11/23 at 12:24 AM

It’s a question that won’t go away.

Everyone keeps asking it over and over — from every water cooler in the Auburn-Opelika area to every radio station state- and region-wide to every Auburn fan journaling while floating on his seaplane on a lake in Alaska ... or wherever.

What if?

What if Auburn started Kodi Burns every game this season?

What if Tony Franklin was never hired?

What if the kicking game actually made extra points and field goals?

What if Auburn’s defense stayed healthy?

What if Mario Fannin was in on the final two series in Auburn’s loss to Georgia?

What if? What if? What if?

Well, first off, if a frog had wings ... wait, you know the rest of that one.

But still, it’s hard not to play the “What If” game. And Auburn fans — as well as coaches and players — have been playing it all season.

While I don’t pretend to be a psychic, it doesn’t take Sylvia Brown to figure some of this stuff out.

* First, the biggie: What if Burns had played every game this season at quarterback?

That’s easy. He’d be more confident and comfortable. No doubt.

But would the Tigers have a better record? Well, they couldn’t be any worse.

Chris Todd did some good things as the starter in the beginning of the year. He led the Tigers to the potential game-winning score against LSU, only to see the defense give up the answering touchdown.

Todd managed the game and knew the spread system. He brought experience to the position. But it was evident his arm couldn’t carry out most of the throws his mind wanted him to.

So, could Burns have done better? There’s no question that by this time in the season, Burns would be a lot more comfortable with some of those touch passes that sailed incomplete last week against Georgia if he actually had more game chances to throw them.

You can’t teach accuracy, but a lot of putting the ball where it needs to be comes from being confident and trusting your ability. And the only way you get there is by playing.

Burns has gotten better every week since taking over as the No. 1 guy against Arkansas. But, he’s still young. Remember, the true sophomore is still a freshman in a lot of ways. He’s going through the same growing pains as any young quarterback would.

But like Tommy Tuberville has said more than a few times, Burns’ upside is tremendous. If he can put it all together, he’ll make a lot more plays than he misses.

* Biggie No. 2: What if the whole Franklin fiasco never happened? What if Franklin was never hired?

Well, who would be Auburn’s offensive coordinator? We know it wouldn’t be Steve Ensminger — or Hugh Nall or Greg Knox or Eddie Gran or a mixture of the four.

Ensminger, Auburn’s tight ends coach, was only promoted in the interim to fill Franklin’s vacancy, and Tuberville made it clear from the beginning that neither he, nor any other current Auburn assistant would get the job.

So who would it be? That’s a “what if” I can’t answer, except to say, if Auburn didn’t want to at least try out the spread, they should have kept Al Borges.

But where would recruiting be? Would the Tigers still have 26 commitments, with most of them being offensive guys who fit into the spread offense better than the West Coast?

I don’t know.

Does anyone?

* Then there are some nagging “what ifs.”

What if the kicking game didn’t struggle? What if injuries didn’t hamper one of the best defenses in the country to start the season? What if Fannin — Auburn’s only playmaker in that game — would have been on the field during the final four minutes against Georgia?

Could Auburn already have its late December booked by being bowl eligible?

Who knows? Sure, the kicking game has kept Auburn from at least tying two games that it eventually lost, but who’s to say Vandy and Georgia still don’t answer and score more points?

Remember, in Nashville, the Commodores scored 14 unanswered to win, 14-13. And against Georgia, the Bulldogs came back to score the winning touchdown. A field goal by Auburn on the second-to-last drive would have only tied the game and given Georgia’s offense time to move into position for the win.

And with the way Auburn’s season has been going, I think we all know what would have happened.

Again, there’s no way to tell if Auburn would be better if any of these circumstances were different.

That’s not the way the game of football is played. You make mistakes, you pay the price. And Auburn’s made enough mistakes to actually have a worse record. See, the “What If” game goes the other way, too.

The bottom line is, Auburn’s 5-6 heading into the Iron Bowl.

And the questions get harder from here.

MIKE SZVETITZ is sports editor of the Opelika-Auburn News. He may be reached at or 737-2513.