Saw this in Stewart Mandel's college football mailbag on SportsIllustrated.com. Seems like a pretty accurate assessment:

With everyone hyping Ole Miss, Alabama and LSU in the SEC West, do you think Auburn will sneak up on some teams with Gus Malzahn's offense?
-- @Sregit (via Twitter)

I honestly have no idea what to make of Auburn. On the one hand, I have a lot of respect for offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, who helped Arkansas win the division in 2006 and lit up scoreboards at Tulsa the past two years. On the other hand -- you saw Auburn's offense last year. It seemed at times the Tigers were literally trying to move backward. Obviously, the staff had as much to do with it as the players (Tommy Tuberville's old-guard staff neither embraced new coordinator Tony Franklin's spread offense, nor learned how to teach it to the players), but you don't finish 104th in total offense without some serious holes.

The hope on The Plains is previously forgotten quarterback Neil Caudle, who shined in the spring game, will beat out 2008 duds Kodi Burns and Chris Todd, and that the offense will morph into Tulsa-lite. The more realistic goal for this season is Auburn will at least cut down on the amount of mistakes it made last year, run the ball more effectively and not force the defense -- which should remain stout under respected coordinator Ted Roof -- to spend the whole day on the field. I could definitely see Auburn getting back above .500, but the Tigers will still be a step or two behind Alabama/LSU/Ole Miss. That team is not a one-year fix.

I don't know how much stock I would put into Caudle's A-Day performance (11-16, 161 yards 2 TD), considering it came against third- and fourth-stringers. The fact that he didn't beat out the competition in the spring tells me Malzahn isn't exactly enamored with any of his quarterbacks right now, which is a major issue heading into August.

I've long said Auburn fans should be happy with a 7-5 season and a return trip to a bowl game. I still think that is the most likely scenario.

I don't want to overshadow the Auburn coverage on the blog, so make sure to click on this link for a recap of the pre-practice interviews we did with players yesterday, but I'm still going to plow through these opponent previews.

We're coming down the stretch with Ole Miss.

If you missed a previous post, click on any of the following links to go back and read them: Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State, West Virginia, Ball State, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky and LSU.

And as usual, follow the War Eagle Extra on Twitter here for instantaneous updates throughout the season. If any news breaks, I'll put it up here first.

Ole Miss Rebels

• Head coach: Houston Nutt (2nd season at Ole Miss, 9-4; 17th season overall, 70-32 at Murray State, Boise State, Arkansas and Ole Miss)
  
• 2008 record: 9-4 (5-3 SEC, 2nd West), beat Texas Tech 47-34 in Cotton Bowl
  
• Returning starters: 14 (6 offense, 8 defense)
• Total offense: 407.6 (3rdSEC, 29th nationally)
• Total defense: 307.2 (5th SEC, 19th nationally)
• Series: Auburn leads 24-9
  
• Last meeting: Ole Miss won 17-7 last year in Oxford
  
• Consensus prediction: Third in the SEC West
  

Five-week schedule glimpse

• Oct. 17: UAB
  
• Oct. 24: Arkansas
  
• Oct. 31: at Auburn
  
• Nov. 7: Northern Arizona
  
• Nov. 14: Tennessee
  

Few teams made a bigger jump last year than the Rebels, who floundered under former coach Ed Orgeron. When Ole Miss upset Florida in Gainesville, it was its first SEC win in 727 days! Nutt's crew proved it wasn't a fluke by reeling off six straight wins to finish the season, including a shootout with last year's darling Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl. That strong finish and the return of quarterback Jevan Snead has everyone thinking Ole Miss is going to make another jump this year. But there are concerns about the offensive line and whether Nutt can succeed with a team when they aren't the underdogs.

To find out if the Rebels are the real deal, I went to David Brandt of The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss. Read his blog here and all of his Ole Miss coverage here. Also make sure to follow him on Twitter here.

AB: Expectations are about as high as they've been in recent memory at Ole Miss, considering how the team finished up last season. Can the Rebels, and for that matter coach Houston Nutt, who has fallen short of lofty expectations at previous jobs, handle the burden of expectation this season?

DB: It's true that Ole Miss is going from the hunter to the hunted. Nutt's track record is spotty (at best) when it comes to meeting expectations with a good team. But at least Nutt does have some experience in this type of situation, which should help. One thing that bodes well for the Rebels is that Snead seemed to play his best in big games last year, like against Wake Forest, Florida, LSU and Texas Tech.

AB: It seems to be sacrilege in SEC country to suggest Florida's Tim Tebow is not the perfect quarterback, but with a group of talented and versatile weapons at his disposal and comfort with Nutt's offense after running it for a year, can Snead turn in the kind of season that would at least make voters consider someone else at quarterback on the postseason All-SEC team?

DB: I don't think Snead has much of a chance to unseat Tebow, and here's why: Houston Nutt is going to run the football. To even have a chance to beat out Tebow, Snead would have to put up Sam Bradford/Colt McCoy type numbers and I just don't think that's going to happen under Nutt because of how much he likes to run.

AB: Many teams flush with talent at the skill positions have been submarined by an ineffective and underperforming offensive line (look at Georgia and Clemson last year for examples). Can the Rebels deal with the losses of three starters from last year's line, including superstar left tackle Michael Oher?

DB: The Rebels feel good about four of their five starting linemen. The question mark is LT Bradley Sowell. He's a sophomore who played some last year behind Oher and also as a second tight end in jumbo packages. He did pretty well in limited time last season, but there's still a lot that's unknown about him, especially when he faces top-flight SEC competition. If Sowell is up to the task, Ole Miss should still have a good offensive line. If not, things get dicey.

AB: All-American tackle Peria Jerry is gone, as is defensive line coach Tracy Rocker, who left to do the same job for his alma mater at Auburn. The Rebels relied on that front four last year. Can this year's group, which includes end Greg Hardy, who had offseason surgery on his foot, continue to be the strong point of the defense?

