It seems like an eternity since Auburn was a preseason favorite to win the SEC West. It seems even longer since Jeremy Johnson was a Heisman candidate.

And it seems like all has slipped away before the calendar flipped the page to October.

The Tigers are 2-2 (0-2 in league play) and are fortunate to have two wins. There are not many clear wins left on the schedule and Auburn is in danger of phoning in the rest of 2015.

This week, San Jose State visits Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Spartans are also 2-2, and this might be Auburn’s last chance to get a win before November.

Out of the teams remaining on Auburn’s schedule, which is going to be an underdog? After San Jose State, Auburn goes to Kentucky and Arkansas, gets Ole Miss at home, visits Texas A&M and hosts Georgia, Idaho and Alabama to finish out the year.

The only opponent against which Auburn should be a definite favorite is Idaho. And by that time, who knows what the Tigers’ mindset will be?

The stat sheet illustrates how it has been going for Auburn. The Tigers have been out-rushed 217-179 per game and out-passed 197-165. Auburn has been outscored in all but one quarter.

“We take great pride in scoring points around here and playing well on offense, and we haven’t done that yet,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said in his weekly press conference on Tuesday. “There was times that we’ve done some good things, but we haven’t been consistent.”

If there is a bright side for the Tigers, it’s running back Peyton Barber. He has averaged 102.8 rushing yards per game and may be the only silver lining for the Auburn offense.

“He’s going to start. Peyton has shown a lot of toughness,” Malzahn said. “He’s done a very solid job for us. He’s protected the football.”

Will Muschamp’s defense has not been much better than the offense. The first-year coordinator changed five members of the defense last week, but it wasn’t enough as the Tigers fell to Mississippi State.

Sean White got his first career start in place of Johnson last week and Auburn could only put three field goals on the scoreboard in the 17-9 loss.

“He did a good job for us,” Malzahn said. “We feel like he’s going to get better. He’s our starting quarterback this week, and we really feel like he’s got a chance to be a very good quarterback in our system. We’re just going to take it like that.”

Changes in schemes. Changes in personnel. Neither seems to have had much of an improvement as yet for the team that needed overtime to beat an FCS program in Jacksonville State.

So where does Malzahn and Auburn go from here? Probably back to the drawing board, but patience is the key for Auburn.