If there’s a glaring weakness on Will Muschamp’s first-year defense at Auburn, it’s at the back end where attrition has depleted the Tigers’ secondary.

Three defensive backs announced their intentions to transfer in May, including returning veteran contributor Derrick Moncrief, formerly a top JUCO safety in 2013, who decided he didn’t fit on this year’s defense.

Playing behind freshman Tim Irvin during the spring at nickel, Moncrief was expected to get most of his snaps this season at outside linebacker after being Auburn’s third safety last fall. He didn’t feel comfortable there according to Tigers assistant Travaris Robinson, but his decision to leave the team was surprising.

“After the exit interviews I didn’t think he would leave,” Robinson told AL.com. “He kind of felt himself being out of position in this league, which probably caused him to leave.”

Knowing Auburn’s thin in the secondary heading into the season, there are several early opponents who will try and exploit that weakness in September, notably Louisville and both Western Division rivals, LSU and Mississippi State.

Auburn’s September opponents (vs. thin secondary)

  • vs. Louisville (Atlanta) — Cardinals ranked fourth in the ACC at 252.0 passing yards per game last season
  • vs. Jacksonville State — Superior talent should conquer the Gamecocks, right?
  • at LSU — Tigers may have their quarterback situation solved by this point with talent on the outside
  • vs. Mississippi State — SEC’s top returning passer Dak Prescott (3,449 yards, 27 TDs) doesn’t bode well

The Tigers gave up an SEC-worst 22 touchdown passes last fall, but did manage a league-best 22 interceptions. The bulk of that production returns (Jonathan Jones, 6 INTs; Johnathan Ford, 3), but depth’s a major concern with limited scholarship players at Muschamp’s disposal.

Luckily for the Tigers, they won’t have to deal with Louisville’s best weapon last season, first-round pick DeVante Parker, on the outside at wide receiver in the opener on Sept. 5. Bobby Petrino’s Cardinlas are the third-best team in the ACC’s top-heavy Atlantic Division, but should be ranked inside the Top 25 to start the season and could pose some mismatches in passing situations.

Louisville quarterback Will Gardner had a 4:1 touchdown to interception ratio last season before going down in November to a season-ending knee injury. He didn’t participate in spring drills but Petrino expects the 6-foot-5 junior to be ready for fall camp.

Auburn gets a breather in Week 2 before traveling to Baton Rouge for its SEC opener on Sept. 19. LSU’s offense begins and ends with Leonard Fournette this season, but rest assured offensive coordinator Cam Cameron will test Auburn’s strength in centerfield with a long ball or two.

After all, LSU’s Malachi Dupre (22.7) and Travin Dural (20.5) were among the league leaders in yards-per-catch last season in an inconsistent passing offense. It didn’t matter against Auburn after the Gus Malzahn’s team stepped on Les Miles’ throat early during a 34-point route.

It was the Auburn secondary’s best performance of the season after limiting LSU to an anemic 8-for-24, 142-yard outing through the air.

One lick from transfer safety Tray Matthews early in the contest could make LSU’s finesse group of pass-catchers think twice about going over the middle in the short passing game, but a breakdown in coverage gives Cameron the upper hand as a play-caller.

The most pivotal early-season matchup for Auburn’s secondary comes against Dak Prescott on Sept. 26, a must-win as far as division title and College Football Playoff hopes are concerned. The Bulldogs possess the SEC’s most underrated collection of receivers and Prescott’s the overwhelming favorite to be the league’s first-team quarterback.

If there’s one team that could flourish through the air in September against Mushamp, it’s Mississippi State.