Auburn football: AthlonSports pegs Tigers as six-win team in 2022

We’ve seen what the spring game had to show us. We know what Auburn football has done in the Class of 2022 recruitment, and we’ve seen most of what they will be pulling from the transfer portal.

There’s not much more the summer will see on the Plains besides who will win the quarterback battle, and even then, the Tigers are almost certainly going to be backing Zach Calzada as the starter heading into the September 3rd opener against Mercer.

The love fans and pundits alike share for the sport doesn’t die in June, but it certainly quiets down as the American South retreats from 90+ degree heat and the swarms of bugs that follow into the A/C or the lake/beach.

AthlonSports broke the silence with an Auburn football schedule prediction for the 2022 season that Tiger fans likely won’t appreciate:

"“Unfortunately for Harsin’s job security, this feels like another six-win team. Auburn has a tough non-conference test against Penn State in Week 3 and has to travel to both Georgia and Alabama this season. Harsin badly needs one of his quarterback options to exceed expectations, but the optimism is dampened in Auburn.”"

Auburn football doesn’t have high expectations and doesn’t need them

Preseason predictions are generally good indicators of the talent level each team possesses, but they are not a be-all end-all bellwether.

Just take Dr. SEC’s 2013 Auburn football season win-total projection for Bleacher Report as an example:

"Predictions:Worst-Case Scenario: 2-10 (0-8 in SEC)Best-Case Scenario: 8-4 and Bowl bid (4-4 in SEC)Dr. SEC Preseason Prediction: 7-6 with a win in the Compass Bowl (2-6 in SEC)"

The Tigers have the ultimate ace up their sleeve, in the opinion of this writer and of many others, in Robby Ashford. Ashford’s got the home-state angle as a former Class 7A Alabama state champion with Hoover and has a higher ceiling than anyone else in the room. Stick him under center, and this season could have 2013 vibes or, at worst, first half of 2021 vibes with Bo Nix under center. T.J. Finley inspires little confidence, and even Zach Calzada is a question mark following shoulder surgery.

The defense should hold up its end of the bargain with several impact transfers (D.J. James, Jayson Jones, Craig McDonald) and returnees (Derick Hall, Colby Wooden, Eku Leota, Owen Pappoe), so if the QB situation is sorted, maybe these six-win (or worse) predictions for the 2022 season will age like goat milk.