Six years removed from a national title – and three seasons after playing for one – Auburn seems to be closer to a disaster scenario than a dream one. A 15-11 record over the last two seasons more than likely has Auburn fans yearning for the Tigers’ recent glory.

Let’s start by taking a look at the most positive potential outcomes for AU in 2016:

  1. The Tigers run the table and win the national championship. Yes, at this point, it’s an unrealistic possibility, but it’s also every other team’s dream.
  2. Jovon Robinson stays healthy enough to run for 2,000 yards and remain in contention for the Heisman Trophy. Of course, that’s clearly a more viable possibility for LSU’s Leonard Fournette, but it doesn’t hurt to dream, right?
  3. New coordinator Kevin Steele helps Auburn lead the SEC in total defense, which helps him land a contract extension and keeps him on The Plains for more than a season. That would be a big step for the Tigers, who are on their third DC in three years and fifth over the last six seasons.
  4. QB John Franklin III leads the Auburn offense as well as Cam Newton did in 2010 — or at least as well as Nick Marshall ran it in 2013 — and the Tigers beat Clemson in the national championship game in a rematch from Week 1.
  5. On the heels of that victory, Gus Malzahn gets a lengthier contract extension, and the rumors of his coaching demise finally go away — for now.

Of course, since life usually isn’t full of those dreamy occurrences, let’s leave La La Land for now. Here are five scenarios that would be the worst for the Tigers this year:

  1. None of Auburn’s potential starting quarterbacks emerges during fall camp, which forces Malzahn to use Franklin, Jeremy Johnson and Sean White throughout the season, which culminates in a sub-.500 mark and trouble for the head coach.
  2. Robinson, who was limited to eight games last season due to an ankle injury, gets hurt again, and the Tigers are forced to use freshman Malik Miller as their primary running back. What could complicate things here is if Kerryon Johnson’s recovery from offseason shoulder surgery takes longer than expected. Auburn’s depth at running back has already been compromised by Peyton Barber’s early departure for the NFL and Roc Thomas’ decision to transfer to FCS school Jacksonville State.
  3. The Tigers’ lack of depth and experience at linebacker comes back to bite them as Tre’ Williams, T.J. Neal and Deshaun Davis fall short while trying to replace last year’s starters Kris Frost, Cassanova McKinzy and Justin Garrett.
  4. Auburn’s defensive line, arguably the strongest facet of the team, takes a step back as oft-injured defensive end Carl Lawson suffers another ailment and former five-star recruit Byron Cowart has another subpar season.
  5. Daniel Carlson, a finalist for the Lou Groza Award last season, suffers a major injury, and Auburn is forced to turn to redshirt freshman Ian Shannon for its place-kicking duties.

Regardless of whether any of these scenarios unfolds, Auburn has to stop the slide that it’s currently on, going from 12 wins in 2013 to eight in 2014 and seven in 2015.