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College Football Countdown: Ranking Difficulty of Each Auburn Opponent

By Jake Mastroianni

Nov 21, 2015; Auburn, AL, USA; Helicopters perform a flyover prior to the game between the Auburn Tigers and the Idaho Vandals at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2015; Auburn, AL, USA; Helicopters perform a flyover prior to the game between the Auburn Tigers and the Idaho Vandals at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 30, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Louisville Cardinals safety Chucky Williams (22) breaks up a pass intended for Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Christian Kirk (3) during the first half of the 2015 Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports /

6 – Texas A&M: Level 5

This is the last of the three games that I think will determine if this is going to be a terrible year of college football for Auburn fans. Auburn should be good enough to beat Mississippi State, Arkansas and Texas A&M, but all of those games are ones that they could slip up and lose, which is why they’re all at a level of five.

Next: Auburn Football: Early Preview of Texas A&M Game

The Aggies are the most dangerous of that group to me as they also have a head coaching that will be fighting for his job with a fan base that is tired of being mediocre.

Since going 11-2 in Kevin Sumlin’s first year at College Station, Texas A&M has won nine, eight and eight games. Aggie fans want to see him get them over that hump and be among the top three teams in the SEC West.

They return six starters on offense for a team that scored 27.8 points per game a year ago, which is well below the scoring average since Sumlin took over. In his first two years they averaged over 44 points a game, and then in 2014 they averaged 35.2 points a game, so their offense is definitely in a downward pattern.

After their top two quarterbacks transferred during the offseason, they got Oklahoma transfer Trevor Knight taking over behind center. They’ll also have to find a new running back, but they have two studs at receiver in Josh Reynolds and Christian Kirk.

However, the defense was much improved last year from the previous two seasons only giving up 22 points a game. They return seven starters on that defense, including their top five tacklers. Junior defensive end Myles Garrett is the leader on defense and ranked as the number one defensive line prospect for the NFL after registering 12.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for a loss in 2015.

The road team has won each of the four matchups in this series since Texas A&M joined the SEC for the 2012 season, so that’s working against Auburn.

The Aggies will be coming off games against UCLA and Prairie View A&M, and they’ll be gearing up for a home game against Arkansas after visiting The Plains. Auburn football will be coming off games against Clemson and Arkansas State, with LSU looming the following week.

This game could really go either way and is very crucial to the type of seasons that each of these programs have, but I still think Auburn at home is the better team. Texas A&M will be looking to get revenge against Auburn after the Tigers embarrassed them last year 26-10.

Chances of winning: 58 percent

Next: Ole Miss

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