By Jim Johnson
SouthernPigskin.com

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Looking back at Auburn’s 2014 season.

Summary: Auburn started their 2014 campaign on a roll winning five straight, including a road win against Kansas State and a blowout victory over LSU. Week seven saw their first slip up of the year, against Mississippi State in a 15-point loss. Following the loss, the Tigers had a bye week to recompose themselves which led to two important conference wins over the next two weeks, at home against South Carolina and on the road versus Ole Miss. However, after the wild finish against Mississippi, the rest of the year was a disaster. It started with a close loss to Texas A&M that they followed up with a blowout loss in Athens against Georgia. They got to take out their frustration from the UGA game by beating up on Samford, but that would be the last win of the year. Auburn allowed archrival Alabama to come from behind, in the fourth quarter, to win the Iron Bowl. Then finished the year with an overtime loss to Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl.

Biggest Surprise: Coming into the year, the talk of the SEC was how loaded the conference was at the running back position. There was so much hype surrounding Todd Gurley, TJ Yeldon, and Mike Davis, but no one was talking about Cameron Artis-Payne. The Tigers tailback turned out to be one of the best players in the SEC this season, and certainly the best running back. He finished with 1,608 yards, good for first in the SEC and 16th in the country, and 13 touchdowns.

Biggest Disappointment: Auburn led the whole game against hated rival, Alabama. They no longer had a shot at the playoff, and were only playing for pride, but they wouldve liked nothing more than to ruin the Tides year. And after three quarters, the Tigers were in a position to do just that. When it was all said and done, Auburn had the edge in just about every statistical category, but Alabama had an 11-point edge on the scoreboard. The game really came down to the fact that Auburn had to settle for five field goals inside the red zone.

Stat of the Year: Auburn was one of only fifteen teams to average more than 250 rushing yards per game. They finished the year with an average of 255.5 yards per game, on the ground, good for second in the SEC.

Offensive MVP: Cameron Artis-Payne, RB

Defensive MVP: Kris Frost, LB

Rising Star: Johnathan Ford, DB