DB: The Ole Miss defense will once again be built around the defensive line, and that's with or without Hardy, who re-injured the foot in a car accident a few weeks ago. At end, Kentrell Lockett, Marcus Tillman and Emmanuel Stephens are experienced and talented. The same goes for the tackle spots, where Ted Laurent, Lawon Scott, Jerrell Powe and Justin Smith will rotate. If Hardy can get healthy, it makes the group even more explosive. This is easily the deepest spot on the roster.

AB: Nutt thought he had help on the way for the secondary with two transfers, but former Ohio State cornerback James Scott was kicked off the team in February and former Florida safety Jamar Hornsby, who was arrested on charges of aggravated assault and petit larceny in March, was kicked off the team last Friday. Is there reason to believe the Rebels' SEC-worst pass defense will improve in 2009?

DB: It should be a little better, but don't expect miracles. Safety Kendrick Lewis is very good and corners Marshay Green and Cassius Vaughn are OK. The other safety spot is up for grabs between Johnny Brown and Fon Ingram. Ole Miss probably won't be last again in pass defense, but don't expect them to rise any higher than the middle of the pack.

NCAA '10 on PlayStation 3 says ... Auburn 26, No. 22 Ole Miss 7. A big upset on the Plains. The Tigers (6-3) take down the ranked Rebels to improve to 4-2 in the SEC. Auburn’s defense turns in quite a performance, holding Ole Miss to 227 yards. Snead only manages to throw for 137. Antonio Coleman leads the way with six tackles, three TFLs and one of the Tigers’ three sacks. Ole Miss led 7-6 but Wes Byrum made a 29-yard field goal just before the half to make it 9-7 Tigers. Auburn dominates the rest of the way. After another Byrum field goal, Mario Fannin returns a punt 57 yards for a touchdown. Kodi Burns adds a 7-yard touchdown pass to Montez Billings for good measure. Quick SEC West standings update: Alabama is 4-1, Auburn is right behind at 4-2 and (here’s a shocker) Mississippi State and LSU are tied at 3-2. Ole Miss, by the way, is underachieving at 2-3.

Up next: A late-season break from the SEC schedule with a game against Furman of the Football Championship Subdivision.

Just got done speaking with players on the eve of Auburn's first practice of August. Here's how tomorrow's story starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — A series of dust-ups dotted Auburn’s football practices last August. Emotions ran as hot as the temperature on several occasions, an inauspicious sign for what proved to be the team’s most disjointed season in a decade.

This year, cooler heads have prevailed and stronger leaders have emerged if you ask cornerback Walt McFadden.

“Last year was kind of a battlefield in that no one wanted to listen because, ‘Who are you?’” McFadden said. “This year we’ve got, ‘OK, that’s Antonio Coleman. He’s a guy that’s proved something here so I can follow him.’ That’s what we’ve got going with this team.”

It’s with a fresh start and a new outlook that Auburn’s players reported Tuesday, eager to put last year’s 5-7 record behind them and begin 11 straight days of practice starting today.

The Tigers entered last season ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press poll and picked to win the SEC West. Expectations are considerably lower in what is Gene Chizik’s first season, but the coach is encouraged by the progress the program has made in the eight months since he was hired.

“Our kids have been so resilient,” Chizik said. “They’ve just been great. They’ve bought in. Our coaches have done a great job trying to nurture these relationships with the players. We, as coaches, know how important that is. I think the relationships have gotten a lot stronger.

“It’s an eight-month bond, not a four-year bond. It’s hard to do in eight months. I think we’re ahead of the curve at this point with getting to know our players and them getting to know us. It’s been good.”

Read the rest of the story here.

No video today (the acoustics were terrible), but I'll try to get some tomorrow. As a reminder, the blog does have a Twitter account here. We'll be tweeting news as soon as it comes out of practices this August, so follow it for instant updates.

Despite the lack of video, there were plenty of nuggets to come out of Tuesday's sit-down with veteran players (we get rookies tomorrow). Here's a sampling:

• Coleman on being a leader: "I'm looked at as a leader. I don't take any crap so I think we're definitely in a good position. I've adjusted to it and adopted to it. I'm just ready to get out there and work."

• He said he's talked a lot lately to the newest Tennessee Titan, former linemate Sen'Derrick Marks. "He's talking my ear off," Coleman said. "'Man, what you up to? How's the team looking and whatnot?' I think I have to now, I've got a couple guys that are funny and will help me out with it." Marks just signed a four-year contract with the Titans, although Coleman joked that he hasn't been the beneficiary of all that cash. "Man, I'm trying to get some but he won't give me any," he said. "I told him to let me come up and hang out with him. He'll probably be down, I know he's working hard right now in Tennessee, but he'll probably be down for a game."

• Chizik’s first two-a-days will be very different from Tommy Tuberville’s final one. For starters, almost every practice will be at night, a move made with Auburn’s lack of depth in mind. “You always want to beat the heat to the best of your ability, (but) you’ve got to be smart because you’re going to play some games in the heat, so they’ve got to have enough of it,” Chizik said. “But too much right now, you don’t want a player to go down with body cramps and they’re out for three or four days. There’s a fine line in there, and we’ve got to be really smart.”

• Secondly, Auburn will conduct all of its practices on the fields behind the athletic complex. Tuberville used to hold practices on the intramural fields across the street, something most players will not miss. “I hate that field,” linebacker Josh Bynes said. “Ain’t nothing but a bunch of sand out there.” McFadden's not going to miss the walk, which is across the street from the athletic complex and past the soccer field. Coleman wasn't a big fan either. "The ants, the little ant piles. Hot, no trees, no shade," he said. He was a big fan of the watermelon that the players received once they came off the fields, though. No word yet if that practice will continue.
  

• Zac Etheridge said fellow safety Mike McNeil is making solid progress four months after breaking his leg during spring practice. But McNeil still won’t be 100 percent when practice starts today. “Oh yeah, he’ll be limited,” Etheridge said. “You don’t want to put him out there too early when things could happen. So I think just holding him out will be fine.” Junior Mike Slade and sophomore Drew Cole will get the majority of reps in McNeil’s place.

