Auburn football’s remaining opponent Power Rankings following Week One
#9 Auburn football remaining opponent: Mississippi State
Almost losing to Louisiana Tech is a blackeye on Mississippi State’s early season record. They only won the game because LA Tech Bulldogs kicker Caleb Phillips missed a potential game-winning field goal as time expired.
Overreacting to what turned out to be a win in a non-conference early-season tune-up isn’t what’s at play here. What’s evident is that any prediction of the MSU Bulldogs being anything but a bottom-tier SEC West team is one most would want a refund for.
#8 Auburn football remaining opponent: South Carolina
The Gamecocks put a beatdown on FCS Eastern Illinois, conceding not a single point in their opening kickoff inter-Division subdivision matchup at Williams-Brice Stadium.
More impressively, they did it with graduate assistant coach-turned starting QB Zeb Noland, who had last played at North Dakota State and was not expecting to suit up at all in 2021.
Those results are likely not sustainable for a full season, and they would be wise not to overlook Eastern Carolina this coming Saturday. The Pirates hung in tight with Appalachian State this past Thursday.
#7 Auburn football remaining opponent: Arkansas
KJ Jefferson didn’t have any sort of defining Week One outing through the air against a sturdy Rice defense from a year ago that Saturday Blitz called one of their most prolific in program history, but he did show off his dual threat versatility in collecting two touchdowns and 89 yards with his legs.
The Tigers LB platoon looked sturdy on Saturday, but Jefferson is a step up in weight class from Akron’s DJ Irons and Kato Nelson.
#6 Auburn football remaining opponent: LSU Tigers
UCLA made LSU look very beatable because, well, they beat the Bayou Tigers by two possessions during Fox’s primetime opening kickoff game this past Saturday night.
LSU’s Max Johnson struggled mightily in the absence of Myles Brennan, who is missing his second season in a row due to injury. With another year of inadequate QB play, and a defense that looked less formidable than advertised, ‘Coach O’ is already drawing negative comparisons to former Auburn HC Gene Chizik.