At first I thought Auburn would be dead in the water this year, but after reading a few articles on them, I'm not so sure they're gonna be as "sunk" as I once thought. Cox's play shouldn't really be the deciding factor for Auburn to have a good season (remember up until last season, Jason Campbell was very inconsistant and not all that great yet they were always in contention for the West title). Auburn has won games with running the ball and defense. They lost some key players on defense, but their line returns if I'm not mistaken. They have some "gamers" on defense, so they should still play pretty tough on that side of the ball. Auburn's key to winning will be IF their running backs can get their act together and run effectively keeping their defense off the field. If they can't run, then they won't be able to pass either because teams will start keying on stopping an inexperienced Cox if it's obvious that they don't have a running game. Alabama may be SLIGHTLY above Auburn right now. So the Iron Bowl should determine which of those finishes 2nd in the West and perhaps play for a Cotton Bowl bid (thought I believe Tennessee or Florida have a better chance of going to the Cotton). I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Auburn plays in the Peach Bowl (SEC #4) this season. For your second question, I don't think VT will win the ACC. Vick had problems turning the ball over early in his career and I think that with all the off field problems (along with being the younger brother of a Blacksburgh icon) will be too much for him to put out of his mind. Miami doesn't have the same type of team that they've had in the past, but I feel that they're better than VT this year. I think VT finishes 3rd in the ACC behind Miami (champ) and FSU.
Auburn is going to be a strong team in 2004, one of the few with a serious chance at knocking off the Tigers. But they are going to have a big drop-off from last years undefeated season with a green quarterback in the game, as we found out last year. Right now he's practicisng hurt and the Barners are a leeeeetle worried about it. I would be, too.
