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There’s good news and bad news with the release of the preseason AP Poll.
BREAKING: Clemson ranked No. 1 in preseason AP Top 25 for first time; Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ohio State round out the top five in the poll, presented by @askRegions: https://t.co/DWCBw9xytP pic.twitter.com/vwevmx9hfy
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) August 19, 2019
The good news is that Auburn is ranked 16th by media voters around the land. Whether you believe in such thins, the Tigers have consistently been a much better team when expectations are lower. The last five times that Auburn began a season ranked inside the top ten, they finished with a lower ranking. In four of those seasons (2008, 2014, 2015, 2018) the Tigers finished unranked.
So we’ll see if recent historic trends continue and if Auburn turns into a surprise team that wins ten or more games in 2019. The pieces are there to do it.
On the other hand, the bad news is that it may be extra difficult to reach that historic trend-bucking win total. Auburn’s got one of the hardest schedules in the country, behind only Texas A&M and South Carolina, both of whom have to play Clemson, Alabama, and Georgia. Auburn only gets the latter two, and both of those games are at home.
As for the AP Poll, here’s how it shakes out —
- Clemson
- Alabama
- Georgia
- Oklahoma
- Ohio State
- LSU
- Michigan
- Florida
- Notre Dame
- Texas
- Oregon
- Texas A&M
- Washington
- Utah
- Penn State
- Auburn
- UCF
- Michigan State
- Wisconsin
- Iowa
- Iowa State
- Syracuse
- Washington State
- Nebraska
- Stanford
Auburn’s opponents are ranked #2, #3, #6, #8, #11, and #12. Unreal. We’ll have two top fifteen teams away from home in the first month of the season, two more top ten opponents on the road in October, and then two top three opponents at home in November. It’s a rough schedule, but like we said above, the pieces are there to make a run this year.
The team has begun Oregon prep, and a quarterback decision is imminent. We’re TWELVE days to kickoff, everyone. Get your yard work done, because it’ll be here ‘fore you know it.