The 2016 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers played their home games at Jordan–Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama and competed in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by fourth-year head coach Gus Malzahn. They finished the season 8–5, 5–3 in SEC play to finish in a tie for second place in the Western Division. They were invited to the Sugar Bowl where they lost to Oklahoma.

Before the season Following the 2015 season, defensive coordinator Will Muschamp left the program to become the head coach at South Carolina, joining him were Travaris Robinson, Lance Thompson, JB Grimes moved on as well to join Cincinnati's coaching staff.

Kevin Steele was hired to be Auburn's new defensive coordinator, and assistants Wesley McGriff, Travis Williams, and Herb Hand were added to the staff.

The offseason saw numerous transfers including: RB Roc Thomas, TE Chris Laye, OL Jordan Diamond, OL Will Adams, DE Gimel President, LB Javiere Mitchell and S Tim Irvin.

Following the season OL Avery Young and OL Shon Coleman chose to forgo their remaining eligibility by entering the 2016 NFL Draft.

Auburn picked up transfers in Baylor RB Kameron Martin, Illinois LB TJ Neal and Miami, OH CB Marshall Taylor.

Texas RT Darius James and Ohio St CB Jamel Dean now available after sitting out 2015. On August third 2016 Senior running back Jovon Robinson was dismissed from the team.

Returning starters

QB – Sean White – Redshirt Sophomore H Back – Kamryn Pettway- Redshirt Sophomore H Back- Chandler Cox- Sophomore WR – Marcus Davis- Senior LT – Austin Golson- Redshirt Junior (played center in 2015) LG – Alex Kozan- Redshirt Senior RG – Braden Smith- Junior Buck – Carl Lawson- Redshirt Junior NT – Montravius Adams- Senior DT – Dontavius Russell- Redshirt Sophomore NB – Rudy Ford- Senior DB – Joshua Holsey- Redshirt Senior CB – Carlton Davis- Sophomore FS – Stephen Roberts- Junior SS – Tray Matthews- Redshirt Junior PK – Daniel Carlson- Redshirt Sophomore P – Kevin Phillips- Redshirt Junior

