 10 receiving TDs. The offensive line will be solid and steady but not spectacular; the RG position is still up for grabs with the season opener less than 4 weeks away.

DEFENSE: Well as much as the offense will keep the fans standing and away from the concession stands this side of the ball will have them on the edge of their seats. But the fans will be on the edge hoping that this defense is much improved as last years edition was putrid for most of the year. In fact last year’s defense will go down as one of the worst in Tiger history. This year’s defense will not be spectacular but they will get a boost with the return of Safeties Zac Etheridge and Aairon Savage. Both of these suffered horrific and potentially career ending injuries but miraculously both men are back and have been cleared to play. LB Josh Bynes is the emotional leader of this unit and may be the best tackler on this side of the ball. CB Neiko Thorpe has improved from last season and will likely draw the opponents best WR.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Well this group will be average at best; neither the punter nor the place-kicker is great but they are steady and they get the job done. Chizik would like to see the average yards per punt go up from the 40 a game last year to about 45 yards a game. The return men did take 1 kickoff to the house and came close to breaking several others. Don’t be surprised if they don’t block a few kicks this year as well.

SCHEDULE: This is the part that makes the Tiger faithful smile, 8 home games versus 4 road games; not to mention 3 of those 4 road games are very winnable games. They will play at Miss. State on 9/9, at Kentucky on 10/9, at Ole Miss on 10/30 and end the year at in-state rival Alabama. Only the Tide would appear to be a certain loss on paper. As for their home games they will get a big non-conference test when the Clemson Tigers come for a visit on 9/18. This is a huge swing game for both teams. They will also play host to S. Carolina on 9/25, Arkansas on 10/16 and LSU on 10/23.

2010 OUTLOOK: If the Defense improves and Newton is as good as advertised then the sky’s the limit for Auburn. The schedule sits up very favorably and that is part of the equation when you are trying to sneak up on someone and win a championship. Chizik has everyone buying into his system and philosophy and that is also a necessary part of the equation. I foresee the Tigers having a shot at a 10-2 record provided everything holds to be true. Those two losses should be in conference but that may not be enough to prevent them from playing for the SEC Title.