The Auburn File
Location: A vacant field between Columbus and the third circle of Hades.
Home Stadium: Jordan-Hare Stadium, capacity 88,043 people or 98,043 goats.
Notable Plainsman: Elmo Earl Shropshire (Class of 1964). Shropshire is a veterinarian and country singer best known for his novelty hit “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer.” Is that song Auburn’s greatest contribution to American culture? I think the answer is an unqualified and resounding yes.
The Auburn Offense: It’s gonna get better (or
else).
Auburn hired Hugh Freeze to do two things which he did fairly reliably at Ole Miss: beat Alabama and score points. So far he’s 0-2 against the Red Elephants. But perhaps more galling for Barners is that the Plainsmen have finished 71st nationally in offense in each of Freeze’s first two seasons in metro Opelika. The Peyton Thorne era wasn’t an unqualified success, Nd is now over. Auburn fans are hoping for a significant bump on offense thanks to a transfer portal spending spree. Five star quarterback Jackson Arnold comes over from Oklahoma, but Freeze and the Tigers have high hopes for his redemption tour.
One thing Arnold will have going for him is one of the SEC’s deepest, most talented receiving corps. Georgia Tech transfer Eric Singleton Jr. and former Wake Forest receiver Horatio Fields bring experience as #1 receivers. Singleton, last seen bedeviling the UGA secondary for four quarters and 623 overtimes last November, caught 56 passes for 753 yards last year on the Flats and can theoretically play any receiver spot. Fields was a consistent option for the Demon Deacons nearly every week in 2024, finishing the season with 39 catches, 453 yards and 4 touchdowns. He had a reception in 10 of Wake’s 12 games, and at least 3 catches in 9 of those, a pretty impressive degree of reliability.
Those newcomers will take their place alongside talented returning sophomores Cam Coleman and Malcolm Simmons. Coleman tied for the team lead with 8 touchdown receptions as a freshman. Simmons added 40 receptions for 451 yards and 4 touchdowns of his own. There may be four better receivers somewhere, but I’m not sure where.
Up front, Auburn returns Connor Lew who emerged as the starter at center as a true freshman in 2023 and then started every game of the 2024 season. They also bring back guard Jeremiah Wright, a massive (6’6, 348 pounds) right guard who started every contest of 2024 next to Lew.
There’s also Dillon Wade, who started at left tackle in 2024 but appears set to move in to guard with the addition of Xavier Chaplin from Virginia Tech. That all sounds great, butbit’s worth remembering that this is a unit that was 8th in the SEC in sacks allowed and similarly middle of the pack in rushing offense last season. In short, while experience is good, performance is better. This unit needs to perform up to its level of experience.
That’s especially true given that the Tigers may be looking for answers at tailback. Gone is Jarquez Hunter, who led the Tigers in rushing in both 2023 and 2024. It remains to be seen how Freeze & Co. replace him, though senior Damari Alston (52 carries for 276 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2024) and UConn transfer Durrell Robinson will likely be the main options.
Defense: The pieces are on the table. Can they put the puzzle together?
In 2024 Auburn’s defense was actually, well, not bad. The Tigers ranked 28th nationally in points allowed (21.3 ppg) and tied for 9th in yards allowed per rushing attempt (3.08 ypc). And in a stroke of real luck (something with which Auburn fans are obviously unfamiliar) a lot of the guys who made that possible return in 2025.
The secondary returns Kaleb Harris (46 tackles, 3 pass breakups in 2024), Kayin Lee (32 tackles, 7 PBUs), Sylvester Smith and Champ Anthony and adds Miami (Ohio) transfer Raion Strader, an All-MAC cornerback in 2024, and Tulane transfer Rayshawn Pleasant.
Auburn also returns one of the SEC’s best pass rushers in Keldric Faulk, who tied for the 2024 team lead with 7 sacks and finished second in tackles for loss (11). Faulk and Keyron Crawford (Buck linebacker) form the core of a solid front seven. But for it to work Auburn needs defensive linemen Quientrail Jamison-Travis and Malik Blocton to handle business up front.
The Bottom Line
It has been the official position of this online college football publication for many years that there is simply no excuse for being Hugh Freeze. But this year, for the first time, there exist no excuses if you are Hugh Freeze. Auburn should take a step forward from last year’s 5-7 mark.
How many steps and against whom those steps are taken will be the deciding factors in whether Hugh Freeze is coaching on the Plains in 2026. The Tigers get Georgia and Alabama in Auburn, but also open on the road against a decent Baylor team and travel to both Oklahoma and Texas A&M for tough matchups. Freeze needs to win at least two of those five and can’t afford a slip up elsewhere.
I don’t think he gets a win against the ‘Dawgs, in part because I’m not sure I trust this Auburn team to run the ball on the UGA defense. I’m also still not entirely sold on Jackson Arnold as the answer at QB, even with an arsenal of receiving talent. A Georgia defensive touch down adds insult to injury.
Score prediction: Georgia 38, Auburn 20.
