Will Muschamp

Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp coaches players the Tigers during spring football practice on Thursday, April 2, 2015 in Auburn, Ala. (Wade Rackley/Auburn Athletics)

There are two extremes and

is trying to find the middle ground for Auburn.

The college football expert is not as high on the Tigers as others in his preseason magazine. He ranks Auburn 14th in the country, a hair outside the bullish rankings of

.

Why does Steele, who still labels Auburn a "legitimate national title contender," have questions about the Tigers? Lack of experience and returning lettermen, categories in which they rank 115th and 124th, respectively.

"Losing 33 lettermen and only returning 40, generally when teams get to that level where it's closer to 50 percent, they struggle the next year," Steele said. "They were only 8-5 last year to begin with."

Having said all that, Steele believes Auburn will be ranked in the top 10 when the Associated Press poll is released in August. The offensive line is simply too strong to deny, especially with

returning from a back surgery last summer.

takes over as quarterback and does so as a better passer than

, Steele said. "If you look at the individual pieces you can make a case Auburn is going to be very close if not as explosive as last year," Steele said.

The big question is on defense, where the Tigers gave up 31 points or more against their final seven Power 5 opponents last season.

was fired and

was hired with a record salary ($1.6 million) to fix the defeciencies.

"Defensively, I think Will Muschamp looks like a genius this year," Steele said. "Auburn has had a talented defense. They've got the PhDs over there, they just haven't produced."

. Key games include a Week 3 road trip to LSU, where Auburn has not won since 1999, and home games against rivals Georgia and Alabama in November.

"If they do live up to the possibilities of this year, which is just as good offense and a much improved defense, then they have the capability of winning those games against Georgia and Alabama," Steele said. "They could very well be favored in as many as 10 or 11 games this year. That makes them a legitimate national title contender. It might lie somewhere in between those two extremes, but I can make a case for both ways.

Phil Steele's College Football Preview hits newsstands July 1 and is available now on iTunes and Google Play.