• Safety Aairon Savage appears to be in good spirits despite suffering what is likely a season-ending Achilles' injury this summer. "He really don’t play video games and lately he’s been playing nothing but video games," said McFadden, his roommate. "He’s been playing with Auburn and he’s on the game, so that’s all he’s been doing. I guess he’s using that as a sub." McFadden and Etheridge said they weren't sure what Savage's plans were beyond this year.

• Etheridge has been mentoring T'Sharvan Bell, who switched to safety from cornerback in the wake of Savage's injury. Etheridge can relate to the move. "Actually, I did it my freshman year," he said. "It's hard, because at corner you're used to safety telling you what to say all the time. And moving to safety, you're telling everybody what to do, so the terminology and just getting everybody lined up is the challenging part. The playing part just comes easy." He said it took him about a year to get used to the position change.

• Auburn got good news on Demond Washington from the NCAA Clearinghouse but is still awaiting word on four players — safety Daren Bates, cornerback Taikwon Paige, defensive lineman Terrance Coleman and defensive tackle Josh Jackson. “You hope to get it resolved within 48 hours,” Chizik said. “This time of year they’re so swamped because everybody is in the same position with one or two kids. Obviously we have to be patient, but we hope to have everything resolved by Friday.”

• Florida State transfer Aubrey Phillips will begin practicing with the team. No word yet on how whether he will be granted a wavier by the NCAA for immediate eligibility. "I can't really comment on that, because I really don't have a feel for it," Chizik said. "But yes, he'll be practicing with us. We'll just have to wait and see."

• Auburn wants to ingrain a physical mentality this August, but players have to be wary not to overdo it because of depth problems. "It's kind of hard," Bynes said. "But I go out there not thinking. As a defense and linebackers, we have to go out there and play as we normally play. Injuries come and go. If they happen, they happen. At the same time, we got to go out and play our type of ball and not let the linebacking corps being so thin to hinder what we got to do in practice."

• Tight end Tommy Trott said Gabe McKenzie has been doing well after sitting out the spring with an undisclosed medical issue. "He’s been through some tough times but he’s a buddy and he’s been a great player for us," Trott said. "He’s always been unselfish. He’s been one of the most unselfish players on this team. The coaching staff asked him to move to defense and he did so willingly. He moved back to offense and did so willingly. He’s been out there this summer competing like everybody else."

• Left tackle Lee Ziemba said he is up around 312 to 315 pounds. Since last December, he's put on 35 pounds.

• QB Neil Caudle was extremely complimentary of freshman wide receivers DeAngelo Benton and Emory Blake. I'm going to guess they might contribute right away. Call it a hunch.

• Senior Ben Tate on a pair of freshmen running backs, Onterio McCalebb and Dontae Aycock: "Onterio, that's like my little brother. I'm always pickin' and messin' with him. He's pure speed out there. You can't coach speed and that's something he has. That's something we're going to try to use. With Aycock, he's a young guy. He's learning two positions. He's a little confused, but once he gets settled in he'll be a good guy. He might help us out this year."

Auburn got good news today: DB Demond Washington got approved by the NCAA Clearinghouse, according to the fine folks over at AuburnSports.com.

Head coach Gene Chizik also confirmed that offensive lineman Aubrey Phillips will begin practicing with the team tomorrow. Phillips announced his intention to transfer from Florida State last month after a falling out with the Seminoles coaching staff.

That brings the number of players from Auburn's 2009 recruiting class that are with the team to 21.

That leaves four players still waiting word from the NCAA Clearinghouse: S Daren Bates, CB Taikwon Paige, DL Terrance Coleman and DT Josh Jackson.

Three players -- DB Reggie Taylor, CB Izauea Lanier and WR LaVoyd James -- will go the junior college route. Another, RB Brandon Jacobs, is expected to sign a contract with the Boston Red Sox, who took him in the 10th round of the MLB draft in June.

We keep the preview train a-rollin' with a trip to the bayou for a game against LSU.

If you missed a previous post, click on any of the following links to go back and read them: Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State, West Virginia, Ball State, Tennessee, Arkansas and Kentucky.

And as usual, follow the War Eagle Extra on Twitter here for even quicker updates once practice starts.

Louisiana State Tigers

• Head coach: Les Miles (5th season at LSU, 42-11; 9th season overall, 70-32 at Oklahoma State and LSU)
  
• 2008 record: 8-5 (3-5 SEC, 3rd West), beat Georgia Tech 38-3 in Chick-fil-A Bowl
  
• Returning starters: 13 (7 offense, 6 defense)
• Total offense: 368.1 (5th SEC, 55th nationally)
• Total defense: 325.5 (9th SEC, 32nd nationally)
• Series: LSU leads 23-19-1
  
• Last meeting: LSU won 21-16 last year at Jordan-Hare
  
• Consensus prediction: Second in the SEC West
  

Five-week schedule glimpse

• Oct. 10: Florida
• Oct. 17: Bye
• Oct. 24: Auburn
• Oct. 31: Tulane
  
• Nov. 7: at Alabama
  

LSU took a major step back after winning the national championship in 2007. The Tigers, who had gone 34-6 the previous three years, went 8-5 overall, with a 3-5 mark in the SEC. Quarterback was an issue all season, with three different players starting at least one game, but a normally dominant defense didn't live up to its billing as LSU lost three of five down the stretch. The Tigers saved face by thrashing Georgia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, but Miles overhauled the coaching staff in the offseason, hoping to breathe new life into the team.

To see if Miles will succeed on that front, I went to Randy Rosetta of The Advocate in Baton Rouge. You can read his work online here and follow all of The Advocate's LSU coverage here.

AB: Les Miles overhauled his defensive coaching staff following a disappointing 8-5 season in which the Tigers allowed 30 or more points on five different occasions. What kind of changes have defensive coordinator John Chavis and his assistants made?

