Auburn is ranked 20th in the country and predicted to finish third in the Southeastern Conference Western Division according to preseason rankings by Athlon Sports, it was announced Friday. Also, several Auburn players are recognized with preseason honors.
Senior Marcus McNeill is a preseason First-Team All-American and First-Team All-SEC nominee. Other Tigers named preseason First-Team All-SEC members are junior wide receiver Courtney Taylor, sophomore defensive lineman Stanley McClover, senior linebacker Travis Williams and junior kicker John Vaughn.
Senior defensive tackle Tommy Jackson and junior punter Kody Bliss are also named preseason Second-Team All-SEC members, according to the publication.
Auburn's Third-Team All-SEC players include senior tight end Cooper Wallace and sophomore defensive end Quentin Groves.
Additionally, Auburn's linebackers are rated first in the SEC.
Auburn opens the season by hosting Georgia Tech on Sept. 3 at
Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Southern California's defending national co-champions left no doubt as to whom the college football champion was in 2004. The 12-0 Trojans led both major polls throughout the regular season, then trounced unbeaten No. 2 Oklahoma 55-19 in the FedEx Orange Bowl on Jan. 4 for their 13th victory. Auburn Tigers Football Tickets can be found above. And there really good seats. Junior quarterback Matt Leinart, winner of both the Heisman Trophy and the Walter Camp Award, passed for 332 yards and an Orange Bowl record five touchdowns as USC won its 22nd consecutive game and confirmed its 10th national title.
don't forget to go see Auburn Tigers Football.
Auburn fans were disappointed that the Tigers (12-0 in regular season), winner of the SEC and victor over Virginia Tech 16-13 in the Nokia Sugar Bowl, had to settle for a final No. 3 ranking behind USC and Oklahoma. Utah fans, however, were delighted to see their Utes (11-0 in regular season) not only make it to a BCS bowl but clobber Pittsburgh 35-7 in the Fiesta Bowl. The Mountain West champions finished with a No. 5 national ranking.
The nation's other major unbeaten team, Western Athletic Conference champion Boise State (11-0), fell to Louisville (10-1 in regular season) 44-40 in the highest-scoring Liberty Bowl game ever. The Cardinals, in their last year in Conference USA before heading to the Big East, had led the nation with a 49.8 scoring average, while Boise State had averaged 49.7.
Utah and Auburn shared the national Coach of the Year awards, Urban Meyer of Utah winning the Football Writers award and Tommy Tuberville of Auburn taking the Football Coaches award.
Oklahoma may have finished with a disappointing loss in the Orange Bowl, but quarterback Jason White, the 2003 Heisman Trophy winner, won the 2004 Maxwell Award as well as the Davey O'Brien and Johnny Unitas quarterback awards.
The Outland Trophy went to another Oklahoma player, offensive tackle Jamaal Brown, while defensive end David Pollack of Georgia won the Vince Lombardi/Rotary Award along with the Chuck Bednarik Award.
Other notable 2004 season events included: