Where does Auburn need to steal a game?

[aubiefifty 16,739]

Who will be Auburn football's toughest opponent in 2022? Ranking all 12 by difficulty

Bennett Durando

4-5 minutes

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AUBURN — As usual, Auburn has one of the most difficult schedules in college football this season.

But which 2022 matchup is toughest? Where does Auburn need to steal a game?

Here are the 12 opponents ranked in reverse order based on difficulty.

12. Mercer (home)

Mercer  finished second in the Southern Conference last season and was battle-tested at Alabama. Can Auburn win by more than the Crimson Tide's 48-14?

11. San Jose State (home)

A familiar Mountain West opponent for Auburn coach Bryan Harsin. San Jose State's conference title defense stalled last season with 20 points per game. Its defense should be better than its offense this year. Cupcake game.

10. Western Kentucky (home)

The Hilltoppers are the best non-power conference opponent Auburn will face. They lost offensive mastermind Zach Kittley, but they're adding sixth-year grad transfer quarterback Jarret Doege, a former West Virginia starter.

9. Missouri (home)

Missouri has a higher-rated freshman signing class than Auburn, including the top receiver recruit in the country, Luther Burden. He'll test Auburn's overhauled secondary in the SEC opener, but the five-star doesn't know who will be throwing to him yet.

8. Mississippi State (away)

Auburn fans still shiver at any mention of coach Mike Leach's Air Raid offense or quarterback Will Rogers, who completed 34 of his last 37 passes for six touchdowns last November. The Tigers blew a 28-3 lead. Now they have to face Rogers while cowbells are egging him on.

7. Penn State (home)

Auburn plans to counter Penn State's whiteout game with an orange-out. Maybe that backdrop will help the Tigers defend quarterback Sean Clifford better than last year, when he was 28-for-32 passing. The Nittany Lions lack running options. High-pressure road game for coach James Franklin after receiving a huge extension.

THE RIVAL:Who will be Alabama football's toughest opponent in 2022? Ranking all 12 by difficulty

SEC BASEBALL:6 things to know about Auburn baseball first baseman Sonny DiChiara

6. LSU (home)

Ed Orgeron did a little with a lot. This isn't Orgeron's LSU anymore. New coach Brian Kelly revamped the roster with transfers, including former Arizona State quarterback Jayden Daniels. Auburn's loaded defensive front should have a field day against a weak offensive line.

5. Arkansas (home)

This feels like a must-win home game considering Auburn's other opponents, but the Razorbacks are improving at an alarming pace. The defense added intraconference transfers from LSU, Alabama and Georgia. Oklahoma's Jadon Hazelwood patches the hole left by receiver Treylon Burks. Can quarterback K.J. Jefferson end Arkansas' six-game losing streak to Auburn?

4. Ole Miss (away)

Coach Lane Kiffin lost two coordinators, not to mention quarterback Matt Corral. Still, the Rebels' talent is imposing. Auburn's promising defense hopes one thing that doesn't change is Kiffin's fatal temptation to gamble on fourth down.

3. Texas A&M (home)

Coach Jimbo Fisher's top-ranked but, uh, much-maligned 2022 signing class has commandeered headlines. Whether he can turn talent into results is another question. The Aggies have three QB1 contenders: five-star Conner Weigman, LSU transfer Max Johnson and Haynes King, whose injury last year gave Zach Calzada an opportunity. Now Calzada might start for Auburn.

2. Georgia (away)

The national champions are losing 15 players to the NFL Draft, including eight from the historic 2021 defense. But coach Kirby Smart's recruiting machine motors on. The Bulldogs bring in the No. 3 class, and they have a core of returning stars on offense (tight end Brock Bowers) and defense (defensive lineman Jalen Carter).

1. Alabama (away)

Lost the title, but still the best. Heisman winner Bryce Young is back. Edge Will Anderson Jr. is back, spearheading what could be coach Nick Saban's greatest defensive front. Oh, and the average score of the last five Iron Bowls in Tuscaloosa? Alabama 45.6, Auburn 18.

[Mikey 16,566]

If AU can somehow sweep Mizzou and MSU to finish 5-7, I'll consider winning both of those as stealing one win. Otherwise we finish 4-8.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,649]

I think the Arkansas game would be the difference between a decent season or not. Like if you told me they lose that game, I’d think a sub .500 season. 
 

A&M would be the most realistic surprise win of the season imo 

[ScotsAU 1,316]

1 hour ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

I think the Arkansas game would be the difference between a decent season or not. Like if you told me they lose that game, I’d think a sub .500 season. 
 

A&M would be the most realistic surprise win of the season imo 

A&M is starting to feel like Arkansas was during the petrino years. Always giving a lot of hype, but never finishing. 

