Auburn football: Tigers aim high in coach Gene Chizik's second year as season opens tonight against Arkansas State

AUBURN, Ala. — Josh Bynes is adamant he’s not joking.

The Auburn linebacker, whose enthusiasm in media settings is unparalleled, has extremely high hopes for this year’s team — SEC championship hopes.

“We feel it, not just from the media but we feel it within ourselves, that we don’t see anything less than an SEC championship year,” he said. “The confidence is just going to keep building up.”

Is confidence or craziness? Looking at how SEC coaches have fared in their second year suggests it might be more the former.

Gene Chizik went 8-5 his first season at Auburn, a decent jump from the team’s 5-7 mark in 2008, especially considering the depth and injury issues.

But the league’s coaches have shown a bigger jump from their first to second years in charge.

Seven SEC coaches have been at their current schools longer than one season — Georgia’s Mark Richt, LSU’s Les Miles, South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier, Florida’s Urban Meyer, Alabama’s Nick Saban, Ole Miss’ Houston Nutt and Arkansas’ Bobby Petrino. Of that group, the average increase in wins from Year 1 to Year 2 is 2.6.

Richt and Saban made the biggest leaps, both improving by five wins in their second year. Richt’s Bulldogs went 13-1 in 2002, beating Florida State in the Sugar Bowl. Saban’s Crimson Tide started the 2008 season 12-0, jumping to No. 1 in the country before losing the SEC championship game to Florida and the Sugar Bowl to Utah.

More impressively, none of the coaches took a step back in Year 2. Even Miles, who went 11-2 his first year, matched the record the following season.

The jump isn’t restricted to the SEC. In the Bowl Championship Series era, three coaches have won national championships in their second year — Bob Stoops with Oklahoma in 2000, Jim Tressel with Ohio State in 2002 and Meyer with Florida in 2006.

The stars seem aligned for Auburn to take, at the minimum, another step forward. The entire coaching staff is back for a second year, giving the team a sense of continuity.

“If you look at it from 10,000 feet, players and coaches, there’s just more of a comfort level for everybody in what we’re trying to do,” Chizik said. “For the most part, a lot of our football team has heard it two years in a row now.”

The Tigers have 21 scholarship seniors and are experienced at important positions, with four seniors on the offensive line, three on the defensive line, two at linebacker and three in the secondary.

Auburn also helped its cause by bridging the gap at the most important position on the field with quarterback Cam Newton, a junior college transfer who was once one of the top quarterback recruits in the country.

“It’s not hard to follow that guy,” wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor said. “He’s got a great personality. The kid works as hard as anybody out there, and when your leaders doing that, the rest will follow.”

There are still concerns. Despite having its numbers bolstered by a freshman class of 26, Auburn’s backups are relatively inexperienced. Questions also persist about whether Newton can quickly acclimate to being back in the SEC.

And, despite winning eight games last season, the Tigers were inconsistent in league play, finishing just 3-5 in the SEC, tied with Arkansas and Mississippi State for last place in the West.

That’s done nothing to temper the excitement heading into Year 2 under Chizik’s watch, however.