SZVETITZ COLUMN: Great expectations surround Chizik, Tigers

It’s finally here.

Kickoff 2009.

This just in: Gene Chizik is excited.

I know, it’s hard to tell if he’s, well, anything. But, trust me, he is.

Tuesday during his weekly press conference, I caught a glimpse of a smile when he started talking about today’s first game against Louisiana Tech.

Of course, it only lasted a second. But it was enough to know Auburn’s first-year head coach can’t wait.

And while he’s watching his team, everyone else will be watching him.

Closely.

Good thing the game’s at night, otherwise the sun beaming through that magnifying glass he’s under might just cause his gray sweatshirt to catch on fire.

To say expectations are high doesn’t do it justice.

That’s a bigger understatement than saying the Jordan-Hare Stadium grass is green.

Not much was expected of Chizik when he was named head coach back in December.

But after putting together an All-Star staff of hot names and even hotter recruiters, and having a surprisingly successful signing day in February, Auburn fans have not only backed away from the cliff’s edge, they’ve run to an even higher mountain to tell the world how excited they are.

It’s the kind of schizophrenia only college football fans can appreciate and love. But just as quickly as fans can jump on a coach’s bandwagon, they can turn around and jump on his back. Such is the nature of the beast.

Chizik knows that all too well — 5-19 follows you around like a lost dog.

He also knows how important it is for his tenure at Auburn to get off to a good start. No one understands that more. And no one expects more.

First, he’s just got to figure out where his team’s at.

With considerable depth issues and inexperience all over the field, Chizik might as well be measuring his team with a rock and a string.

It’s about impossible.

“To be honest with you, I don’t know where we’re at right now,” Chizik said Tuesday.

That’s why he needs this first game. He’s got to figure out what he’s got — what he’s working with.

“You go against each other for almost a month now, but we’ll get a great starting point from (the first game). ... It’s going to be interesting,” he said.

Indeed. Lofty expectations often are.

And no one has higher expectations for his team and his new coach than senior cornerback Walt McFadden, who went so far as to say Auburn will go undefeated.

No, really, he did. But understand where he’s coming from.

“You know, we’re going to win games this year,” he said when asked about what he expects of this year’s team. “To me, everybody’s undefeated. So, to answer your question, I believe we’re going undefeated this year.

“That’s my expectation. And I mean it.”

OK, so he’s not lacking confidence. Cornerbacks are born with egos the size of a city block.

But you wonder if McFadden came up with that all on his own.

“You know, that’s our coaches, too,” he said. “That’s the attitude we having right now. That’s the attitude we’re going to have Saturday. That’s the attitude we’re going to have today at practice.”

Hey, like they say, if you shoot for the stars, you might hit the moon. Or an asteroid.

But you’ve got to set your sights on something. And today’s opener will give the Tigers the launching pad they need to go after it.

And the bar is set somewhere between the Sea of Tranquillity and the Milky Way.

“We feel very good about where we are,” Chizik said. “Obviously this game is going to tell us a lot more. We are going to have a starting point, and that’s the bottom line.

“Whether it’s going to be good, bad, or ugly, we have a starting point ...”

So how long until touchdown?

MIKE SZVETITZ is sports editor of the Opelika-Auburn News. He may be reached at or 737-2513