Auburn's 1-1 run in the SEC Tournament, which followed a 0-2 finish to the regular season with the IBOB finale being particularly heartbreaking. AU's run to the SEC regular season crown was awe-inspiring, but their Quad 1 wins aren't being respected before the Big Dance.
USA Today's Blake Toppmeyer shared a worrying comparison for Bruce Pearl's team: Dan Lanning's 2024 Oregon football program.
"The NCAA men's tournament selection committee must have taken inspiration from the folks at the College Football Playoff when drawing up Auburn’s region in March Madness," Toppmeyer wrote.
"The committee awarded Bruce Pearl's Tigers the No. 1 overall seed but stuck them in a South Region loaded with trip wires.
"Auburn’s seeding reward would be playing the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight in Atlanta, 110 miles from campus, if it advances that far. That’s the only upside to this region, though.
"Auburn’s treacherous path to the Final Four reminds me of Oregon football’s draw as the No. 1 seed in the CFP bracket. The Ducks’ prize for an undefeated regular season became a prison of the committee’s making: a quarterfinal matchup with Ohio State, the nation’s most-talented team. The Buckeyes built the best résumé among at-large qualifiers, but the committee overlooked that during seeding. Oregon narrowly beat Ohio State during the regular season but got smashed in the playoff rematch."
The Ducks went undefeated during the 2024 regular season and Big Ten title run but lost to Ohio State in their first College Football Playoff game, the Rose Bowl.
Pearl's Tigers doing that would inspire many to project Pearl leaving the program -- especially with his "dream job" having a vacancy in Bloomington. Pearl led Southern Indiana to a Division II national championship, so it's not unreasonable he'd want to return to a place he called home while handing the reins on the Plains to Steven.