Auburn football schedule 2022: Ranking the Tigers' opponents

No college football coach is entering a more pressure-packed second season than Bryan Harsin is at Auburn in 2022.

Harsin and Auburn won just six games a year ago and during the offseason, it was touch-and-go whether the school would fire the coach after an investigation into his coaching methods.

(An investigation which, most analysts now agree, was actually a covert fact-finding mission to see if Auburn could bounce Harsin for cause and avoid paying him a huge settlement, like the school is for two other former coaches.)

Whatever it was and whyever it happened, Auburn decided to keep Harsin around, but he's working on a very short leash with major holes to fill on this roster before tangling with the yearly slug fest of an SEC West schedule.

What can Auburn expect when it gets on the field this season? Scroll through to see the Tigers' games in 2022, from easiest to hardest.

Auburn football schedule 2022: Ranking the Tigers' opponents

12. Mercer

When: Sept. 3

Where: Auburn

What to expect: The Bears finished second in the Southern Conference a year ago behind a 7-3 record, including a loss at No. 1 Alabama. Drew Cronic should have this team in a better place for his third season, but shouldn't pose too great a threat to Auburn in their opener at Jordan-Hare. A good chance for the Tigers to make a strong statement and get a quick win under their belt.

11. San Jose State

When: Sept. 10

Where: Auburn

What to expect: Auburn's second-easiest game is also its second game of the season, coming against the Spartans, a second-to-last finisher in its division a year ago that struggled against better competition en route to a 5-7 mark. That, after a 7-1 showing in 2020 going undefeated in conference play. A program on the downswing coming to Auburn just before the Tigers' matchup against Penn State. AU should be an easy 2-0 here.

10. Western Kentucky

When: Nov. 19

Where: Auburn

What to expect: WKU had no trouble putting points on the board last fall with Bailey Zappe leading college football in yards behind the No. 2 total offense in the nation. But the quarterback is gone and with him any real threat to Auburn in this late season matchup, a needed breather between Texas A&M and the Iron Bowl.

9. Missouri

When: Sept. 24

Where: Auburn

What to expect: Eli Drinkwitz has to break in a new quarterback after Connor Bazelak transferred to Indiana this offseason. And a new running back following the departure of Tyler Badie, the SEC's all-purpose yardage leader in 2021. Missouri will welcome 5-star wide receiver Luther Burden into the fold, but there are still some structural issues on this roster to solve before it can throw some elbows in the SEC East.

8. Penn State

When: Sept. 17

Where: Auburn

What to expect: A rematch of last season's game at Happy Valley, a 28-20 Auburn loss, this meeting finds Penn State returning with sixth-year quarterback Sean Clifford, but facing structural issues on the defensive side that lost a lot of talent and a backfield that was ineffectual in 2021 to say the least, and just lost Noah Cain to LSU. If Auburn's front seven can pressure PSU's protection unit early, it should have the advantage at home.

7. Mississippi State

When: Nov. 5

Where: Starkville

What to expect: Mike Leach's team came away with three statement wins against ranked SEC opponents last year, including Auburn. Mike Leach has pieces coming back on offense that should be able to replicate their 2021 production and this defense — 4th in the SEC last season — brings back eight starters. Will Rogers should get some chunk plays out of Auburn's back seven after the Bulldogs quarterback threw for almost 5,000 yards in the Air Raid last fall.

6. Ole Miss

When: Oct. 15

Where: Oxford

What to expect: Auburn owns the last six in this series, including a 31-20 win last fall against the then-No. 10 ranked Rebels. Ole Miss lost a ton of that offense that ranked No. 1 in the SEC a year ago (and No. 6 in college football), but scored two noteworthy transfer players. One, former USC quarterback Jaxson Dart, and the other, former TCU running back Zach Evans. Expect a slight step back, but there's still enough speed here to keep Ole Miss undefeated or at one loss heading into this game.

5. Arkansas

USA Today Images

When: Oct. 29

Where: Auburn

What to expect: One of the biggest surprises in the country last season, the Razorbacks started off 4-0 and finished with nine wins, including a two-TD victory over Penn State in the bowl. KJ Jefferson — one of the SEC's top quarterbacks a year ago — will return, but he won't have star Treylon Burks, a thousand-yard receiver in 2021, to lean on. And the Razorbacks have some holes to patch up on defense with four returning starters.

4. LSU

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When: Oct. 1

Where: Auburn

What to expect: Auburn has a chance to make it three straight against their SEC West rivals after winning in Death Valley last year for the first time since 1999. LSU is one of the biggest question marks in college football under first-year coach Brian Kelly. There's plenty of talent on the roster, but also plenty of holes to fill in the secondary and offensive line, not to mention quarterback. This will be Auburn's fifth-straight home game going into a two-week road trip to Georgia and Ole Miss.

3. Texas A&M

When: Nov. 12

Where: Auburn

What to expect: A&M just signed a ridiculously elite recruiting class and should be set on the defensive front for a few years. There are some good receivers to work with, a solid running back in Devon Achane, and a room full of talented quarterbacks, including LSU transfer Max Johnson. But for all its talent and apparent momentum, A&M has still shown it can lose a game nobody expected it to. Anything can happen on any given Saturday on the road in the SEC...

2. Georgia

When: Oct. 8

Where: Athens

What to expect: After opening with five straight at home, Auburn heads east to tangle with the defending national champions in the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. Some of Georgia's man-eating defense is gone, but there's plenty of skill ready to step into its place; the Bulldogs bring back Stetson Bennett at quarterback, and he'll have the likes of Brock Bowers, Darnell Washington, and Arik Gilbert on the receiving end.

Georgia has taken the last five, during which time Auburn has not scored more than 14 points — but there's precedent for an upset, like when the Tigers bounced No. 1 Georgia in a 40-17 thrashing back in 2017.

1. Alabama

When: Nov. 26

Where: Tuscaloosa

Need to know: Auburn held a 10-3 lead over the Tide with 1:43 left in last year's Iron Bowl before the comeback. Now Alabama brings back eight defensive starters in addition to Heisman-winning quarterback Bryce Young for what should once again be the odds-on favorite to win the College Football Playoff. Auburn has won this game five times during the Nick Saban era, including twice when the Crimson Tide was the No. 1 team in the nation.

2022 Auburn football schedule

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Sept. 3 vs. Mercer

Sept. 10 vs. San Jose State

Sept. 17 vs. Penn State

Sept. 24 vs. Missouri

Oct. 1 vs. LSU

Oct. 8 at Georgia

Oct. 15 at Ole Miss

Oct. 29 vs. Arkansas

Nov. 5 at Mississippi State

Nov. 12 vs. Texas A&M

Nov. 19 vs. Western Kentucky

Nov. 26 at Alabama

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