Auburn football: Is 2021 the year of the underdog Tigers?

The 2021 college football season is quickly approaching; with the first kickoff being only about two months away on August 28th. Auburn football may kickoff the season and the Bryan Harsin era on September 4th against Akron, but based on new odds released by SportsBetting.ag; the Tigers are underdogs in all of their most important games.

The first big game of the Harsin era will be in Happy Valley in Week 3 against the Penn State Nittany Lions. The Tigers are a 7-point underdog to the Nittany Lions as of today. Mark Heim from AL.com caught up with Adam Burns, a sportsbook manager, and had this to say about the Penn State-Auburn game on September 18th:

"“The Auburn-Penn State game is quite intriguing as it not only provides a measuring stick for these teams, but also the conferences because Penn State is fairly high in our BIG-10 pecking order. Honestly, with nothing but cakewalk matchups before and after this game, I think a hyper-focused Auburn squad can keep this one close, if not win outright. Would be a massive statement win for Harsin out of the gate.”"

Bryan Harsin knew that rebuilding this program would be no easy task, but the Tigers are also underdogs against LSU, who will welcome Auburn Week 5 into Baton Rouge; where the Tigers have not won a game since the 1999 season. The Tigers will come in as 6.5-point underdogs to the Tigers, who are looking to rebound from a tough 2020 season in which the Tigers dominated 48-11 in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The Tigers will also be underdogs against their two biggest rivals, in Alabama and Georgia. The Tigers currently will be 9-point underdogs when the Bulldogs come to Jordan-Hare Stadium, which will be looking to extend their win streak against Auburn to 5 games in a row. The Tigers will be a giant 16-point underdog to Alabama as the Crimson Tide look to avenge their 2019 loss to the Tigers in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Auburn football may be the underdogs in everyone’s eyes as we sit in June, anxiously awaiting the 2021 season to kickoff. As Auburn fans, we have all seen Auburn football defy all expectations and doubt, so do not count out Bryan Harsin and this Auburn football team. In 2013, the Tigers beat Alabama (10.5-point underdogs), Texas A&M (14-point underdogs), & Missouri (2-point underdogs) on their way to the 2014 BCS National Championship.

Never count out the Auburn Tigers, because this program has constantly proved the country wrong year after year.