Ten days until kickoff: Ten Auburn football storylines to follow

We are ten days away from college football.

Shoutout my fellow week zero truthers.

With the start to the 2022 season so close, it's time to start finalizing depth charts, predictions, and storylines entering kickoff.

With the Auburn Tigers, there has been and will never be a shortage of drama-filled discussion surrounding team, both on and off the field.

Here are ten Auburn storylines to follow as we count down the days until kickoff.

Will multiple quarterbacks start in 2022?

The Tigers are currently in the midst of a quarterback battle. After Zach Calzada spent most of the summer as the starter in the minds of the fanbase, TJ Finley has emerged as the frontrunner for the position.

If Finley is given the starting job, there are several ways to project the position and the passing game moving forward.

Finley's stats to finish the 2021 season were less than impressive. If he does not develop, there is a chance he is pulled for either Robby Ashford or Zach Calzada. Harsin does not seem like the type of coach to ride and die with one QB regardless of the production.

There is also the chance that Finley does develop. His three starts last season were on short notice in uncomfortable positions that set him up to fail. On top of that, he wasn't healthy.

Barring injury, we could see Finley take the reins of this offense and not look back.

5-0

Auburn's first five games of the season are at home, and go as follows:

Sept. 3 vs Mercer

Sept. 10 vs San Jose State

Sept. 17 vs Penn State

Sept. 24 vs Missouri

Oct. 1 vs LSU

Is there a chance that the Tigers manage to pull out of this stretch 5-0?

It's not as crazy as it seems.

As of right now, ESPN's FPI believes that Auburn will win their first five games of the season. We will monitor it to see if it changes (obviously probabilities for individual games would shift with a loss)... but right now we may be looking at an undefeated Auburn team walking into Samford Stadium to take on Georgia on October 8th.

Establishing it

Auburn's offensive line did not run block well in 2021. Despite the loads of experience returning, there are several newcomers that have found their way into the rotation during fall camp.

Whether the Tigers wanted those players to move up in the depth chart is unknown. What is known is that offensive line coach Will Friend needs to prove he can get the line to create a better push upfront.

Friend was brought in as a recruiter. So far, he's not done well in that department either.

Auburn needs to see something improve in that unit.

Is Auburn's defensive line a top three unit in the SEC?

The EDGE duo of Derick Hall (nine sacks in 2021) and Eku Leota (seven sacks) is going to be deadly. On the interior, the Tigers have a solid rotation. Colby Wooden, Marcus Harris and Memphis transfer Morris Joseph make up part of the inside while nose tackles Marquis Burks and Oregon transfer Jayson Jones plug holes in the run game.

The size and speed Auburn has rushing the passer may push this unit as a whole into the top three in the conference. Alabama and Georgia will likely sit at No. 1 and No. 2 respectively. LSU and Texas A&M would be Auburn's competition for the third spot.

Creating turnovers

Auburn finished tied for second to last in the SEC in interceptions last season. Out of 130 FBS teams, the Tigers finished 113th in turnovers created (12).

That has to change if Auburn is going to win some of these 50/50 games this year.

Rivalries

Let's be honest with ourselves here.

Auburn hasn't beaten Georgia since 2017. They haven't beaten the Bulldogs in Athens since 2005.

Alabama has beaten Auburn twice in a row and seven out of the last three times. The Tigers haven't won in Bryant-Denny Stadium since 2010.

Unless something drastically changes, Auburn's not winning against either of them this season.

Let's stop being honest for a second.

This will not prevent hope from existing. There may not be expectations, but there will still be hope. After watching the way Auburn held Alabama out of the end zone for 59 minutes in last year's Iron Bowl...

Pay attention to how hard the Tigers play in these two rivalry games.

The year of the tight end

The emergence of the tight end. It's a beautiful thing, truly.

John Samuel Shenker broke the single-season record for most receptions and yards by an Auburn tight end in 2021. He has three (yes, three) players behind him that will see the field in some capacity (likely catching passes). The Tigers need safety valves in the passing game.

This may be the deepest unit on Auburn's roster. Give me all of the 14 personnel possible.

Who's that pass catcher?

No, seriously, who?

Auburn has a respectable amount of athletes in their receiver room... they just don't have a ton of experience.

Will there be one or two receivers that eventually stand out among the rest? Unlikely given the depth the Tigers have in the rotation.

Auburn may evenly distribute the receiving production across six or seven different targets. While it would be nice to see one player rise above the rest, that does not seem like it's going to happen.

What it's going to take

How many wins will it take for Auburn to retain Bryan Harsin?

While there are a numbers of factors that go into defining a successful or unsuccessful season, prolonging Harsin's stay with the Tigers may simply come down to how many wins he gets this season.

Is it seven? Is it eight?

When it rains, it pours

Sometimes it is difficult to explain Auburn's success.

Last year proved that sometimes it is difficult to explain Auburn when they don't have success. When it rains in Auburn, Alabama, it pours. We may see a huge momentum shift in one direction or another this season.

I'm just curious to see if it's raining sideways come November.

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