Many of the preseason polls will be released (or updated) over the next few weeks and you’ll likely find Auburn somewhere in the top 10 or so of just about everyone of them. That’s to be expected given that the Tigers have a number of key pieces back from last year’s squad that won the SEC West, including a tough defensive line and a Heisman Trophy favorite in quarterback Jarrett Stidham.
With all that’s returning to the Plains come expectations though and that’s certainly nothing that the school is running away from. In a recent interview with AL.com, new Auburn athletic director Allen Greene discussed his own expectations for the upcoming 2018 season and let’s just say he’s not shying away from aiming high despite facing what is probably the toughest schedule in the country.
“I tend to look at is as an opportunity,” Greene said. “We’ve got one of the toughest schedules in college football: We’re on the road against Alabama and Georgia late in the season; we open up against Washington, a really good team in Atlanta. So, there’s an opportunity for us to showcase our talents and I’m really looking forward to watching our team grow and evolve over the course of the season. Obviously, we want to be in the hunt for one of those final four teams in the College Football Playoff.
“I think the expectations are always high, and they should be high.”
So... no pressure Gus Malzahn, who signed a huge new contract this offseason that will pay him several Brinks trucks worth of cash but will still have to deal with a championship-or-bust mentality from even the new guy in town.
Such is life, however, at Auburn.