AP Top 25 prediction: Doesn’t matter where Auburn football is ranked before Week 1

The AP Top 25 preseason poll will be released Monday and Auburn football should be ranked somewhere inside the top 10.

About a month ago when the Amway Coaches Poll was released, Auburn was ranked 10th. At the time, we wrote that the Auburn football program should be thrilled with that ranking. It’s not so high that it creates unrealistic expectations and it’s not so low that the expectations aren’t that the Tigers should compete for the SEC championship as well as a place in the College Football Playoff.

UPDATE: AP Top 25 released; we were right about Auburn

The AP Top 25 is voted on by media members and the way the media sees things usually doesn’t perfectly line up with the way the coaches vote.

So we expect the top 10 to be different, if only slightly different from the coaches poll.

AP Top 25: Prediction for Top 10

1. Alabama: Come on. Do you really think this will look any different than any other preseason poll?
2. Clemson: The nation’s best defensive front on paper, plus a returning quarterback and Dabo Swinney. And oh yeah, the Tigers play in the ACC, so placing them here is a no-brainer.
3. Georgia: The hype for the Bulldogs after their run to the playoff championship game last year is high. Probably too high. But they’ll be good and the schedule is a joke pretty much until Georgia meets Auburn at home on Nov. 10. Getting to the SEC Championship Game should be a piece of cake because the SEC East is abysmal.
4. Oklahoma: It seems off to have the Sooners this high after losing Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield, but most seem to feel they’re a top-5 caliber team. They wouldn’t be this high if not for No. 5 dropping.
5. Ohio State: You’ll see the Buckeyes as high as No. 3 in some places (that’s where they are in the coaches poll), but Urban Meyer still was on the sidelines when that one was released. The uncertainty of his future has to account for something and that might be a big something. Especially with the media, which surely will ding Ohio State in the AP Top 25 for this messy situation.
6. Washington: The first part in setting up the Week 1 top-10 matchup with Auburn. The Huskies reached the playoffs last season and bring back their quarterback and 1,000-yard running back. Chris Petersen’s team is the best in the Pac-12.
7. Penn State: Trace McSorley is one of the nation’s best and James Franklin has done a fine job turning around this program.
8. Wisconsin: We’re just not ready to make the Badgers kings of the Big Ten.
9. Auburn: It’s been a quiet offseason for the Tigers and that’s a good thing. They could see a slight upward bounce from the coaches poll.
10. Notre Dame: Some will have Miami here, but the Fighting Irish get the benefit of the doubt more often than not. Are the Irish this good? We’ll find out Week 1 when they play Michigan.

FlyWarEagle Auburn analysis

Whether or not Auburn is ranked anywhere between No. 8 and No. 12 on Monday when the AP Top 25 poll is released shouldn’t matter one bit. That’s because Auburn is playing the most difficult and highest-ranked opponent in Week 1 of any other team in the top 10.

Win that game in Atlanta and Auburn establishes itself as one of the elite programs. Even with a respectable loss, the Tigers get plenty of chances to bounce back with road games against a pair of top-5 teams in Alabama and Georgia.

So when the AP Top 25 is released Monday, give it a look. Smile, don’t smile. Talk about it or don’t. It really doesn’t matter. It’s simply something to pick apart, even argue about for the next week or so before games start.

Then you’ll know which teams were worthy of their preseason ranking.