Auburn Tigers on Cusp of Top 25 in First AP Poll

The Auburn Tigers are on the outside looking in of the AP Top 25, but that can change quickly with a favorable early schedule.

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze looks to improve in his second season in charge on the Plains. / Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK

College football is one step closer to being back. The first AP Poll of the year has dropped, and Auburn, while unranked, received votes to start the season. 

The Tigers received two total points, the second-fewest among schools to receive votes. The AP website doesn’t have the individual writer’s votes yet, so it can’t be confirmed yet if one person ranked them 24th or if two writers ranked them 25th. 

Expectations are slightly lower compared to last season. In the 2023 Preseason AP Poll, an unranked Auburn had seven total points. Though let’s be honest, the difference is minimal at this point. 

The writers are certainly less confident in Auburn than the coaches. In the Coaches Poll, the Tigers received 25 total points. Both rankings are scored the same way. 

It’s going to take a strong start out of the gate if the Tigers want to get back in the Top 25. They’re a school where the writers are looking for reasons not to vote for them so it’ll take a strong start but it will do the trick. 

Notable Ranked Opponents

So, Auburn needs a strong start. It can happen, but it’ll be tougher than most. 

Auburn has five opponents on the schedule that are ranked in the Top 25. Two of them are in the top five, first-ranked Georgia and fifth-ranked Alabama. 

Missouri is ranked 11th after a breakthrough season for head coach Eli Drinkwitz and company. Oklahoma is ranked 16th to start its new era in the SEC. Texas A&M, despite having a new head and coming off a 7-6 season, is ranked 20th to start the season - higher than they began last season at No. 23. 

They open the season with Alabama A&M on August 31st, the first of five-straight home games. It’s a tough schedule, but Auburn has a prime opportunity to shoot up in the rankings extremely quickly if they can pull off wins against some of these opponents.