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AUBURN FOOTBALL
Did you watch the Outback Bowl? I bet you did. And if you did, you were a part of the most watched broadcast in the history of ESPN2. So that's... something. Kind of depressing that it was an Auburn loss, but there ya go.
Auburn is looking forward to the return of two injured offensive lineman next season. Jordan Diamond has been plagued by injuries through his entire time at Auburn it seems. Then there's Alex Kozan, who was a beast on the line in 2013 and Auburn's running game definitely missed this past season.
This year was disappointing, though in some ways the final record wasn't exactly out of the realm of possibility at the season's beginning. We knew the offense was great (and it was), but we didn't expect the defense to tank. Even with this season's results, Gus Malzahn is very hopeful about the "bright future" ahead at Auburn.
So how do we get to that bright future? Well, ESPN would like you to know that fixing the defense is Auburn's #1 priority. Thanks for that, ESPN. I think the huge salary we dropped on Will Muschamp made that clear.
As for that, the defensive players are taking a hard look at areas they need to improve in according to AL.com. The secondary players are especially excited about Muschamp's history of putting DBs into the NFL. It's not just the DBs that should be excited, either. Muschamp's defense took an ok secondary player in Will Herring and turned him into an NFL linebacker. So if Kris Frost is still wondering whether he should stay for another year...
Recruiting is liable to heat up over the next few weeks. Auburn is going to host a massive recruiting weekend next weekend. We'll have some updates on the visitors before that happens. Meanwhile, 4* WR John Burt decommitted from Texas on Tuesday night, and could commit to the Tigers any day now.
AUBURN SPORTS
Swimming and Diving will open the winter/spring schedule with Texas today at 2pm CDT at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center. This will be a dual meet against a very tough and nationally ranked foe. If you're in town and you've never been to one of these, I highly recommend it. They're a lot of fun.
Meanwhile, the 12th ranked gymnastics team will open their season on Friday at North Carolina at 6pm CDT.