Auburn was so close to a spot in the College Football Playoff last season. The Tigers’ momentum stalled in the SEC Championship Game against Georgia, and they were never able to recover.

It’s a new season, though.

The Tigers lost several key members from last year’s squad, but several media pundits still have them pegged as a strong contender in the SEC West, picking them second behind Alabama.

With SEC Media Days over, we we’re left with several questions unanswered.

1. Will they be ready for Washington?

Auburn has a tough test in Week 1. They’ll be going head-to-head against a Washington team that returns 75 percent of its offensive production, according to SB Nation’s Bill Connelly. Included in that is a quarterback (Jake Browning), who’s thrown for 9,104 yards and 78 touchdowns during his three-year career. He led the Huskies to a Playoff semifinal against Alabama in 2016.

The Tigers aren’t known for starting the season strong, either. In each of the past three seasons, Auburn has suffered its first loss before Week 3. Two of those losses were to an out of conference opponent ranked in the top 10, which is exactly where Washington is expected to be ranked.

2. How good can the defensive line be?

Auburn’s defensive line was already considered one of the best in the country in 2017. Jeff Holland was an elite edge defender, Derrick Brown and Dontavius Russell were extremely effective as interior stuffers and Marlon Davidson was a versatile piece who could be an impact player all along the front four.

Holland is now a member of the Denver Broncos, but this group still has a chance to be even better in 2018.

Davidson, Brown and Russell are back. The Tigers also have players such as Nick Coe, T.D. Moultry and Markaviest “Big Kat” Bryant ready to earn even bigger roles after showing flashes last season.

3. Who can be the next 1,000-yard rusher?

Nine consecutive seasons. That’s where Auburn’s streak of 1,000-yard rushers sits. As impressive as that is, we’re left wondering who has the best chance to keep that streak going.

The past two players to achieve that status, Kerryon Johnson (1,391 yards in 2017) and Kamryn Pettway (1,224 yards in 2016), are gone.

Junior Kam Martin is the projected starter at running back, but he’s only 5-10, 193 pounds. Can he make it that 1,000-yard mark in the SEC? The better bets could be Malik Miller, JaTarvious Whitlow or Asa Martin.

4. Will Jarrett Stidham take the next step?

After a somewhat rocky start, Jarrett Stidham emerged as one of the SEC’s best quarterbacks last season. He finished first in completion percentage (66.5) and No. 2 in passing yards (3,158). He also racked up 22 total touchdowns with only eight turnovers.

With the team’s top two rushers gone, a lot more will be put on Stidham’s shoulders in Year 2. He looked ready to take on that challenge, which is great for the Auburn offense.

5. Is the offensive line going to be a liability?

Auburn’s offensive line struggled to keep Jarrett Stidham clean in 2017. The unit allowed 36 sacks, which ranked them No. 114 (out of 130 schools) in the country.

As if that weren’t bad enough, the team’s two best blockers from last season, Braden Smith and Austin Golson, are gone.

The Tigers need three things: 1) improvement from starting left tackle Prince Tega Wanogho 2) someone to step up and taking the starting job at center and 3) one of the redshirt freshman (Calvin Ashley or Austin Troxell) to claim the job at right tackle.

6. Can Anders Carlson be as good as his brother?

Daniel Carlson is one of the best kickers in school history. In four seasons as the starter, he converted 80.7 percent of his field goal attempts (92-of-114) while never missing an extra point (198-for-198). He was also an effective kick off specialist as well.

Now, it’s his brother’s turn.

So far, things are looking up for the younger Carlson. He was named the Special Teams MVP of the spring game after making four fields, including a 53-yarder. He also nailed a 62-yard kick in a scrimmage.

7. Will the coverage units improve?

Auburn’s coverage units were atrocious last year. They finished last in opponent kick return average (27.20). The punt coverage wasn’t any better. They gave up 11.43 yards per punt return last season, which ranked No. 109 in the nation.

These are two areas Auburn has to get better. It was surprising no one asked Malzahn about these issues during SEC Media Days.

8. How will things shake out at wide receiver?

Auburn is dealing with depth issues at wide receiver due to a couple unfortunate injuries. In the spring, Will Hastings and Eli Stove suffered ACL tears, which Malzahn addressed during his time at SEC Media Days.

Will Hastings, our receiver, tore his ACL in the spring. He’s off to a very good start. His rehab is going excellent, and we’re hoping we get him back by the middle of the season.

Eli Stove is another one that was a tough blow. We lost him with an ACL. Those two tough blows mean we need other receivers to step up in their absence until we get them back.

The top three guys are currently Ryan Davis, Darius Slayton and Nate Craig-Myers. After that, it’s difficult to predict how the depth chart will play out.

9. Can the team finish strong after stalling late last year?

Auburn started last season 1-1 after dropping a Week 2 game to No. 4 Clemson. They proceeded to go on a 9-1 run, which included beating the No. 1 team two out of three weeks to close the regular season.

The postseason wasn’t good to the Tigers, however. The team dropped a rematch against Georgia in the SEC Championship and the bowl game against UCF.

Can the Tigers finish the year strong in 2018? It won’t be easy. They go on the road to Athens and Tuscaloosa in two of the final three weeks of the regular season.

10. Will Auburn win the West for the second year in a row?

Outside of Auburn, who are the other top teams in the SEC? Most would say Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi State. All three are expected to be Top 20 to start the year, and all of them are expected to compete for a Playoff spot.

How is this bad news for Auburn? Well, the Tigers have to play all of them on the road.

If Auburn can get past Washington in Week 1, they have a good chance of starting the season 5-0 after getting to play four consecutive games at home. From there, things are going to get a lot more difficult.