[Sizzle 3,909]

Man this is depressing. We’re having conversations about which games we can “steal” so we can hopefully finish somewhere around .500 smh. Hopefully we can win the games against the other SEC that’ll be hovering around .500.
 

At the least we have to beat Missouri. And get some payback against Mississippi state. Don’t know what LSU will look like. Other than that I just don’t know

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,649]

2 hours ago, ScotsAU said:

A&M is starting to feel like Arkansas was during the petrino years. Always giving a lot of hype, but never finishing. 

I think they’ll become mid 2010s UGA status in record soon enough. Enough talent to always be the 4th best team in conference at worst. They’ll literally have too much talent to really suck 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,649]

1 hour ago, Sizzle said:

Man this is depressing. We’re having conversations about which games we can “steal” so we can hopefully finish somewhere around .500 smh. Hopefully we can win the games against the other SEC that’ll be hovering around .500.
 

At the least we have to beat Missouri. And get some payback against Mississippi state. Don’t know what LSU will look like. Other than that I just don’t know

I think if you look at some of the 2020 ass kickings and 2021 once that focus they had out the gate subsided and they started losing to no ones, we simply just haven’t had the Joes or Xs and Os to be more than that for a couple years now. 
 

I don’t think this thread should be more than another ingredient in the hair cake we’ve had baking 

[Sizzle 3,909]

2 hours ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

I think if you look at some of the 2020 ass kickings and 2021 once that focus they had out the gate subsided and they started losing to no ones, we simply just haven’t had the Joes or Xs and Os to be more than that for a couple years now. 
 

I don’t think this thread should be more than another ingredient in the hair cake we’ve had baking 

Yeah at least in 2020 they beat the teams they “were supposed to beat” except that trash performance against South Carolina. Now I don’t even know to how to feel going against the middle of the pack SEC teams. 
 

This season I’m not expecting much, just looking for positive strides on offense and a good strong finish in recruiting 

[ThurstontheWelshCorgi 576]

that Western Kentucky game makes me feel uneasy for some reason -- like Georgia state 2.0 possibilities

[au302 2,669]

A&M is the game we need to steal. We're due. So many self-inflicted mistakes against them the past two years that could've easily changed the outcomes. Let's see if Calzada can have better luck against that D than Nix. Would be a big win. Besides that I like how Arky is at home after the bye. Harsin had a good game plan against them last year.

Need to split the Mississippi's on the road and 2/3 in the PSU/Mizzou/LSU stretch. LSU's situation is much different than ours. Orgeron still had stacked talent but was clueless once his good coordinators left. Kelly can get them rolling pretty quickly since the talent didn't have time to drop off. Sorta like the Chiz situation without the complete bottoming out. Honestly think we have a better shot against A&M than them 

[AuburnEagle79 2,165]

No clue why reading this makes me want to pump some sunshine, but we realistically win 8 games and build momentum.

3 gimme games, Mizzou, Arky, PSU, and LSU at home are all winnable. 

Beat MSU on the road, and the other games are against the top two, plus two top 10-15 teams.

I think we lose Ole Miss, A&M, UGA, and Bama, but really think we could shock some people and win the rest. 

With that being said, depending on QB situation, we could win the 3 freebies and get whipped the rest of the way too. Good times in the SEC. 

[Hay Field 101 629]

I know that I will draw some heat for this I don't care. I thank God that you guys are not my coach. My attitude is We Can Win Every Damn One Of Them. The only thing stopping us from doing that is Us. Can you imagine a coach saying hey " We might could win this one or that one " especially at Auburn? Now for the " hey Its reality, join the real world, you are in a pipe dream" type of guy I beat you to it. Damn it stop selling yourself and this team short.  

[Rednilla 5,383]

22 hours ago, Mikey said:

If AU can somehow sweep Mizzou and MSU to finish 5-7, I'll consider winning both of those as stealing one win. Otherwise we finish 4-8.

Would you like to put money on that?

[GunsmithAU 383]

1 hour ago, Hay Field 101 said:

I know that I will draw some heat for this I don't care. I thank God that you guys are not my coach. My attitude is We Can Win Every Damn One Of Them. The only thing stopping us from doing that is Us. Can you imagine a coach saying hey " We might could win this one or that one " especially at Auburn? Now for the " hey Its reality, join the real world, you are in a pipe dream" type of guy I beat you to it. Damn it stop selling yourself and this team short.  

Good thing we aren't coaches 🤷🏼‍♂️

[Hay Field 101 629]

10 minutes ago, GunsmithAU said:

Good thing we aren't coaches 🤷🏼‍♂️

Ok then Basket Weaving. You should have the attitude and perception that you are going to win every basket weaving contest that you are in. How's that? 

[Mikey 16,566]

26 minutes ago, Hay Field 101 said:

Ok then Basket Weaving. You should have the attitude and perception that you are going to win every basket weaving contest that you are in. How's that? 

Again, we aren't coaches or players. We can be objective.

1 hour ago, Rednilla said:

Would you like to put money on that?

The only game I bet on is the Iron Bowl. I always put one dollar on Auburn. Sorry, but this year's game is already spoken for. Maybe my bammer acquaintance will back off some year in the future and there will be room for you to put a dollar on UAT. I'll let you know if that comes to pass.

[woodford 3,655]

We need to beat Penn State. We need an OOC win. It will be a huge day for recruits. 

Edited May 28, 2022 by woodford

[Hay Field 101 629]

7 minutes ago, Mikey said:

Again, we aren't coaches or players. We can be objective.

The only game I bet on is the Iron Bowl. I always put one dollar on Auburn. Sorry, but this year's game is already spoken for. Maybe my bammer acquaintance will back off some year in the future and there will be room for you to put a dollar on UAT. I'll let you know if that comes to pass.

No on ever said that you could not be objective there Hot Rod. Maybe I misunderstood your objectiveness as having a lame ass winning attitude. You know like the guy that uses the term " it is what it is" . So if misunderstood your objectiveness I do apologize but just to you not for my stance.  

[AUBwins 10,071]

9 minutes ago, woodford said:

We need to beat Penn State. We need an OOC win. It will be a huge day for recruits. 

This is the non rivalry game I most want to win this year.  We came very close to beating them in a white out game in Happy Valley.  Really want to beat them for perception.  Beat a Big 10 team.  We don't do that very often of late. 

[woodford 3,655]

1 minute ago, AUBwins said:

This is the non rivalry game I most want to win this year.  We came very close to beating them in a white out game in Happy Valley.  Really want to beat them for perception.  Beat a Big 10 team.  We don't do that very often of late. 

It would help Harsin more than anything. It should tell us a lot about how the season might play out. 

[AUBwins 10,071]

2 minutes ago, woodford said:

It would help Harsin more than anything. It should tell us a lot about how the season might play out. 

Although it was Penn State last year where I became most impressed with Harsin only for us to crap the bed later lol. 

[Mikey 16,566]

9 minutes ago, Hay Field 101 said:

No on ever said that you could not be objective there Hot Rod. Maybe I misunderstood your objectiveness as having a lame ass winning attitude. You know like the guy that uses the term " it is what it is" . So if misunderstood your objectiveness I do apologize but just to you not for my stance.  

You said we (auburn fans) need to have a winning attitude. Quoting: "Ok then Basket Weaving. You should have the attitude and perception that you are going to win every basket weaving contest that you are in. How's that? "

Coaches and players need that attitude. Fans can honestly react to what they see, be it positive or negative.

[DAG 33,963]

Definitely need to win at home against penn state . That would bring in a lot of momentum.  
 

The thing is , I consider a lot of these games 50-50 with the exception of UGA and Bama. My concern is can we make the standard plays and close out. Last year we left so many points on the board because we just could not make the standard plays. Lastly, the staff needs to get over the inconsistency between the 1st half and the second. That is not the DNA of a well coached team. 

Edited June 1, 2022 by DAG

[80Tiger 899]

19 minutes ago, DAG said:

Definitely need to win at home against penn state . That would bring in a lot of momentum.  
 

The thing is , I consider a lot of these games 50-50 with the exception of UGA and Bama. My concern is can we make the standard plays and close out. Last year we left so many points on the board because we just could not make the standard plays. Lastly, the staff needs to get over the inconsistency between the 1st half and the second. The is not the DNA of a well coached team. 

Agree with what your saying, my concern is that IMO we are not as talented as last year so some of those 50/50 games may be like 40/60 or worse.

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

21 minutes ago, DAG said:

Definitely need to win at home against penn state . That would bring in a lot of momentum.  
 

The thing is , I consider a lot of these games 50-50 with the exception of UGA and Bama. My concern is can we make the standard plays and close out. Last year we left so many points on the board because we just could not make the standard plays. Lastly, the staff needs to get over the inconsistency between the 1st half and the second. The is not the DNA of a well coached team. 

I agree with a lot of this. I think we have 6 games we SHOULD win period. Then I think there are about 3 more that are winnable. IF we win what we should and manage to take the 3 other winnable games, the momentum alone could boost us passed one of the 3 opponents who should murder us. 

I think we have a decent season. 8-4 or 9-3. Yea...Im pumping a little...but I have a lot more faith in our QB room than most here.