RR: Schematically the defense will look very similar to last season and the year before under Bo Pellini. The difference in philosophy will be that Chavis and his staff won’t make situational changes as much if at all. Instead, Chavis’ philosophy seems to be to put his best 11 players on the field and trust them to make the stop whether it’s against the pass or run. Last season the defensive co-coordinator plan struggled because there was so much confusion with all the shuffling in and out to match up with what formation or tendencies the offense was showing. Now, the 11 players who start a series will stay on the field, period.

AB: LSU has always been known for its run-stuffing ways. After losing three starters on the defensive line, including defensive end Tyson Jackson, will the Tigers be able to be amongst the country's best at stopping the run again this year?

RR: As strange as it is to say LSU might actually be better and deeper up front this season despite the loss of the latest top-10 NFL draft pick in Jackson. Senior Rahim Alem is back as one of the best rush ends in the SEC and freshman Sam Montgomery projects as the next great LSU d-lineman and should have an impact right away. Lazarius “Pep” Livingston and redshirt freshmen Chancey Aghayere and Chase Clement are also cut from the same cloth. On the interior, Drake Nevis, Al Woods and sixth-year senior Charles Alexander are the kind of hole-pluggers who will force inside runs to the edges and give the ends and linebackers time and opportunity to make plays. So the long answer to the question is that the talent level is similar if not better and without the confusion of last season, LSU will re-emerge as one of the best rush defenses in the SEC.

AB: Jordan Jefferson established himself as the starter after finishing up last season strong and turning in a good spring. Is that starting status on solid footing or can someone like sophomore Jarrett Lee, who put up solid numbers after starting most of last year's games, or true freshman sensation Russell Shepard get into the mix once the season gets underway?

RR: Jefferson is the starter as practice opens and seems to be a very good fit in offensive coordinator Gary Crowton’s offense because of his dual-threat capabilities. That said, Lee, despite his problems last year, started eight games and is much more in tune with SEC defenses than Jefferson. Lee is also much more of a threat in obvious passing situations, despite his penchant for interceptions — especially the seven that got returned for touchdowns. Shepard will definitely have a role in the offense at QB, running back and receiver and will likely be the wild tiger option should Crowton opt to use it. So Jefferson will have the ball in his hands more than anybody else, but don’t be surprised if Lee and Shepard both get some situational opportunities on a regular basis. If anything happens to Jefferson, Lee is the immediate backup.

AB: With Georgia's Knowshon Moreno and Alabama's Glen Coffee gone, Charles Scott is the premier running back in the league. Can he improve on the 1,174 rushing yards he put up last year and perhaps gain some national attention or will Miles opt to divvy up carries amongst a talented pool of tailbacks that is among the deepest in the SEC?

RR: As long as Scott is healthy, he will be the go-to back and get 20-25 carries a game (more in games when LSU is trying to gobble up clock), including most anything inside the 5-yard line when the Tigers need a low-risk touchdown. With Jefferson more of a dangerous running threat than Lee and Andrew Hatch were last season, Scott’s role might diminish slightly if Crowton and Miles decide to inject some option look. Keiland Williams, Richard Murphy and even 100-meters national champion Trindon Holliday are better suited for the option game. But Scott will get tons of chances to hammer away at opposing defenses and could nudge his numbers up to the 1,500-yard, 25-touchdown range as long as LSU stays in games and is not playing from behind.

AB: Miles had gone 33-6 in his first three seasons at LSU before last year's mediocre finish. The pessimist will say he's the benefactor from all the talent Nick Saban recruited to the Tigers before he left. The optimist will say that Miles has accomplished plenty on his own accord, with four bowl wins and a national title to his credit, one that came in his third year with the school. Will Miles be able to keep up LSU's string of success or was last year the first signs of a decline for the program under his watch?

RR: I think it’s too early to identify a decline, particularly since LSU’s last few recruiting classes have both been pegged as top-five or 10 classes. While last year was a rapid fall, it’s worth mentioning that LSU began the season without a quarterback who had taken a meaningful snap in a game after Ryan Perrilloux earned a one-way ticket to Jacksonville State with his off-field shenanigans in the afterglow of the 2007 national championship. LSU must play better defense to stay in the upper echelon of the SEC and nationally and the offseason restructuring of the staff seems to be an important step in that direction. If the Tigers get back to their stingy defensive ways that made them dominant this decade, they should round back into form over the next few years — with nine-, 10- or even 11-win seasons possible. If that doesn’t happen, then neither Miles nor Vince Lombardi or anybody in between has much of a shot to keep LSU on top.

NCAA '10 on PlayStation 3 says ... No. 14 LSU 24, Auburn 21. These two teams always play close games, and even the video game system knows that. A heart-breaker for Auburn, which ties things up on a John Douglas touchdown run midway through the third quarter, only to watch LSU's Josh Jasper make a 28-yard field goal a little bit later that proved to be the difference. Auburn actually leads 14-7 early after Kodi Burns throws for touchdowns to Ben Tate (75 yards) and Derek Winter (7 yards). With the running game stuffed, Burns finishes with 372 passing yards but three interceptions. Tim Hawthorne enjoys a 7-catch, 149-yard receiving day. But LSU is too much. Charles Scott rumbles for 134 rushing yards and a score. Jordan Jefferson throws for 278 yards and a score in the win. Auburn drops to 5-3 overall (3-2 SEC), with games against three ranked opponents -- Ole Miss, Georgia and Alabama -- still to play.

Up next: Houston Nutt's and the Ole Miss Rebels come to Jordan-Hare for SEC West showdown.

As you might have heard, Auburn's players report for practice today. We'll be there this afternoon to talk to some of the veteran players as they gear up for two-a-days.

To tide you over, I wrote a five questions story for today's newspaper. Here's how it starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — Since he was introduced as Auburn’s new head coach, Gene Chizik has made his immediate goals well known.

He wants to reinforce the roster through recruiting. He wants to return the Tigers to a physical brand of football. And, most of all, he wants to return the team to its 2004 level, when, with Chizik as defensive coordinator, Auburn finished the season with a13-0 record.

The question is, how much time will Auburn nation give Chizik and Co.?

Patience hardly has been a virtue for Tigers fans lately (ask Tommy Tuberville or Tony Franklin), exacerbated by the recent success of Nick Saban’s crew in Tuscaloosa. For a group not used to sub-.500 seasons, last year’s 5-7 record was hard to take.

Enter Chizik, who has won over the fan base by hiring an energetic coaching staff and recruiting with gusto this offseason. But the 2009 Tigers haven’t done anything on the field, where they ultimately will be judged.

Read the rest of it here. Mild spoiler alert: here are five question marks (which really makes it six if you count the opening as a question too).

1. Quaterbacks
2. Depth
3. Play-makers
4. Kicking game
5. Chizik's game-managing skills

Got any other concerns? Disagree with any of those. Leave a comment. Or if you want, respond on the War Eagle Extra Twitter account here.

Auburn's football players don't report until tomorrow, but that doesn't mean our opponent previews won't continue. Today's entry is Kentucky.

If you missed a previous post, click on any of the following links to go back and read them: Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State, West Virginia, Ball State, Tennessee and Arkansas.

And as usual, follow the War Eagle Extra on Twitter here for even quicker updates throughout the season.

Kentucky Wildcats

• Head coach: Rich Brooks (7th season at Kentucky, 32-41; 25th season overall, 121-152-4 at Oregon and Kentucky)
  
• 2008 record: 7-6 (2-6 SEC, 6th East), beat East Carolina 25-19 in Liberty Bowl
  
• Returning starters: 11 (8 offense, 3 defense)
• Total offense: 299.3 (9th SEC, 106th nationally)
• Total defense: 332.4 (11th SEC, 40th nationally)
• Series: Auburn leads 24-5-1
• Last meeting: Auburn won 49-27 in 2005 in Lexington
  
• Consensus prediction: Sixth in the SEC East
  

Five-week schedule glimpse

• Oct. 3: Alabama
• Oct. 10: at South Carolina
  
• Oct. 17: at Auburn
• Oct. 24: UL Monroe
  
• Oct. 31: Mississippi State
  

Schedule easy and you'll make a bowl game. That's what we've learned from the Kentucky Wildcats, who finished in last place in the SEC East with a 2-6 record but still made a bowl game, thanks to a non-conference schedule that featured heavyweights like Louisville (OK, we'll give them a pass there), Norfolk State, Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky. Still, Brooks has led Kentucky to three straight bowl victories, no small feat at a school where basketball is and will forever remain king. The Wildcats relied on their defense to get through last season but hope returning quarterback Mike Hartline and seven other offensive starters make a big difference this season.

To see if that's the case, I went to Chip Cosby, the Kentucky beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. Make sure to read all of his Wildcats football coverage here and his blog here.

AB: Defensive end Jeremy Jarmon was supposed to be the anchor of the defense but left for the NFL's supplemental draft after being ruled ineligible for his senior season because of a failed drug test. What does his absence mean to Kentucky's defensive front, which already lost a pair of starters in Myron Pryor and Ventrell Jenkins?

CC: Jarmon's absence is huge. He's an elite pass rusher who likely would have approached double-digit sacks, and none of UK's returning defensive ends have even recorded a tackle in a college game. Throw in the loss of Pryor and Jenkins, and the defensive line could be the biggest question mark on the team right now. Senior tackle Corey Peters is an underrated player who could challenge for All-SEC honors, but the Wildcats will need to find a pair of capable ends. Junior-college transfer DeQuin Evans will be expected to come in and contribute immediately.

AB: The Wildcats cupboard isn't bare on defense. Linebacker Micah Johnson and cornerback Trevard Lindley both considered the NFL but came back to Lexington. Can this year's defense come close the success it had last season, when it ranked 40th nationally in total yardage?

CC: A lot depends on the line play. The back seven should be fine with a pair of cornerstones Lindley, who could be the best corner in the nation, and Johnson, who's solid in the middle. But if the defensive line can't generate much pressure, that will slightly negate what Johnson and Lindley can do to opposing offenses.

AB: Will Mike Hartline be the answer at quarterback or are Rich Brooks and Joker Phillips going to use a variety of players under center like they did for much of last season?

CC: It's Hartline's job to lose. He'll be the starter for the season-opener against Miami, and if he plays well early and the offense moves the ball, he'll remain the starter. One of the two true freshmen (Morgan Newton and Ryan Mossakowski) will likely be worked in as a backup, and Randall Cobb could see some time at QB in the Wildcat package, but Brooks seems committed to Hartline at least in the short term.

AB: The running game suffered last year but seems to have promise this season, with plenty of experience on the offensive line coming back. Can running backs Alfonso Smith and Derrick Locke, two explosive runners, handle the workload now that Tony Dixon is gone?

CC: If the Cats can run the ball effectively, that would take a lot of pressure off Hartline. Alfonso Smith has played well in spurts as a backup but has battled injuries. He's waited patiently for his chance to be the feature back and has added 10 pounds in the offseason. He has a good combination of size and speed; he just needs to stay on the field. Derrick Locke was probably UK's best all-around back before suffering a season-ending knee injury against Arkansas. It remains to be seen if he'll be back at 100 percent to start the fall, but if he is, the Cats look to be in decent shape at RB.

AB: Brooks has made headway in succeeding at a school where basketball is king, with three straight victories in second-tier bowls (two at the Music City, one at the Liberty). Does Kentucky have the resources or commitment to make that next step as a football school to compete in the upper echelon of the SEC, be it under Brooks or when his successor Phillips takes over the reigns?

CC: Kentucky hasn't proven yet that it can take that next step and compete for an SEC championship. They've slowly crawled up the ladder of respectability under Brooks, but they need to breakthrough with an 8-9 win season that sees them as a legitimate contender in the SEC East. If they can get that one "big" year, then I think they have the resources to start to attract the kind of talent that they need to get to that level. But they have to prove they can compete first.

