Expectations. If you've been following Auburn in the papers or online during the summer you know that's something that has concerned coaches and fans alike. Tiger coach Tommy Tuberville has gone out of his way to well, poor mouth.
Tuberville has taken a unique approach to handling the expectation game. Each day he brings in the headlines and shares them with the team. Once finished he begins to review practice film and shows them why they shouldn't believe the hype. It's a method that the coaching staff hopes will keep the Tigers grounded leading up to Saturday's opener with Washington State.
Why is there near paranoia over the expectations showered on Auburn by the national media? You have to go back no further than 2003. Auburn came into the season riding sky high, a media darling and a preseason national champion pick by the Sporting News. The season vanished in two weeks after embarrassing losses to Southern Cal and Georgia Tech. The results nearly costs Tuberville his job.
Fast forward to this year and Auburn seems more comfortable. Or at least the players and coaches are all saying the right things. They realize that this week's opener with Washington State is no cake walk. Auburn has lost three of its last four openers; so don't expect them to take this game for granted.
With that said, Auburn seems to be the new hot pick to make it to Arizona in January. This weekend, ESPN.com asked its college football personalities to pick it's conference champions and also who they believe will be playing on January 8th.
Seven of the 12 analysis picked Auburn to play for the national championship. All 12 picked the Tigers to win the SEC Championship. Wow! Talk about expectations. We'll see on Saturday night how Auburn responds.
