Look, we’re not going to retrieve our pitchforks and take to the streets to complain about Auburn football being excluded from the first coaches’ poll of the 2021 season.
The lack of success during the 2020 season coupled with what many consider to be an underwhelming recruiting class in 2021 equals an Auburn football program left with nowhere to sit during musical chairs.
That said, this may be right where most Tiger fans want the rest of the sport. Auburn is best as an underdog, and just about everyone is writing off Bryan Harsin in his first season on the Plains and in the Power Five.
While the coaches’ poll is fair, it’s also fair to point out three top 25 teams the Tigers will surpass in the standings in 2021.
Shall we?
Team #1 Auburn football will surpass in rankings: Penn State
Penn State had an actively bad 2020 season, but COVID opt-outs ravaged the roster up and down the depth chart, so we’ll give them some leniency there.
Still, there’s no guarantee the Nittany Lions will return to the form they had under James Franklin before last year. Their schedule is pretty difficult out of the gate, with a date with the #15-ranked Wisconsin Badgers Week 1 followed by a matchup with the defending MAC Champions Ball State.
Of course, this prediction largely hinges on PSU’s Week 3 primetime collision with Auburn football. If the Tigers are able to notch a third straight win in a row to kick off the season (barring a wild upset by Akron or Alabama State) they’ll be propelled into the Top 25 conversation while Penn State would be in a pretty sizeable hole before October even begins.