Auburn football: Chris Doering doesn’t have AU in SEC West’s 2nd tier

I think most Tiger fans can agree that the biggest question mark heading into the 2021 season is whether or not Auburn football can keep itself in the thick of things in the SEC Championship picture this season.

If you ask Chris Doering–which Jake “Jboy” Crain did on his show–AU isn’t in the second tier of the SEC West.

When Jboy mentioned Auburn football among a group that included LSU, Texas A&M, and Ole Miss, Doering quickly reneged on Crain’s inclusion of the Tigers from the Plains:

While the focus of the episode was not the happenings of Bryan Harsin’s staff, which have included mass COVID-19 outbreaks (football is Jboy’s primary focus), Doering shared a nugget of insight that fans may not be big on:

Auburn football has too many question marks to be considered a second-tier team in the SEC West.

Jboy himself included the Tigers in the top four of his SEC West standings, but that opinion isn’t a popular one. Ole Miss has been a popular pick to surpass AU in the standings, with AL.com even listing the Rebels ahead in their spring report.

Matt Corral is the primary reason why. The gun-slinging signal caller has many college football analysts bullish on a major step forward for Lane Kiffin’s program in his second season in Oxford.

That said, their defense could ultimately hold them back. Ole Miss was a bottom 25 program defensively last season, so expecting Corral to put up massive numbers every game is the only justification for all of the favorable predictions.

Auburn football is a Bo Nix breakout away from truly making noise in the tougher half of college football’s superior conference. It’s going to take sturdy OL play (for a change) to make such a leap possible, of course.

Either way, Doering might be among the many overrating Ole Miss heading into 2021.