Auburn Tigers Overlooked in Midst of SEC West Excitement

By Tim Letcher on October 8, 2014

All of the talk about the SEC West this week centers on the two Mississippi teams. Granted, the Ole Miss Rebels and the Mississippi State Bulldogs posted huge wins on Saturday, thrusting both programs into the top five of the national rankings.

Many experts are now predicting that one of the teams from the Magnolia State will win the SEC West, the SEC Championship Game and a bid in the College Football Playoff.

But as Lee Corso would say, not so fast, my friend.

The defending SEC champions, the Auburn Tigers, are still the top-ranked team in the mighty SEC and the Tigers have shown little in the way of giving up their throne. Auburn is outscoring its opponents by an average of 42-14 this season, including a 41-7 thrashing of the LSU Tigers on Saturday. Gus Malzahn has his offense humming once again this year. Auburn has scored at least 40 points in four of its five wins this season.

Quarterback Nick Marshall continues to be a solid performer for the Tigers. He has passed for 755 yards and eight touchdowns, while rushing for 392 yards and four more scores.

Running back Cameron Artis-Payne leads the team with 594 yards on the ground and five touchdowns. Keep in mind that those numbers could be much higher had either Marshall or Artis-Payne played five full games, which they have not, due to the blowout nature of three of Auburn’s wins this season.

Auburn faces a tough schedule down the stretch, starting with this weekend’s trip to Starkville to battle third-ranked Mississippi State. The Tigers also still have road games at Ole Miss, against the Georgia Bulldogs and for the Iron Bowl against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

While the Mississippi teams continue to garner the national media attention, it would be foolish to overlook Auburn at this juncture. The Tigers can prove that with a win in Starkville on Saturday.

Tim Letcher is a contributing writer for www.RantSports.com and a member of the Football Writers Association of America. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.