Auburn football: 5 home-and-home matchups i'd love to see

[caption id="attachment_51987" align="aligncenter" width="3200"] The Auburn Tigers cheerleaders and mascot Aubie (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images)[/caption]rn Auburn already has some pretty exciting non-conference games planned for the future but what are some other options? rnIf there's one thing Auburn football is good at, it's not making things too easy for themselves. On top of already being a part of arguably the toughest division in all of college football, the Tigers have scheduled some of the toughest non-conference opponents.rnrnIn the last five seasons alone, the Tigers have matched up against teams such as Oregon, Washington, Clemson and Louisville while they have a tough game against UNC in week two of this season.rnrnThese games are scheduled years in advance and Auburn has already scheduled non-conference games against Penn State (2021 and 2022), Cal (2023 and 2024), Baylor (2025 and 2026) and UCLA (2027 and 2028).rnrnWhether it's a home-and-home series or just a one-game, neutral-site matchup, these games would a lot of excitement to the program and as they say, "iron sharpens iron." There's no better to gauge the talent of your team than to match them up with another top program and these potential matchups could generate a lot of buzz in the future.rnrn[nextslide teaser="5.%20USC" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_51986" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] Wide receiver Kareem Kelly #2 of the USC Trojans runs between nose guard Wayne Dickens and linebacker Karlos Dansby #11 of the Auburn Tigers (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)[/caption]rnrnAuburn has staked its dominance over the Pac-12 in recent years going 2-0 against Washington and Oregon to start the 2018 and 2019 seasons respectively. And if the Tigers are already going to travel to California to play UCLA and Cal, they might as well play the best team in the state as well.rnrnUSC is one of the most historically successful and well-known football programs in the country and while they are no longer the perennial contenders they were in the early 2000s, they are still a good program.rnrnOf course, who knows what the Trojans will look like by the time these two teams match up but the name recognition alone is enough for this to be a marquee matchup.rnrnIt hasn't been too long since these teams had a home-and-home as they matched up in 2002 and 2003. The Trojans won both of those matchups while Auburn won their one previous matchup in 1987.rnrnA future home-and-home would allow Auburn to get revenge for the losses in the early 2000s and would bring in college football's most famous programs to Jordan-Hare Stadium.rnrn[nextslide teaser="4.%20Notre%20Dame" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_51985" align="aligncenter" width="3200"] A general view of the Word of Life mural, aka Touchdown Jesus. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)[/caption]rnrnWhen thinking of historic college football programs, Notre Dame is often one of the first teams to come to mind. The program has 11 national championships to its name and although they have gone through some tough times, the Fighting Irish are back to being a top team in college football.rnrnNotre Dame has matched up with other SEC powers in recent years like when they played Alabama in 2013, LSU in 2018 and Georgia in 2017 and 2019, LSU so I think it's about time that Auburn gets a shot at the Fighting Irish.rnrnAt the same time, Bama has already scheduled a home-and-home with Notre Dame in 2028 and 2029 which could make things difficult but I'm sure it's doable, even if Auburn has to schedule it a decade in advance.rnrnEven more appetizing, Notre Dame and Auburn have NEVER played each other in the long histories of these two programs so a home-and-home would not only bring Auburn to South Bend, but it would also give fans a taste of something new.rnrn[nextslide teaser="3.%20Michigan" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_51984" align="aligncenter" width="3200"] Aerial general view from a drone of Michigan Stadium (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)[/caption]rnrnCollege football's all-time winningest program, the Michigan Wolverines are certainly one of the blue bloods of the sport. The two teams haven't met since Michigan narrowly defeated Auburn in the 2001 Citrus Bowl and their only game before that was 9-7 Auburn victory in the 1984 Sugar Bowl.rnrnWhile bowl matchups are always fun, it would be electric to see Auburn in their white away jerseys in The Big House surrounded by nearly 108,000 screaming fans.rnrnLike all the other matchups on this list, we have no idea how these two programs will develop in the next decade or so but regardless, a home-and-home between AU and UM would provide the winning team with a signature victory.rnrnI'll always be an advocate for seeing two major programs that don't have a ton of history meet and this is definitely one of those situations.rnrnThe Big Ten is arguably on par with the SEC in the minds of many and this would help give bragging rights to whichever conference comes out victorious.rnrn[nextslide teaser="2.%20Texas" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_51983" align="aligncenter" width="3200"] DeMarvion Overshown #31 of the Texas Longhorns (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)[/caption]rnrnWe've covered the Pac-12, the Big Ten and an independent so now let's move on to the Big 12. Like USC, Texas was a national powerhouse during the early 2000s that sort of lost its mojo and is slowly trying to build itself back up as contenders.rnrnIt has become a bit of a running joke amongst the college football community as to whether or not the Longhorns are officially "back" or not but regardless of that, this would be one hell of a matchup.rnrnTexas most recently tried to its hand against the SEC in a week three matchup against eventual-champion LSU and while they lost the game, they definitely proved they are capable of hanging with top teams.rnrnAuburn and Texas haven't played each other since 1991 and while the Tigers have won the last two matchups, the Longhorns lead the overall series five to three.rnrnI have no doubt that Texas will once again be perennial contenders one day and if Auburn were to beat a program as big as UT, it would do wonders for Auburn, especially since the team is always trying to poach high school talent in the state of Texas.rnrn[nextslide teaser="1.%20Florida%20State" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_51982" align="aligncenter" width="3200"] Quarterback Jameis Winston #5 of the Florida State Seminoles (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)[/caption]rnrnThis one's personal. As an Auburn fan, I don't think I'll ever get over the Tigers' narrow loss in the 2014 BCS National Championship. It really feels like Jameis Winston and co. stole that one from us and I don't know about you, but I want revenge.rnrnThe Seminoles have struggled in the last few seasons but with the talent in the state of Florida and the name recognition of a program like FSU, that won't last long.rnrnBut this wouldn't just be a revenge game for Auburn. Florida State. In their last three games against the SEC, the Seminoles are a mere 1-3 and have been outscored by their opponents 127 to 76 including two beatdowns in their two last games against rival Florida.rnrnWhile I'm sure FSU will find themselves matched up against more SEC teams by the team Auburn could schedule and home-and-home, it's clear that Florida State has lost a bit of its magic.rnrnThe two teams already have a surprising amount of history as they have played a total of 19 times (Auburn leading the series 13 to 5 with one tie.) Like Texas, Auburn always tries to heavily recruit in the state of Florida and a win over one of the state's top programs could give the Tigers a leg up in that regard.rnrn

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Auburn football: 5 home-and-home matchups i’d love to see

Auburn already has some pretty exciting non-conference games planned for the future but what are some other options?

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