10 Best Out-of-Conference Opponents for Future Auburn Football Schedule
By Brian Stultz
8. BYU
Stadium: LaVell Edwards Stadium (63,470)
Best Tradition: Y Mountain
All-Time vs. Auburn: Never played
Positives:
- A steady program that recently became Independent, BYU is always in or near the Top 25 and is willing to schedule major power programs
- Provo is, despite what they say in the movie “Fletch”, a beautiful city
- Have you seen the views from the stadium? I would get distracted by the scenery and miss half the game
- Like rival Utah State, BYU would bring a lot of dedicated fans to Jordan-Hare
Negatives:
- Lose-lose situation for Auburn? If Auburn wins, they beat a mid-major. If Auburn loses? Well, you get the point
- I’m just going to go ahead and assume that the tailgating at BYU is not what Auburn football fans are used to
This is my off-the-wall selection for potential opponents, beating out rival Utah due to BYU having a more established tradition and history. If this happens, we would be able to tell Marvin and Velma hello.
7. Michigan
Stadium: Michigan Stadium (109,901)
Best Tradition: Winged helmet
All-Time vs. Auburn: 1-1
Positives:
- Most all-time wins in college football combined with the largest stadium in college football
- The tradition and history is off the charts
- Give Malzahn a chance to stick it to Harbaugh for the satellite camps
- Traditional powerhouses going against each other
Negatives:
- Michigan has been down since Lloyd Car left, going through two coaches since 2007 and now on their third.
- Michigan Stadium, for all the pomp, circumstance and people, has been described as the “quietest 109,000 people”. Not sure that is a good sign.
- “The Victors”, Michigan’s fight song, is the Big Ten equivalent of Tennessee’s Rocky Top, in that they play it so often you will have it in your head for weeks afterward.
This, if Michigan regains their status as a national title contender, would be a national spotlight game. The exposure would definitely help Auburn football with recruiting up north and, let’s face it, playing in the Big House would be a great experience. Would Gus and Harbaugh ever schedule a game against each other? We shall see.
Next: Florida State and Oklahoma