Next week Auburn football will face off against Penn State in Happy Valley on their first road game. The Tigers swept the floor with their first two opponents, beating them each by 50 or more points. However, Penn State will be the first real competition for the Tigers, and everyone is looking forward to seeing how Bryan Harsin’s first-year team takes on a ranked opponent.
Though Auburn football kicked off the season unranked, all it took was a dominant victory over Akron to secure the #25 spot, and after polishing off Alabama State the Tigers moved up to #22 in this week’s AP poll and #20 in the coaches poll.
Just like that, the Tigers’ Week 3 matchup is a meeting of ranked opponents with Penn State at #10 in the AP poll. With two ranked teams and a confirmed whiteout in Beaver Stadium, it was too good an opportunity for College Gameday to miss out on:
State College, we're coming! @AuburnFootball vs @PennStateFball on Saturday 🏈 pic.twitter.com/odWgVdkDz9
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 12, 2021
Despite the fact that Forbes reported the Auburn vs. Penn State game was the second-most in-demand ticket during the preseason and the non-conference game has a much broader appeal than a purely SEC matchup, the Bama and Florida fans are still upset that their game in Gainesville wasn’t chosen for College Gameday.
Yeah, guys, because the whole country is dying to see Alabama run over Florida in what is the Gators’ only big home matchup this season.
Meanwhile, Bryan Harsin and the Tigers will face their first test of the season, going up against the #10 Nittany Lions on their own turf. Auburn football will enter the game as the underdogs after breezing through the first two weeks while Penn State had a huge victory over Wisconsin in week one.
If Harsin and the Tigers can take care of business next week, it will give the Tigers huge momentum for their homecoming game against Georgia State before conference play kicks off.