The Auburn Tigers are one of the most interesting and most talked about teams entering 2016.

For one, the Tigers don’t have a starting quarterback yet, and whispers of Gus Malzahn’s potential hot seat are getting louder. After all, the team will be without its starting running back Jovon Robinson after he was dismissed earlier this month.

Malzahn’s always known for his offense, but it could be Auburn’s defense that takes center stage this season and helps build a good season into a great one.

Sports Illustrated’s Colin Becht named the Tigers as being a team that could start hot and then collapse as the season wears on.

What does that mean?

Well, on one hand, the Tigers could beat national championship contenders Clemson and LSU at home, but it also means the tough grueling SEC schedule could get the best of them down the home stretch.

SI.com cites the Tigers’ favorable slate in which the team doesn’t have to leave Auburn until October 8, opening the season with five home games. However, the part SI.com is having a tough challenge with is the final five games: at Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, at Georgia, Alabama A&M and at Alabama. Specifically, road games against Ole Miss, Georgia and Alabama will certainly be tough, and Vanderbilt isn’t a game teams can just show up and win. That’s a brutal stretch to finish off the season.

Here’s SI.com’s full takeaway on why Auburn could start fast but could sputter down the stretch.

The Gus Bus may get rolling again early in 2016, but the true test of its durability is the final six weeks of the regular season. The Tigers don’t have to leave Auburn until Oct. 8, opening the season with five home games. That stretch includes daunting matchups against Clemson and LSU, but at least Auburn will have home-field advantage as it seeks a monumental upset. The other home games (Arkansas State, Texas A&M and Louisiana-Monroe) are solid opportunities to rebuild confidence after last season’s disappointing 7–6 campaign. The lone road game in the first half of the season, at Mississippi State, is the type of contest a resurgent Tigers program should be able to handle. But even if Gus Malzahn’s squad appears to show signs of getting back on track through the first six games, that positive momentum could quickly dissipate in the season’s closing stretch. The Tigers have to travel to Ole Miss, Georgia and Alabama, and even a home divisional crossover game against Vanderbilt does not seem as winnable as it would have the past two years. For Malzahn to earn another year on the Plains, he’ll need to capitalize in September and early October and then hang on through November.

My take is that if Auburn can upset Clemson to start the season, it will have enough energy to finish down the stretch, assuming the team can stay healthy. Monumental wins over top five teams energize programs and helps build and sustain momentum.

Auburn needs to find a quarterback that best fits the offense and let the defense help close out games. Every team is different, and Auburn will have to find its identity quickly in 2016.