So long, Oregon and USC. Auf wiedersehen, Ohio State and Michigan.
Yes, those teams will not have a spot in the preseason AP Poll when it is released as the Pac-12 and Big Ten have opted to cancel their seasons and try to play in the spring. That means a lot of teams that wouldn’t usually be ranked prior to the 2020 college football season are going to find themselves in the top 25.
For Auburn, it wasn’t whether the Tigers would be ranked but where. In 247Sports prediction for the preseason AP Poll, Gus Malzahn’s team comes in at No. 10.
The word: Here’s a team with major upside this fall considering the Tigers aren’t in that elite SEC group entering camp. Part of the reason is due to the departures on defense and overall uncertainty as Chad Morris arrives as Auburn’s offensive coordinator. Rising sophomore Bo Nix is a playmaker at quarterback and ability to execute will determine how far this team can climb in college football’s toughest division.
Auburn will face six teams in the predicted top 25 including four (No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Georgia, No. 5 LSU and No. 9 Texas A&M) that are also in the top ten. Tennessee, one of Auburn’s new opponents when the SEC went to a conference-only schedule, checks in at No. 17 while Kentucky is at No. 20.