The Auburn Tigers collected one of the best wins in the college football world on Saturday night, as the offense hummed their way to 73 points in a 70-point shellacking on in-state opponent Alabama A&M. Despite the emphatic statement victory, most experts still believe the Tigers are well on the outside looking in when it comes to competing for an SEC Championship.
This sentiment held true for Tuscaloosa News’s SEC writer Chase Goodbread, who ranked the Tigers at the No. 12 spot in his SEC power poll after week one. Even after the Auburn’s new-look offense had their way with an inferior opponent, the Tigers rank ahead of only South Carolina (16), Mississippi State (15), Arkansas (14), and Vanderbilt (13) on the list.
After telling fans he needed to see explosive sparks from Auburn’s new offense last week, he warns that the Tigers could be on upset alert this week against ACC opponent Cal, making it fairly clear he was not convinced after [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag], [autotag]Cam Coleman[/autotag], [autotag]Malcolm Simmons[/autotag], and [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] tore up an inferior Alabama A&M defense in week one.
It is important to remember Alabama A&M was a 45-point underdog in Jordan-Hare a week ago. 315 combined receiving yards from the quartet of Simmons, Lambert-Smith, Coleman, and [autotag]Perry Thompson[/autotag] was a fantastic first step, but experts will need to see success against better competition before claiming the Tigers offense as top notch.
Payton Thorne and company have the opportunity to prove week one wasn’t a fluke as soon as this Saturday when Auburn hosts Power four opponent Cal from Jordan-Hare stadium. Another assertive win could push [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]’s squad closer to the top of Goodbread’s poll.
Currently, the top five consists of Georgia (1), Texas (2), Alabama (3), Ole Miss (4), and Tennessee (5). While a win this week is unlikely to leapfrog Auburn near the top, it could help them fly by Florida (11) and Texas A&M (10), who both lost in week one.
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