NCAA '10 on PlayStation 3 says ... Auburn 37, Kentucky 14. The Tigers improve to 5-2 overall (3-1 SEC) after outscoring the Wildcats 27-7 in the second half. Craig Stevens' 37-yard fumble return for a touchdown helps Auburn take a 10-7 lead into halftime. Kodi Burns adds touchdown runs of 3 and 4 yards in the third quarter before hooking up with Gabe McKenzie for a 16-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to put things away. Burns throws for 255 yards, Ben Tate runs for 139 and Montez Billings catches eight passes for 93 yards. Jake Ricks has a monster game on defense, with eight tackles, four tackles for a loss and two sacks. Antonio Coleman adds four TFLs and two sacks. Auburn holds Kentucky to only 256 total yards.

Up next: The tough stretch of Auburn's schedule is up, starting with a trip to Baton Rouge to take on LSU.

The Tigers report for practice on Tuesday and begin practice on Wednesday. The rest of the schedule for the first half of August was released by Auburn sports information this afternoon. Here it is:

Note: Schedule is subject to change.

• Tuesday, Aug. 4 -- Reporting Day
• Wednesday, Aug. 5 -- First Day
• Thursday, Aug. 6 -- Practice
• Friday, Aug. 7 -- Practice
• Saturday, Aug. 8 -- Practice (Graduation)
• Sunday, Aug. 9 -- Practice (First Day in Pads)
• Monday, Aug. 10 -- Practice (First Two a Days)
• Tuesday, Aug. 11 -- Practice
• Wednesday, Aug. 12 -- Practice (Two a Days)
• Thursday, Aug. 13 -- Practice
• Friday, Aug. 14 -- Practice (Two a Days)
• Saturday, Aug. 15 -- Practice
• Sunday, Aug. 16 -- OFF (Fan Day, 2-4 p.m. CT, Jordan-Hare Stadium)
• Monday, Aug. 17 -- OFF (First Day of Class)

We are flying through these Auburn opponent previews, as we should be with players reporting on Tuesday for Wednesday's first practice.

Today's entry is Arkansas. Also, don't forget to read previous posts previewing Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State, West Virginia, Ball State and Tennessee.

And remember, follow the War Eagle Extra on Twitter here.

Arkansas Razorbacks

• Head coach: Bobby Petrino (2nd season, 5-7; 6th season overall, 46-16 at Arkansas and Louisville)
• 2008 record: 5-7 (2-6 SEC, t-4th Wast), no postseason
  
• Returning starters: 17 (8 offense, 9 defense)
• Total offense: 373.1 (4th SEC, 49th nationally)
• Total defense: 375.2 (12th SEC, 72nd nationally)
• Series: Auburn leads 10-7-1
  
• Last meeting: Arkansas won 25-22 last year at Jordan-Hare Stadium
  
• Consensus prediction: Tied for fourth in the SEC West
  

Five-week schedule glimpse

• Sept. 26: at Alabama
• Oct. 3: vs. Texas A&M (in Dallas)
  
• Oct. 10: Auburn
• Oct. 17: at Florida
• Oct. 24: at Ole Miss

After a contentious ending to his NFL stint with the Atlanta Falcons, Bobby Petrino had his share of troubles during an up-and-down first season at Arkansas. His Razorbacks couldn't stop anybody defensively, as Arkansas got blow out 49-14 by Alabama, 52-10 by Florida and 38-7 by Florida in consecutive weeks early in the season. But, starting with a 25-22 victory against a reeling Auburn, the Razorbacks closed with wins in three of their last seven games, beating LSU 31-30 to finish the season. Now, with Michigan transfer Ryan Mallett expected to be the perfect big arm for Petrino's offensive system, a lot of folks have Arkansas as a sleeper this season.

To find out if that has any merit, I contacted Robbie Neiswanger of the Morning News of Northwest Arkansas. Read his work on the Razorbacks at the Morning News here or on his blog here. Follow him on Twitter here and the paper's Arkansas coverage here.

AB: Has Arkansas gotten over the inevitable adjustment period of installing a new coach and what kind of strides can Bobby Petrino make with this team this season?

RN: In a word, yes. Petrino is a demanding coach and his style is the polar opposite of Houston Nutt. So players had to adjust to what he expected from them on a daily basis on the practice field. There were plenty of rough times last year, but you could see a difference in the spring. Practices were crisper. Players were more confident on both sides of the ball. If that continues, I think you will see Arkansas take some strides in 2009.

AB: Ryan Mallett, who stands 6-foot-7, 248 pounds and possesses a cannon for an arm, seems to have all the physical tools to be a great quarterback. Will he be able to seamlessly adjust to life in the defensive-minded SEC after sitting out a year following his transfer from Michigan?

RN: Arkansas certainly hopes so. You’re right about one thing: Mallett does have all the tools. His arm strength makes Arkansas capable of stretching the field, something it hasn’t been able to do in probably 10 years. He does have some experience against Big Ten defenses, too, playing some as a true freshman. But there are concerns. Mallett’s footwork must improve. So must his accuracy and consistency. But the good news: He is working with Petrino, who is regarded as one of the best QB coaches in the game.

AB: Will a suspect offensive line be able to jell enough for Arkansas to take advantage of its myriad offensive weapons, which includes and group of talented receivers plus All-SEC candidates in tailback Michael Smith and tight end D.J. Williams?

RN: Arkansas’ offensive line returns three starters this season, but will look completely different. Wade Grayson — who has moved from guard to center — is the only one returning who started all 12 games in 2008. DeMarcus Love has moved from guard to tackle as well. Tackle Ray Dominguez is the only player who is in the same spot. So putting together a cohesive unit has been an ongoing challenge. Petrino said he expects a lot of competition among this group when the preseason begins. Most of the competition will come in the interior where the guard and center spots are unsettled. This group must perform better than it did in 2008 if Arkansas — which does have weapons — hopes to live up to its offensive expectations.

