Bryan Harsin has a tough task ahead of him in the 2022 college football season. He may have won the battle for his job in recent days, but as Auburn fans know, the war is far from over. If the Tigers head football coach struggles out of the gate next season, the conversations will strike up once again.
The staff still needs to fill the offensive coordinator vacancy as well as a recent vacancy with their outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator. Reports are that Bert Watts will leave for the Denver Broncos on their new staff.
In the words of the OxiClean infomercial, “but wait there’s more.”
With the mass exodus on the staff and the roster, Harsin also is looking at one of the toughest schedules in all of college football. Buckle up, this ride could get even bumpier than it already was.
Brad Crawford of 247Sports broke down the top 15 toughest schedules for the 2022 campaign. The Tigers get a bit of a reprieve as they open the schedule with five-straight at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Starting in the third week of the season the difficult run begins. The first game is with the Penn State Nittany Lions, they rank No. 24 in CBS Sports’ early top 25. The embattled head coach will get tested early and often.
What 247Sports Says…
SEC life for Bryan Harsin in Year 2 will again raise questions about his future on The Plains if he makes it out of the 2022 campaign. Auburn has road games against Georgia and Alabama, the two best teams in the country, travels to Ole Miss and hosts Penn State, LSU, Arkansas and Texas A&M — all teams who will likely be ranked at the time of the matchup. That could be seven games against ranked teams if the SEC’s as good as everyone expects. After ending the 2021 season on a five-game losing streak, forward progression is needed amid the turmoil at Auburn.
In all, seven of the top 15 toughest schedules are in the SEC. Of those seven, six of them play in the SEC West. Here is how the conference ranked: