The College Football season kicks off in less than two weeks, which means the release of yet another preseason power ranking list.
247Sports is the latest to drop their preseason SEC predictions. However, they have taken a different approach by placing SEC teams in tiers, in addition to giving them an outright position in the rankings.
Brad Crawford of 247Sports says places Auburn in the “Bowl Eligibility Hangs in the Balance” tier, alongside Missouri. Crawford says that the team needs to show improvement in 2022 in order for head coach [autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag] to return to the Plains next season.
Have the decision-makers at Auburn had enough of head coach Bryan Harsin heading into his second season? Not yet. He lost five straight games to end the 2021 campaign, four coming in the fourth quarter or later, including a four-overtime heartbreaker to eventual SEC champion Alabama. This is a pivotal year on The Plains for the current regime, which is tasked with finding playmakers on offense not named Tank Bigsby. His availability throughout fall is paramount to the Tigers’ potential success this season, especially with Auburn being green at wide receiver and undecided on a quarterback between Texas A&M transfer Zach Calzada, Robby Ashford and T.J. Finley following the exit of Bo Nix to Oregon. And there’s pressure to perform defensively given the offense’s questions.
According to the list, Auburn was one step away from joining the “Middle of the Pack” tier, which features Mississippi State, Florida, South Carolina, and Ole Miss.
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