AB: Veteran coach John L. Smith was hired to coordinate special teams and assist coordinator Willy Robinson on a defense that gave up 31.2 point per game last season. Nine players are back from that unit. Is there any reason to believe things will be different this year?

RN: Defense is the No. 1 question about this team because we all know how bad it was last season. But we also know something else: There was improvement and every important contributor returns (Malcolm Sheppard, Adrian Davis, Jerry Franklin and Wendel Davis). That’s a sign that this group could and be tougher this season. There’s also some talent coming in that could help immediately, like JUCO safeties Rudell Crim and Anthony Leon. But questions remain. Are they deep enough? Can they get to the quarterback with the front four? Can they cover anyone in the secondary? These are all things we won’t know for sure until the season begins.

AB: The Razorbacks have a brutal schedule, with road games at Alabama, Florida, Ole Miss and LSU and a neutral-site game against Texas A&M. Even if the team shows marked improvement in its play, will that translate into wins?

RN: I’ve said this for awhile: Don’t be surprised if Arkansas finishes 5-7 again but is a much, much, much better team. I’m not saying it’s going to happen, but the schedule makes it a possibility. It is probably the toughest in the SEC. Most will pencil in the four road games as losses. The trip to Dallas to play the Aggies will be a challenge. And there are big tests at home against Georgia (Sept. 19) and Auburn (Oct. 10) in the first five games. In addition, Arkansas’ only off week comes after the opener against Missouri State so that means the Hogs will play 11 straight. That’s tough.

NCAA '10 on PlayStation 3 says ... Arkansas 41, Auburn 14. The Tigers, who made the Also Receiving Votes category in the polls, finally get steamrolled. The Razorbacks roll up 586 yards of total offense in the rout. Arkansas builds a 24-7 halftime lead and never looks back. Mallet goes 29-for-51 for 469 yards and three touchdowns. Wideout Lucas Miller catches 18 passes for 288 yards and a pair of scores. Not a banner day for the Auburn secondary. Ben Tate runs for 104 yards and Montez Billings turns in a 125-yard receiving day, but it's not nearly enough as Auburn drops to 4-2 (2-1 SEC).

Up next: Auburn returns to Jordan-Hare for its first game against Kentucky since 2005.

The blog's look at every opponent on Auburn's schedule this season continues today with Lane Kiffin and Tennessee.

In case you missed the beginning of our opponent previews, you can click on Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State, West Virginia and Ball State to go back and read the first four installments.

Also, our Twitter page is taking the world by storm (140 characters at a time). Follow the War Eagle Extra on Twitter here.

Tennessee Volunteers

• Head coach: Lane Kiffin (1st season)
  
• 2008 record: 5-7 (3-5 SEC, 5th East), no postseason
  
• Returning starters: 12 (7 offense, 5 defense)
• Total offense: 268.8 (11th SEC, 115th nationally)
• Total defense: 263.5 (t-1st SEC, 3rd nationally)
• Series: Auburn leads 26-21-3
  
• Last meeting: Auburn won 14-12 last year at Jordan-Hare Stadium
  
• Consensus prediction: Third place in the SEC East
  

Five-week schedule glimpse

• Sept. 19: at Florida
• Sept. 26: Ohio
• Oct. 3: Auburn
• Oct. 10: Georgia
• Oct. 24: at Alabama

There weren't two teams in the SEC that went through as much upheaval last year than Tennessee and Auburn. In the Vols' case, a sub-par year due in large part to one of the most anemic offenses in the country led to the firing of Phil Fulmer, who had spent 30 years at Tennessee, first as an assistant coach and for 17 years as the head man. Enter Kiffin, a brash up-and-coming coach who says and does most anything he feels like, regardless of who's toes he's stepping on. The Vols broke the bank on an assistant staff that includes longtime NFL coaching vet Monte Kiffin, uber-recruiter Ed Orgeron and former Auburn running backs coach Eddie Gran. Now, with a strong defensive unit returning and a fresh start on offense, everybody seems to think UT is back on the upswing.

To find out if that's the case, I contacted Wes Rucker of the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Here's a short bio he sent along with his answers to my questions.

Wes Rucker has covered UT football in two stints totaling seven years, the past three as a Knoxville-based beat writer for the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He has also helped cover Georgia and Alabama for the Times Free Press, which won College Sports Matchups' "Best SEC Coverage" award last season. He has been honored by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association, the East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists and United Press International. Read his regular Vols coverage here, his blog here and follow him on Twitter here. You contact him at wrucker@timesfreepress.com.

AB: New coach Lane Kiffin has certainly made an impression in his first year on the job, raising Tennessee's national football profile while making a few enemies (Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer most notably) along the way. Has Kiffin been mostly just bravado or has he made tangible strides that suggest he's actually righting the ship?

WR: The more time I spend with Kiffin, the more I get the feeling he definitely has a plan for this once-prominent program. That plan won't please everyone, and it will certainly continue to irritate many, but Kiffin has never seemed to care about that. His priorities seem simple: Get UT football back to where it was recruiting many of the nation's best players and coaching them up into NFL draft picks. He felt a part of that process was getting UT back in the national media by nearly any means necessary, and there's no doubt he accomplished that task. He has sincerely backed down the past few weeks, but not because he felt pressure to; he just considered it time to put full focus on the combination of this year's team and this year's recruiting class. He'll still step on toes, because that's just who he is. He says what he wants to say in most situations, and he's not typically concerned with hurting someone's feelings. He doesn't view that as disrespect toward anyone, though. In his mind, UT is UT, and everyone else is everyone else, so why care about everyone else's feelings? He's an interesting coach to cover, for sure, and I'm sure this season — whichever route it takes — will be one worth covering because of his brash entrance into a manly man's league.

AB: The Vols ranked 107th nationally in passing offense last year and return the quarterbacks — Jonathan Crompton and Nick Stephens — who were mostly responsible for it. Will the quarterback situation be any improved this season under Kiffin's tutelage and who will wind up being the starter?

