Is Tony Franklin's Spread Offense Right for Auburn?

by Jonathan Watkins
(Birmingham, Alabama)

As everyone knows by now Auburn hired Tony Franklin as their new Offensive Coordinator. Tony did a great job at Troy University where he led the Trojans to become one of the top offensive teams in the country.

Auburn, also known as Runningback U is departing from SEC style play (smashmouth football) and going with the new "spread" offense. Will this offense work in the SEC? Defenses are much faster in the SEC than in the Sun Belt conference. Does Auburn have the player to run this spread offense?

Sure Auburn has some great players, but they don't have receivers that are great. The Spread is great for teams like Troy, West Virginia, and small caliber teams, but against an SEC defense?

Auburn was winning games with the smashmouth offense. Why put in a new playbook? It didn't seem to help them against Clemson much, only winning in OT. Yeah their numbers were up, but last time I checked having better numbers doesn't matter unless your number on the scoreboard is higher.

Guess we will all have to wait until the football season to find out if Tuberville made a good choice or if he made another bad move.