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USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Auburn to the College Football Playoffs? CBS Sports makes a bold prediction
Auburn to the College Football Playoffs? CBS Sports makes a bold prediction CBS Sports believes that the Auburn Tigers will finally make their College Football Playoff debut in 2025. The expansion of the College Football Playoff gives more teams a shot at competing for a national championship. Will this be the year that the Auburn Tigers make their way into the 12-team field? CBS Sports shared their list of teams that are poised to make their first-ever College Football Playoff appearance in 2025, and the Auburn Tigers are one of them. Carter Bahns of CBS Sports believes that Hugh Freeze addressed a critical need in the transfer portal, which could be the missing piece that the team needed to get over the hump. Auburn pushed a lot of chips forward this offseason. The most notable investment came at the quarterback spot where Hugh Freeze, at long last, dipped into the portal. Jackson Arnold is a prime candidate for a post-hype explosion considering injuries ravaged his supporting cast last year at Oklahoma and that the Tigers set him up for success with loads of receiving talent. It is incumbent upon Auburn to get significantly better play from its signal-caller after a couple of rough years to open a largely disappointing Freeze era. If Arnold delivers, this team is a dark-horse playoff contender. Last season was a great year for the College Football Playoff to expand from four teams to 12, as Penn State, Arizona State, Boise State, SMU, Indiana, and Tennessee each competed in the playoff for the first time in their program's history. The SEC will be a key conference to watch this season as Ole Miss, South Carolina, Florida, and Texas A&M join Auburn as teams that CBS has on its radar for first-time participants. Louisville, Illinois, and Miami are also in a great position to make their first appearance while several American Athletic Conference squads could crash the party as non-power conference candidates. Should Auburn make the College Football Playoff this season, it will be the seventh SEC team to appear in the playoff, joining the likes of Tennessee, LSU, and Texas. Alabama leads the conference with eight appearances, with Georgia and Oklahoma following suit with four. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__
USA Today
a day ago
- Business
- USA Today
ESPN forecasts Auburn football's 2025 College Football Playoff outlook
ESPN forecasts Auburn football's 2025 College Football Playoff outlook How high is Auburn's national championship odds heading into the season? After two years of solid recruiting in both the high school ranks and in the transfer portal, it appears that the Auburn Tigers are set up for a breakout season in year three under Hugh Freeze. How much will the Tigers improve in 2025? ESPN takes a crack at projecting the Tigers' season using their Football Power Index. ESPN's early-season outlook shows updated playoff odds, projected wins, and projected output from both offense and defense. The Auburn Tigers begin the season with a 14.8 rating in the FPI, which measures a team's true strength on a net points scale; expected point margin vs average opponent on neutral field. Their 14.8 score places them at No. 14 in the category dominated by the SEC. The Texas Longhorns have the highest FPI score at 28.5, nearly two full points more than No. 2 Georgia (26.6). The Tigers also rank in the top 25 in College Football Playoff odds according to the FPI. Their 21.4% chance ranks No. 18 in the country and is a significant improvement over its 2024 projection, which was 13.5%. Auburn has a 2.5% chance to make the national title game and a 1.1% chance to win its first national title since 2010. As far as projected win totals go, Auburn's line is set at 7.5, the same as the 2024 projection. The Tigers are starving for more wins in 2025, as they have failed to win more than eight games since 2019 and have won six or fewer games every season since. The 7.5 line gives the Tigers a chance to exceed expectations and get back to their traditional winning ways. Auburn football's journey to the College Football Playoff begins Friday, Aug. 29, at Baylor. The game will get the primetime spot of 7 p.m. CT on FOX. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__
Hindustan Times
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
'Nobody wanted…': Auburn's Hugh Freeze clears his stance on the SEC's 9-game plan
Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze opened up about his stance on the possibility of the SEC shifting back to a nine-game conference schedule. The topic also came up during the SEC Spring meetings. On Tuesday, reporters asked Coach Freeze about his concerns regarding such a move. 'I think we would say, 'Alright, what is best for the conference, but can you give us the totality of the information? Like, are we getting some guaranteed folks in the playoffs? You know, how many?' Freeze questioned. Hugh Freeze compared the College Football scene with the NFL, arguing that individual losses don't affect Super Bowl chances as much as they do in college football. 'You can lose seven games in the NFL and win the Super Bowl, and you can be 8-4 in this league, and might be the hottest team -- nobody wanted to play South Carolina at the end of the year last year,' Freeze said. Freeze said he wanted to know the totality of the proposal and asked if that was the best approach for the SEC. 'And so, when you talk eight or nine from a coach's perspective, first, what is best for the conference? But also, can you give us the -- what is the full totality of the of the picture. What does it look like?'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Auburn Dealt Devastating Recruiting News on Monday
Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze has proven he can recruit, logging top-15 classes in 2024, 2025, and 2026 via On3 Sports. The results have not come for Freeze yet, as he has not had a winning season with Auburn since taking the job in 2023. Advertisement Things got worse for Auburn on Monday, as On3's Steve Wiltfong predicted the Tigers would lose longtime linebacker commit Shadarius Toodle to the Georgia Bulldogs. Toodle has been committed to the Tigers since July 27 and had an official with the Bulldogs on Friday. He is a native of Mobile, Alabama, and attends Cottage Hill Christian Academy. Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze speaks with Georgia head coach Kirby Smart. Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Toodle is a four-star prospect and the No. 8 linebacker in the 2026 class via the On3 Industry Rankings. Auburn's 2026 recruiting class is currently ranked No. 13 overall. The Tigers have commitments from Toodle, four-star edge rusher Hezekiah Harris, four-star receiver Devin Carter, four-star linebacker JaMichael Garrett, four-star receiver Denairius Gray, three-star inside offensive lineman Parker Pritchett and three-star safety Wayne Henry. Advertisement Auburn still has a chance to make another good impression with Toodle. The Tigers have an official visit scheduled with Toodle for June 13. Despite the prediction that it will lose Toodle, Auburn is still competing for top prospects. International prospect Valdin Sone included Auburn in his top eight. The program has also been busy in the transfer portal, with its transfer class highlighted by former Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold, former Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets receiver Eric Singleton Jr., and former Virginia Tech Hokies offensive tackle Xavier Chaplin. Joel Klatt is high on the Tigers in 2025, putting them at No. 22 in his post-spring top 25 rankings. Auburn opens the 2025 season against the Baylor Bears on Aug. 30. Related: Former Auburn CB Announces Transfer Commitment to Third College Football Program
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Auburn Included in Top 8 for European College Football Prospect
The Auburn Tigers enter 2025 without a winning season under head coach Hugh Freeze. Freeze is trying to produce results on the field through recruiting. His 2026 recruiting class ranked 13th overall via On3 Sports. Advertisement On3's Hayes Fawcett reported that Auburn made the top eight for four-star defensive lineman Valdin Sone. Sone is unique in the fact that he is not from the United States of America. Sone's other top schools were the Nebraska Cornhuskers, USC Trojans, South Carolina Gamecocks, Florida Gators, Texas Longhorns, Georgia Bulldogs and Oklahoma Sooners. Sone is a product of PPI Recruits in Malmö, Sweden. They have placed talent from Germany, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, and others with various college programs. Auburn Tigers head football coach Hugh Freeze.© John Reed-Imagn Images Sone is a four-star prospect in the 2026 class and the No. 14 defensive lineman in the On3 Industry Rankings. Advertisement Auburn's 2026 class features four-star edge rusher Hezekiah Harris, four-star receiver Devin Carter, four-star linebacker Shadarius Toodle, four-star linebacker JaMichael Garrett, four-star receiver Denarius Gray, three-star inside offensive lineman Parker Pritchett and three-star safety Wayne Henry. The Tigers' chances of landing Sone are low according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine. The favorite is currently Florida at 93.5%, with Nebraska (1.6%), Oklahoma (1.4%) and Auburn (<1%) following. Auburn is pursuing another top prospect from the 2026 class. The Tigers were named a finalist for four-star running back Jae Lamar. Despite not making a bowl game in 2024, there are college football insiders like Joel Klatt who are high on Auburn. Klatt put the Tigers at No. 22 in his post-spring top 25 rankings recently. Advertisement Thanks to the transfer portal, Auburn's team will look very different in 2025. The Tigers' transfer class is highlighted by former Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold, former Georgia Tech Yellowjackets receiver Eric Singleton Jr. and former Virginia Tech Hokies offensive lineman Xavier Chaplin. Related: Former Auburn CB Announces Transfer Commitment to Third College Football Program
