The Auburn Tigers haven't been an elite college football team in some time. They haven't finished over .500 since 2020 and haven't won double-digit games since 2017. They play in an absolutely loaded conference, and they're coming off a lackluster 5-7 finish, none of which indicates that they're going to break out and turn around in 2025.
But ESPN insider David Hale thinks they can. He listed them in the "regression to the mean (the good kind)" tier along with NC State, Florida State, and Virginia Tech. He believes these teams should easily be better, and Auburn seems to have the best chance at that.
"The team that might have the best chance to turn the disappointments of 2024 into a serious playoff run in 2025 is Auburn. Jackson Arnold takes over at QB for an offense loaded with skill-position talent," Hale said.
The defense should be decent this year, and Hale wanted to point out the luck-based numbers that can't feasibly be as bad in 2025. "Auburn was 124th in turnover luck and dead last in close-game luck, which covered up the fact it was among the best teams in the country in success and explosive play rate differential," he noted.
The pieces are there for the Tigers to be much better, even if they're in a conference with Texas, Alabama, and LSU among other titans of this sport, and Hale believes 10 wins could come with a little more luck.