After a 6-7 season, coach Bryan Harsin returns to Auburn for his second season despite offseason drama and ample turnover on the roster and coaching staff. Can Harsin right the ship and lead Auburn to a winning record? With the season less than 3 weeks away, it is time to analyze the Auburn Tigers.
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Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
The Tigers are extreme long shots to win the National Championship at 250/1.
Auburn is 150/1 to win the SEC. Only Missouri and Vanderbilt have longer odds than the Tigers to win the conference.
At 80/1, the Tigers have the longest odds to win the division.
The 2021 season was a roller-coaster for the Tigers, as they started the year 6-2 with two big road wins at LSU and Arkansas before their bye week. The Tigers beat Ole Miss at home the week after their bye, but then the wheels fell off. Despite their success on the road in conference play up to that point, Auburn put up just 3 points at Texas A&M in a 20-3 loss to the Aggies. From there things continued to get worse for the Tigers. Former starting quarterback Bo Nix injured his ankle in a loss to Mississippi State, which ended his season and eventually his career at Auburn. TJ Finley took over for Nix but was unable to secure a victory for the Tigers – losing three straight games to South Carolina, Alabama and Houston by a combined 10 points. Despite having a defense that ranked in the top 40 in opponent points per game, Auburn ended the season with a losing record – its first since 2012. The offense was the main reason the Tigers struggled, as it ranked outside the top 65 in yards per game and outside the top 80 in points per game.
Following the 2021 season, rumors started to circulate about Harsin’s poor treatment of fellow coaches and players. He was investigated and ultimately was able to keep his job, but damage still remains as Nix transferred to Oregon while Auburn lost both of its coordinators. Fortunately for the Tigers, running back Tank Bigsby returns after rushing for more than 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns and will have the privilege of running behind an offensive line that consists of multiple “super seniors.” The rushing attack will likely be the focal point of the offense as the Tigers incorporate a new quarterback and replace 3 of their 5 most productive receivers from a season ago. As it currently stands Texas A&M transfer Zach Calzada is the most likely to win the quarterback competition, but Finley and redshirt freshman Robby Ashford are also in the mix. Defensively, former linebacker coach Jeff Schmedding will take over for Derek Mason after Mason left to take the defensive coordinator position at Oklahoma State. The Tigers will have to replace many key pieces from last season’s defense, including its 3 top tacklers in Zakoby McClain, Chandler Wooten and Smoke Monday. While talented players like Colby Wooden and Derick Hall (21 combined tackles for loss and 13.5 combined sacks) remain, the Auburn defense will likely regress a bit while it incorporates a plethora of new players against some of the best teams in the country.
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Auburn will start conference play with its most winnable game against Missouri at home, but that comes a week after a difficult non-conference matchup with Penn State. After Missouri, the Tigers host LSU before traveling on the road in back-to-back weeks to face the defending champion Georgia Bulldogs and Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss Rebels. Following a bye week, Auburn will host Arkansas before heading back on the road for a showdown with the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The Tigers then wrap up their SEC schedule with a home game against Texas A&M and a road contest against in-state rival Alabama. This line is heavily juiced, but considering the roster turnover, the offseason turmoil and a daunting schedule, it is difficult to envision the Tigers accumulating more than 3 wins in the loaded SEC.
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