Depth chart

Quarterback 13 Sean White – RSO 6' 204 5 John Franklin III – RJR 6'1 176 6 Jeremy Johnson – SR 6'5 234 16 Devin Adams – RJR 6'4 248 (walk on) 15 Tyler Queen – RFR 6'4 241 (injured) 1 Woody Barrett – FR 6'2 238 (likely redshirt) Running back 21 Kerryon Johnson -SO 6'1 211 36 Kamryn Pettway – RSO 6'2 242 9 Kamryn Martin – FR 6' 177 32 Malik Miller – FR 5'11 229 (injured) H-Back/Tight end 27 Chandler Cox – SO 6'1 236 85 Jalen Harris – RFR 6'5 258 X Receiver 80 Marcus Davis – SR 5'10 181 3 Nate Craig Myers – FR 6'2 209 4 Jason Smith – RJR 6'1 188 Y Receiver 83 Ryan Davis – SO 5'9 172 33 Will Hastings – SO 5'9 179 (kicker/walk on) 19 Marquis McClain -FR 6'3 219 Z Receiver 10 Stanton Truitt – RSO 5'10 188 12 Eli Stove – FR 6' 177 F Receiver 8 Tony Stevens- SR 6'4 212 82 Darius Slayton – RFR 6'2 202 11 Kyle Davis -FR 6'2 213 Left Tackle 62 Darius James – RJR 6'5 320 75 Deon Mix – RJR 6'4 312 58 Bailey Sharpe – RFR 6'5 293 Left Guard 63 Alex Kozan – RJR 6'4 310 67 Marquel Harrell – RFR 6'3 318 ?? Brodariuss Hamm – FR 6'5 325 (likely redshirt) Center 73 Austin Golson – RJR 6'5 314 52 Xavier Dampeer – SR 6'2 310 64 Kaleb Kim – RFR 6'4 290 Right Guard 71 Braden Smith – JR 6'6 310 57 Mike Horton – RFR 6'3 325 66 Tyler Carr – RFR 6'6 316 Right Tackle 70 Robert Leff – RSR 6'6 300 98 Prince Tega Wanogho – RFR 6'8 292 Buck 55 Carl Lawson – RJR 6'2 258 4 Jeff Holland – SO 6'4 250 ? Nick Coe – FR 6'6 270 (likely redshirt) Defensive tackle 95 Dontavius Russell – RSO 6'4 309 90 Maurice Swain – RSR 6'3 316 79 Andrew Williams – RSO 6'4 297 99 Tyler Carter – RFR 6'3 288 (walk on) ?? Tashawn Manning −6'5 270 (likely redshirt) Nose tackle 1 Montravius Adams – SR 6'4 315 94 Devaroe Lawrence – RSR 6'4 308 5 Derrick Brown – FR 6'5 335 93 Antwaun Jackson – FR 6'2 303 62 Jauntavius Johnson – RFR 6'2 318 (injured) Defensive end 3 Marlon Davidson – FR 6'3 273 9 Byron Cowart – SO 6'3 277 10 Paul James III – RJR 6'4 271 Will Linebacker 41 Montavius Atkinson – RFR 6'2 211 17 TJ Neal – SR 6'2 238 10 Paul James III – (injured) Mike Linebacker 57 Deshaun Davis – RSO 5'11 238 30 Tre' Williams – JR 6'2 236 42 Tre Threat – FR 6'2 242 Sam Linebacker 49 Darrell Williams – SO 6'2 231 46 Richard McBryde – RFR 6'2 226 47 Cameron Toney – RJR 6'2 234 Nickel 23 Rudy Ford – SR 6'1 203 15 Joshua Holsey – RSR 5'11 197 41 Montravius Atkinson Boundary Corner 6 Carlton Davis – SO 6'1196 24 John Broussard – FR 5'9 172 20 Jeremiah Dinson – SO 5'10 180 18 Jayvaughn Myers – FR 6'1 176 ( will redshirt) Free safety 14 Stephen Roberts – JR 6'0 183 23 Rudy Ford ?? Daniel Thomas – FR 6'1 193 ?? Marlon Character – FR 6'0 185 (will redshirt) Strong safety 28 Tray Matthews – RJR 6'2 207 11 Markell Boston – RSO 6' 200 13 TJ Davis – RSR 6'1 197 48 Stephen Davis Jr. – FR 6'4 215 (injured) Field Corner 12 Jamel Dean – RFR 6'3 210 (injured) 31 Javaris Davis – RFR 5'10 182 15 Josh Holsey – RSR 22 Marshall Taylor – SR 6'3 191 (injured) Place kicker 37 Daniel Carlson – RSO 39 Ian Shannon – RFR Punter 91 Kevin Phillips – RSR 39 Ian Shannon Holder 29 Tyler Stovall – JR 5 John Franklin III Long snapper Ike Powell Zack Wade Clarke Smith (walk on) Punt returner 80 Marcus Davis 83 Ryan Davis Kick returner 23 Rudy Ford 21 Kerryon Johnson 9 Kamryn Martin 10 Stanton Truitt

Spring game

The annual 'A-Day' was held on April 9. 45,723 fans came to see the Tigers perform, making this the lowest attendance for 'A-Day' in the Gus Malzahn era. The Blue team defeated the White team by the score of 19–10.

Schedule Auburn announced its 2016 football schedule on October 29, 2015, consisting of 8 home and 4 away games in the regular season. The Tigers hosted SEC foes Arkansas, LSU, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt, and traveled to Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss.

The Tigers hosted all four of their non–conference games: Alabama A&M from the Southwestern Athletic Conference, Arkansas State and Louisiana–Monroe from the Sun Belt Conference, and national title runner-up Clemson from the Atlantic Coast Conference. The 2016 season was the first season the Tigers played eight home games since 2013, when Auburn went 12–2 and appeared in the 2014 BCS National Championship Game.

