The Auburn Tigers dropped another winnable game on Saturday, telling an all-too familiar story in what has become a lost season for Hugh Freeze’s team on the Plains. After leading for much of the second half, the Auburn offense once again went dormant, leaving the door open for Missouri to score a walk off touchdown in front of its home crowd in a 21-17 victory.
Despite running the ball well for much of the contest, Payton Thorne’s offense mustered just seven more total yards (22) than Missouri points (15) in the final frame, ultimately leading to the Tigers dropping a fourth straight contest to put them on the brink of a fourth straight losing season for the first time since 1950. Auburn lost a program record 10 games in that 1950 campaign, a record that had never been seriously contested until this season.
Luckily for Hugh Freeze and his Tigers, Mississippi State’s football program exists. Because of the Bulldogs ineptitude, Auburn is still clinging to the final step on the basement stairs of the SEC, as Hugh Freeze’s team is once again ranked No. 15 in Chase Goodbread’s SEC Power Poll.
The Tigers have room to improve as well, with this week’s opponent Kentucky checking in one spot ahead of Auburn, at No. 14. As for the programs with a real semblance of hope this season, Georgia (1) moved back into the top spot following a victory over last week’s one seed, Texas (2). Tennessee (3) climbed back into the top 3 after an emotion-filled home win over Alabama‘s (7), Texas A&M (4) fell back to No. 4, and LSU climbed into the top 5 with a victory over Arkansas.
Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter @TheRealBHauch