Auburn football has jumped into both the AP and Coaches Poll after starting the 2025 college football season 3-0 with wins over Baylor, Ball State and South Alabama.
It's the first time since 2021 that the Tigers have been ranked in both polls, following three disappointing seasons that all ended with a losing record.
With so many rankings out there, there has to be one that overlooks Hugh Freeze's squad, and that comes from the Pro Football Network, which released its rankings on Monday with the Tigers looking outside the top 25 at No. 26.
That would be understandable if it weren't for the team ranked one spot ahead of Auburn: the Baylor Bears. If only there were a way to tell which team was better... oh wait, there was, and it had already happened.
To open the 2025 season, the Tigers traveled down to Waco, Texas, to take on Dave Aranda's Baylor squad in McLane Stadium. It was a nationally-televised Friday night matchup with Freeze entering the season on the hot seat and a lot of question marks surrounding quarterback Jackson Arnold after transferring to Auburn from Oklahoma.
All Arnold and the Tigers did was put a 38-24 loss on the Bears, with the quarterback running for 137 yards and two touchdowns, while Auburn put up 307 total rushing yards with four touchdowns in the win.
So, how does PFN have the Bears a spot above the Tigers in the latest rankings? They don't explain:
"The Bears continued their dominance offensively, scoring 40-plus points for the second straight week. The difference this week was that the defense showed up for the first time all season, holding Samford's offense to under 200 total yards and just one touchdown.
Quarterback Sawyer Robertson has played like one of the top players in the country, giving the Bears a chance against every opponent and inspiring belief that they could make a run in the Big 12."
A chance against every opponent? Well, one of those was Auburn, and he and the Bears lost.