Beating LSU in Baton Rouge for the first time in 22 years has become the defining win of the 2021 Auburn football season.
The competition isn’t exactly fierce. Besides last week’s spectacular come-from-behind victory in the final minute against Georgia State due to the injection of TJ Finley under center, 50 and 62 point blowouts over a MAC cellar dweller and a SWAC squad were the only other triumphs of the year. Moral victories at Penn State’s White Out need not apply here.
That Bo Nix–who was very much in danger of riding the bench for the year with another dud–essentially showed how high his ceiling can be in spectacular fashion, in a road win against a divisional conference rival that has eluded this program for two decades, makes it the defining night of Nix’s tenure on the Plains.
But life goes on. And the rest of the 2021 Tigers schedule is one that most teams in the country couldn’t handle.
Can Auburn?
Well, only time will tell. But in deciphering how tough the rest of the season looks, Fly War Eagle has went ahead and ranked the remaining teams on the Auburn football schedule:
#7th toughest remaining test on the Auburn football schedule: South Carolina
As AU embarks on its grueling gauntlet, the SEC West will present test after test as conference play continues.
South Carolina, the non-ranked SEC East team of the pair they must play, may be the most beatable team left.
That is not to say the Gamecocks won’t be…well….game when they host the Tigers for the second season in a row. So far, South Carolina has taken down an East Carolina team that looks improved from years’ past (as well as an FCS program) as well as a traditionally strong, though currently struggling, Troy Trojans. They even hung around with #16 Kentucky, losing by a touchdown.
Their other game being a Georgia beatdown notwithstanding, even the easiest opponent left is far from a pushover.
#6th toughest remaining test on the Auburn football schedule: Mississippi State
Beating Texas A&M is no joke, and almost coming back to beat LSU is certainly not the worst loss a Power Five team has suffered this season. That belongs to Oregon, who might have blown their chances of making the College Football Playoff by losing to Stanford over the weekend.
Mississippi State owns a win over current #23 NC State, and has a gunslinger in Will Rogers that could continue the trend of torching the Tigers secondary, which has not been much of a strength in 2021.
#5th toughest remaining test on the Auburn football schedule: Texas A&M
A trendy dark horse preseason pick to represent the west in the SEC Championship, Texas A&M has already lost twice in their first five games.
Haynes King’s leg injury has forced Zach Caldaza into a role he is clearly not ready for, and given the lack of a timetable for his return, its fair to assume that the Aggies will need to muck it up for opponents and win games on the ground in ugly games to have any shot of finishing with double-digit wins.
#4th toughest remaining test on the Auburn football schedule: Arkansas
The Arkansas hype train has slowed up considerably since getting run over by Georgia’s backfield and being stifled by the Dawgs defense this past Saturday.
Still, KJ Jefferson was a positive contributor in every other game this season, particularly against Georgia Southern when he snapped for 366 passing yards and three TDs.
Jefferson could hurt you on the ground and in the air, and given that this game will be be played in Fayetteville, advantages abound in the last game before the October 23rd bye week.
#3rd toughest remaining test on the Auburn football schedule: Ole Miss
On Halloween eve, Tiger fans may feel spooked by the secondary struggling to contain one of the best quarterbacks in the country.
Matt Corral has thrown for 300+ yards twice, and fell 19 yards short of that mark against Austin Peay of the FCS. He also very well could end up as the top draft pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Ole Miss’ defense has proven vulnerable, but AU will need to be scoring frequently on October 30th when the Rebels make their way to the Plains if they want to end spooky season in the win column.
#2nd toughest remaining test on the Auburn football schedule: Alabama
The Crimson Tide are the #1 team in the country, but they last won at Jordan-Hare Stadium in 2015. Traditions don’t dictate all the happenings of the college football world–if they did, Auburn would be 3-2 after a loss in Death Valley and Texas and Oklahoma wouldn’t be SEC bound–but the Crimson Tide look beatable after Florida nearly upended their undefeated streak at the Swamp.
Georgia is the toughest remaining test on the 2021 Auburn football schedule
Well…bring on the Dawgs.
The Bulldogs defense have been the most intimidating unit in college football, ceding a measly 20 points all season.
That South Carolina was the only team to come within four touchdowns of Georgia shows how daunting a task knocking off the #2 team in the country is going to be.
For anyone.
Auburn football is a multiple score underdog, but underdog status is what this program’s brand is. That doesn’t mean they are destined for defeat.
But I’d be lying if I said I’d bet the ranch on a Tigers victory this weekend during the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry game.