[autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]’s first season at Auburn ended in disappointment.
Auburn finished the season with a 6-7 mark, which included losses to New Mexico State and a bowl loss to Maryland. Since the start of the offseason, Freeze has made several changes to his staff and has welcomed several talented transfers to fill holes on both sides of the football.
Will that be enough to push Auburn to its first nine-win season since 2019? Seth Emerson of The Athletic does not like the odds.
Emerson recently published his early 2024 SEC final record prediction this week, and he expects the Tigers to win just one more game next season to finish at 7-5. In his prediction, he expects Auburn to knock off all four nonconference opponents (Alabama A&M, California, New Mexico, and ULM), while also earning wins over Arkansas, Vanderbilt, and Texas A&M.
In the loss column, Emerson does not expect Auburn to pull off any upsets. He forecasts the Tigers to lose all four road games (Georgia, Missouri, Kentucky, Alabama), and one SEC home game to newcomer, Oklahoma.
The projected 7-5 record would be good enough for No. 8 in the SEC standings, which is axing divisions starting in 2024. Emerson expects Auburn to have the same conference record as Kentucky, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma at 3-5.
Several notable predictions from Emerson include LSU going 12-0, Texas kicking off their SEC campaign with an 11-1 record, and Alabama finishing 6-2 in SEC play under new head coach Kalen DeBoer.
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__