The 2013 football season begins Thursday with South Carolina hosting North Carolina and Ole Miss at Vandy. Auburn plays non-conference opponent Washington State at Jordan-Hare Stadium.Washington State at Auburn, 6:00 p.m. CT, ESPNU
Auburn opens its season under new head coach Gus Malzahn against Washington State Saturday at 6 p.m. CT on ESPNU. Both teams were 3-9 last year and expect to turn things around in 2013. This will be the second meeting between the two teams with Auburn winning the first contest 40-14 in 2006.
Mike Leach starts his second year as head coach at WSU and should give the Tigers' defensive backs all they can handle with his hurry-up, Air Raid offense. Expect the Cougars to throw early and often after averaging just 29.1 rushing yards per game in 2012. WSU passed for over 330 yards per game last season while Auburn surrendered over 220 yards per game through the air. Sophomore Connor Halliday starts under center for WSU after sharing playing time with Jeff Tuel in 2012. Halliday threw for 1,874 yards and 15 touchdowns last season.
Malzahn returns to the Plains after a one-year stint at Arkansas State last year. Malzahn guided the Red Wolves to a a 9-3 record and a 7-1 conference mark while capturing the Sun Belt Conference title. Rhett Lashlee served as Malzahn's offensive coordinator at ASU and will also be in charge of Auburn's run-first, hurry-up offense. Under Lashlee, the Red Wolves ranked 17th nationally in total offense (481.8 ypg), 21st in scoring offense (36.4 ppg) and rushing offense (217.4 ypg).
After a heated battle in the spring and in fall camp, junior college transfer Nick Marshall is set to lead the Tigers' offense after beating out freshman Jeremy Johnson. Last season Marshall led Garden City to a 7-4 record and threw for 3,142 yards with 18 touchdowns and added 1,095 yards with 19 touchdowns on the ground.
Marshall is rumored to have a strong throwing arm which should help the Tigers see improvement after having a disappointing passing game in 2012. Sammie Coates has the potential to be a big-play threat with Quan Bray and Trovon Reed ready to make an impact after a lackluster 2012 season.
Tailback Tre Mason had a solid 2012 campaign with 1,002 rushing yards on 171 carries and eight touchdowns. Mason will share time with junior college transfer Cameron Artis-Payne, who ran for 2,048 yards and 25 touchdowns at Allan Hancock (Calif.) Community College last season. Jay Prosch returns at the H-Back position and will serve as Auburn's lead blocker.
Defensively, the Tigers will use the 4-2-5 defense brought in by new defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson. Johnson expects a big improvement on defense during the upcoming season after the unit allowed a school record 420.5 yards per game last season. The defense is a bit banged up with Dee Ford out for the opener because of an injured left knee. Senior Craig Sanders will make the first start of his career Saturday evening with Ford sidelined. Justin Garrett and Chris Davis lead a secondary that recorded just one interception a year ago.
Prediction: Auburn 35-17.
North Carolina at South CarolinaPrediction: South Carolina 32-13.
Ole Miss at VanderbiltPrediction: Vandy 20-17.
Toledo at FloridaPrediction: Florida 40-10.
Rice at Texas A&MPrediction: Texas A&M 47-13.
Mississippi St. at Oklahoma StatePrediction: Oklahoma State 27-17.
Louisiana-Lafayette at ArkansasPrediction: Arkansas 20-10.
Alabama at Virginia TechPrediction: Alabama 34-17.
Austin Peay at TennesseePrediction: Tennessee 34-6.
WKU at KentuckyPrediction: Kentucky 38-21.
Murray State at MissouriPrediction: Missouri 28-13.
Georgia at ClemsonPrediction: Georgia 24-20.
LSU at TCUPrediction: LSU 24-7.