WR: If UT's passing game is one tiny bit statistically worse than it was last season, at least a handful of assistants — and maybe a head coach — will be forced to look for new jobs. Failure to meet lofty expectations is a coaching death sentence up here; ask Fulmer and Johnny Majors, two of the program's most celebrated champions. I've said since the start of spring practice that Kiffin will start Crompton in the season opener against Western Kentucky, and I've just as consistently since then stated that Stephens would be the better choice. I wasn't sure whether Stephens was a better choice than B.J. Coleman, but I figured both had to be better than what Crompton showed last season. Crompton, for all his impressive physical skills, has never been able to translate those skills from the practice field to Saturdays. He's had four offensive coordinators in five years — something that would hinder any player's development — but he's also just never shown any "savvy" or "moxie" when the Vols needed it. And, as anyone who coaches, plays, covers or just watches games in this league can tell you, a quarterback without those skills is a 6-foot-whatever paperweight. Crompton and Stephens will enter preseason camp tied atop the depth chart, and Kiffin would like to name one the clear No. 1 as soon as possible. If it's a fairly-judged competition, I'd bet on Stephens. But I can't guarantee that. In fact, I think Crompton will squat under center on UT's first offensive play of the Kiffin era while a rocket-armed, emotional Stephens stands, helmet in hand.

AB: Tennessee signed two of the top running backs in the country last winter in Bryce Brown and David Oku. Will either steal carries away from senior Montario Hardesty, or for that matter, can either unseat him as the starter?

WR: Hardesty was a premier prospect coming out of high school in North Carolina, and some people — including yours truly — think a nearly unfathomable stretch of injuries have kept him from showing nothing more than glimpses of that promise. Hardesty has battled through torn knee ligaments, injuries to both ankles (which caused foot stress fractures, because he practiced so hard through the pain) and other football-related ailments, but he's been healthy enough since spring to show more frequent glimpses. He's smart, strong, quick and fast enough to make a major impact as every-down back, if he's healthy — which is never a safe bet, unfortunately. The stunning transfer of junior Lennon Creer to Louisiana Tech and torn knee ligament to surprisingly impressive January enrollee Toney Williams have opened opportunities for Brown, Oku and Tauren Poole to get plenty of carries in an offense with recently-depleted depth at wide receiver. Oku and especially Brown have pleased coaches this summer with their focus, attitudes and potential. Their game-readiness (or lack thereof) will start showing itself next week. Brown, an extremely focused, health-conscience (vegetarian) young man, could very well leave camp as the No. 2 tailback. Oku could be used in certain packages before gaining every-down strength in the weight room, and Poole is tough, between-the-tacklers runner who will be a nice asset — assuming he holds onto the ball.

AB: Although largely overshadowed by the offense's ineptitude last year, the Tennessee defense finished third nationally in total yards. What effect will the arrival of 69-year-old Monte Kiffin have on that unit and, with the return of all-world safety Eric Berry, can the Vols' defense be as good this year?

WR: UT's defense was very good last year. Some statistics hinted at greatness, but I think 'very good' would be a better description. The Vols are underrated along the defensive line, in my opinion — remember the names Chris Walker and Ben Martin — and their secondary is well known, starting with the All-American Berry and All-SEC potential players in cornerback Brent Vinson and versatile defensive back Dennis Rogan. Whether the Vols are as good on defense this year won't come down to the first or third levels, though. The linebackers will be the key. All-SEC weaksider Rico McCoy is a known commodity in the league, and he'll probably collect NFL paychecks this time next year, but the Vols are unproven at middle and strongside. Former walk-on Nick Reveiz — yes, that's former UT kicking All-American Fuad Reveiz's son — will battle Herman Lathers for the middle backer job, and talented but un-SEC-tested players Savion Frazier and LaMarcus Thompson will fight for the final starting spot. Several freshmen, some of them true freshmen, are also possibilities. Good linebacker play (and a healthy Berry) would make the Vols a typically-tough, Tennessee defense. Bad linebacker play will create another hole in a team that can't afford many more leaks.

AB: Tennessee is only two years removed from a 10-win season and an SEC championship game appearance, so the cupboard can't be completely bare. What can this team reasonably accomplish this season?

WR: This is the toughest one to answer, especially since last year was the worst preseason miscalculation in my nearly ten years of beat reporting. I knew last year's Vols wouldn't compete for the SEC East title, but wow, I never saw "5-7 and see ya, Phillip" coming. I've thought about this a lot all summer, and here is the best I can come up with: The best you can expect is 9-3, the best you can reasonably expect is 8-4 and the most realistic you can expect in 7-3. Scanning the schedule, I see very few games UT could play horribly and win. I see plenty of games that could go either way. And I see two tossups games that could make their season 6-6, 7-5 and 8-4. Those two games are home dates with Georgia and South Carolina. Those are winnable games if the Vols stay healthy and play well. While anything better than 8-4 would stun me, another losing season certainly wouldn't — and that's always possible in the modern SEC, even for programs with UT's money-growing trees (And a side note: Where do they plant those things, anyway? I've been looking for years.)

NCAA '10 on PlayStation 3 says ... Auburn 31, Tennessee 18. Another solid showing by the Tigers (4-1, 2-0 SEC), who lead 17-11 at the half and score two third quarter touchdowns -- one a 78-yard touchdown pass from Kodi Burns to Tim Hawthorne, the other a 14-yard touchdown run by Ben Tate -- to pull away for the win. Strange day for Burns, who goes 21-for-34 for 324yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. Mario Fannin has the most rushing yards with 74. Both Hawthorne (111 yards) and Montez Billings (117) top the century mark in receiving. Defensively, Auburn has four sacks and three picks, one by Mike McNeil, one that was returned 72 yards by Aairon Savage (hey, the rosters ain't perfect) and one 26 yards and a touchdown by who I think is T'Sharvan Bell (the numbers are a little off).

Up next: Another SEC road trip, as Auburn heads to Fayetteville to take on Bobby Petrino's Razorbacks in Arkansas.