Joel Klatt unfairly bunched Auburn with Texas A&M as teams that he compared to popcorn; meaning, an average program that pops up once in a while.
That's a creative insult. It's one that definitely applies more to the 12th Man than a team that ranks in the top 20 for all-time wins, though.
Klatt went on The Next Round and shared the controversial take on the Tigers, who, unlike the Aggies, have won a championship since the end of World War II. In fact, Auburn has two nationally recognized titles during that time (1957, 2010) and four self-claimed ones (1958, 1983, 1993, 2004).
"Auburn reminds me a lot of Texas A&M in that there's not a ton of consistency, but the expectations are always that they're going to be great... They're a popcorn program just like A&M. They're an average program that pops up every once in a while," Klatt said.
Sure, Mike Elko was the kind of hire John Cohen wishes he made back in 2022, and Allen Greene wishes he made in 2020, but recent history is practically the only history that's kinder to Aggieland than the Plains.
Joel Klatt dismisses the Tommy Tuberville and Gus Malzahn eras
There were three double-digit win seasons during the 2010s. Gene Chizik famously coached the national championship team in 2010, but his offensive coordinator, Gus Malzahn, took the reins and led the team to a national championship game appearance three years later and had the team in the 2017 SEC Championship Game.
The Tigers were not an also-ran for the majority of Malzahn's tenure. Nor were they one during Tommy Tuberville's tenure. Tuberville's teams almost always hovered around nine wins and famously went undefeated in 2004.
By contrast, Texas A&M coaches since 2000 each had a total of one nine-win regular season each. Jimbo Fisher technically didn't have one, though it's safe to say the Aggies would've reached that total in 2020 had there been a full season.
There's a pattern here: A&M has flash-in-the-pan seasons amid a sea of mediocre years with every coach. Auburn has made the right hire several times in recent history and has enjoyed program highs the Aggies have never sniffed.
Auburn won't be a punchline for long
The national media loves Alabama and Texas for their brand power and marketing potential. In order to show love to those teams, their in-state blood rivals are often written off as a punchline.
The Tigers deserved to be a punchline under Bryan Harsin and Hugh Freeze. Those coaches had no finger on the pulse of what it takes to succeed in Lee County, Alabama. Alex Golesh is different, though. His attention to detail and his commitment to uphold the Auburn Creed's standards make him fit like a glove.
Now, and certainly before Freeze and Harsin, AU isn't and was not a punchline in the slightest.
Get your shots in now, Klatt. The orange and blue won't be comparable to Aggie Maroon and white for long.
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