Schedule source:

Game summaries

Clemson

The Tigers opened the season with a home contest against the 2015 national runner-up Clemson. This is considered a rivalry game for both schools. Clemson came into the game ranked number 2 in the country while Auburn was unranked. Auburn took an early lead on a long field goal by Daniel Carlson. Clemson, however, responded with a drive of its own, which resulted in a touchdown on 4th down and goal from the 1-yard line. Clemson would lead 10–3 going into halftime and add another field goal in the 3rd quarter to make the score 13–3 going into the 4th quarter. Auburn cut the lead on another field goal by Daniel Carlson, but once again Clemson responded with another touchdown. Auburn would score a touchdown with just over 3 minutes to play in the ballgame. Auburn would then stop Clemson on the ensuing possession, but 2 hail mary attempts by Auburn were broken up in the end zone in the last 10 seconds of the ballgame and Clemson held on for the 19–13 victory. Auburn would fall to 0–1, making this the first opening game loss for Auburn with Gus Malzahn as coach.

Arkansas State

The second game of the season was also the second non-conference opponent for the Tigers. They played Arkansas State out of the Sun Belt Conference. Auburn scored first but Arkansas State quickly answered with a long pass play that set up a touchdown to tie the game at 7. Auburn scored next and never looked back scoring 31 unanswered points. At halftime, the Tigers lead 38–7. The final score was 51–14. Sean White had 3 touchdowns, and the game was Auburn's best offensive performance, according to many writers, since the 2014 season. Overall, this was a very impressive victory for Auburn, and for Gus Malzahn, who used to coach at Arkansas State in 2012. Auburn also remains unbeaten against the Sun Belt Conference after this win.

Texas A&M

The third game of the season is the first conference game for Auburn. SEC Western Division opponent Texas A&M comes to Auburn to play that game. Auburn beat the 25th ranked A&M last year 26–10. Auburn has yet to beat the Aggies at Auburn. Auburn has been out scored 104 to 59 at home by A&M.

LSU

The fourth game of the season was a rivalry game against the LSU Tigers.

The game would end with a controversial win. After an illegal shift was called against LSU with one second to go, LSU would go on to score what was initially called a touchdown as time expired before being reviewed and determined that time expired prior to the snap, negating the touchdown and giving Auburn the 18–13 win.

This was Auburn's first SEC victory without scoring a touchdown since 2008, when they won 3–2 against Mississippi State. Daniel Carlson was 6–6 on field goals in the game, including a 51-yard field goal. Auburn held LSU star running back Leonard Fournette to less than half the yards they allowed him in 2015. It was Auburn's first home conference win since October 25, 2014 against South Carolina.

Louisiana–Monroe

The fifth game of the season was the annual homecoming game. The Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks came to Auburn for their tenth game ever against the Tigers. The last time the Warhawks and the Tigers clashed, the result was a 31–28 Auburn victory in overtime back in the 2012 season. However, this one went very differently. Auburn dominated from the start. The Tigers had their highest point total since 59 versus San Jose State in 2014. The defense also allowed the fewest points since 3 against Western Carolina in 2013. Auburn improved to 3–2 to go over .500 for the first time in the season.

Mississippi State

The sixth game of the season was the first road game for the Tigers. They played at Mississippi State where they had not won since 2010. However, Auburn easily won the game. After an early interception put the Bulldogs in good field position, the Tigers defense responded, holding Mississippi State to a field goal attempt that was no good. Auburn seized the momentum after that. Starting running back Kerryon Johnson got hurt early in the game, but Kamryn Pettway took over the game with a 169-yard performance including 3 touchdowns. Also, the Auburn defense scored a touchdown when Carl Lawson forced a fumble which was picked up by Montravius Adams and returned 13 yards for a touchdown. Auburn led 35–0 at halftime. The Tigers slowed down in the second half, only attempting one pass on offense. The final score was 38–14. It broke a two-game losing streak to the Bulldogs and improved Auburn's record to 4–2 and 2–1 in the SEC. The win also propelled Auburn into the AP Poll the next week, as the Tigers were ranked #23.

Arkansas

After their only bye week of the season, Auburn played Arkansas in the seventh game of the year. In the 2015 season, the Tigers lost a heartbreaker in Fayetteville, falling 54–46 in four overtimes. The Tigers avenged that loss in a very big way, dominating the Razorbacks from the start. The Tigers had over 500 yards of rushing, the Razorbacks only had 25. It was Auburn's biggest margin of victory over an SEC opponent since 1970. The Tigers also built their lead in the overall series, now leading it 14–11–1.

Ole Miss