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5 pivotal games that'll make or break Auburn football's season in 2023

Richard Silva, Montgomery Advertiser

4–5 minutes

The Hugh Freeze era on the Plains will soon kick off.

Auburn football is less than 100 days out from welcoming UMass to Jordan-Hare Stadium on Sept. 2, marking the beginning of the 2023 season and signifying Freeze's first game since joining the Tigers in November. Barring a catastrophe, Auburn should be able to handle the Minutemen with ease, giving its newcomers − more than 40 players joined the Tigers this offseason − some time to jell together.

But things will ratchet up for Auburn the following week, and won't slow down much beyond that. These five games will go a long way in defining the season and deciding whether the Tigers will be a pleasant surprise for their fans in 2023.

Here's a look at five pivotal games that could make or break Auburn football's season.

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Sept. 9 at Cal

Auburn is taking on the Cal for the first time in program history, and it's traveling to Berkeley to do it.

Cal went 4-8 last season, but similar to the Tigers, the Golden Bears have been active this offseason, adding 19 transfers and boasting the No. 16 portal class in the country, according to 247Sports. The matchup is scheduled to take place in Week 2. With Auburn's new-look roster and staff still getting adjusted, an early-season trip out west could either be a trap game or an opportunity for Freeze to start the season 2-0 with Samford coming to the Plains the following week.

Sept. 23 at Texas A&M

No one can accuse Texas A&M of being boring. The Aggies, despite failing to reach a bowl game in 2022, have a roster loaded with talent, plus a new offensive coordinator in Bobby Petrino. Texas A&M scored just 10 points in a loss to Auburn last season, giving the Tigers their first win with interim coach Cadillac Williams.

Auburn has a more than decent chance of starting the season 3-0 with games against UMass, Cal and Samford. If the Tigers can make it four straight by going to College Station and topping the Aggies to begin conference play, the lens in which the season is viewed should change dramatically.

Oct. 31 vs. Ole Miss

This game comes after back-to-back meetings with Georgia at home and LSU on the road, two of the toughest tests for Auburn in 2023. Bouncing back from playing those heavyweights will be crucial, and the matchup with Ole Miss will have no shortage of storylines.

Freeze's ties to Oxford − and his ouster from the program − are widely known. There's also now the connection with Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, who was rumored to have an interest in the AU job before the Tigers hired Freeze.

Nov. 11 at Arkansas

Auburn's loss to Arkansas last season proved to be the final nail in the coffin of former coach Bryan Harsin's tenure with the Tigers. The Razorbacks bring back KJ Jefferson at quarterback, but with 18 new transfers and significant coaching changes − DC Barry Odom, linebackers coach Michael Scherer and tight ends coach Dowell Loggains left the program for promotions this offseason − Arkansas will be a different team in 2023.

But will it be a team Freeze can beat? That's to be determined.

Nov. 25 vs. Alabama

The Iron Bowl always has value, no matter the implications. Just look at last season: The Tigers came in under .500 and Alabama was all but eliminated from College Football Playoff contention, and yet the game didn't lack fanfare going in.

With the Crimson Tide's murky situation at quarterback, Freeze may have a better opportunity than his predecessors at an upset. Beginning his tenure with a win over Alabama would not only end his first regular season back in the SEC on a positive note but also put a considerable amount of wind in Auburn's sails heading into the offseason.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football: 5 games that'll make or break AU's season in 2023

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Why the Playoff is on the brain for Hugh Freeze amid SEC schedule discourse

"What's best for Auburn and what is best for the SEC, are those things the same?"

Nathan King3 hrs

A major component of SEC football’s future is on the docket this week at SEC spring meetings in Destin, Florida. And while Auburn’s first-year coach is excited to share ideas and concerns with his fellow conference leaders, Hugh Freeze can’t help but think ahead to what a decision this week could mean for his program down the line.

The anticipation of a decision on a new scheduling model for the expanded SEC in 2024 has now reached a boiling point, as coaches, athletic directors and presidents will converge and attempt to iron out a blueprint for the league. As has been the case for months leading up to the meetings, though, Freeze certainly doesn’t have as strong a preference on which direction the SEC should steer as some of his head-coaching cohorts.

“I have enough to worry about with everything on my plate,” Freeze said Tuesday. “When people ask me about eight or nine games, I'm like, talk to (Auburn president) Dr. Roberts and (athletic director) John Cohen. What's best for Auburn and what is best for the SEC, are those things the same? I know all of those discussions will take place.”

But Freeze’s primary concern, which he made sure to touch on several times Tuesday, is whether a nine-game conference schedule would negatively impact Auburn’s chances to compete for a national title.

When the SEC grows next year, the College Football Playoff will also expand to 12 teams. Theoretically, Auburn will have greater opportunities moving forward to participate, considering the quality of opponents the Tigers face annually, often with the No. 1 or No. 2 toughest strength of schedule in college football. Nine or 10 wins against those gauntlets have usually boded well for Auburn’s rankings and nationally positioning in the past.

But would Auburn be punished for having to play an extra SEC game? Could a loss in a matchup that previously didn’t exist on the schedule bump Freeze’s team out of the Playoff picture?

“From a football coach's perspective, the biggest question I would have is, as important as those games are to us, how does the playoff look at it?” Freeze said. “If you're an SEC opponent and you're really quality and you've won a lot of good games, but you dropped two to top teams or a third one — do you still get in? When the playoff expands, I think all of those are unknowns.”

For the better part of the past two years since Texas and Oklahoma were reported, then announced as expansion schools for the league starting next season, the prevailing schedule concept had been a nine-game slate, with three permanent opponents and six rotating games every year. But according to reporting from 247Sports’ Brandon Marcello, support for the nine-game schedule has dwindled from SEC decision-makers and coaches, and the conference has comparable backing for an eight-game model that would feature just one permanent opponent.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has voiced his case for the nine-game schedule.

Both models have the same end goal of allowing programs to face every other team in the SEC, home and away, over the course of four years.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart had a money quote Tuesday when he called the schedule discourse “the most overrated conversation there ever was,” citing the fact that both concepts achieve the same matchups over the course of four seasons.

Marcello reported later in the day Tuesday that a vote on the schedule still isn’t a guarantee this week at spring meetings. Athletic directors and coaches will meet Wednesday before university presidents arrive Thursday.

“(Sankey) said it's time for the plane to land,” Freeze said. “I think we as coaches are just kind of the same way. Tell us what's best for our conference. You would love for that to align perfectly with what's best for our school, but ultimately, you've gotta do what's best for the conference.”

With the SEC also set to begin its TV partnership with ESPN in 2024, marking the end of a long run with CBS as the conference’s primary provider, there are plenty of factors at play for the league to consider when attempting to hash out the future of the conference and what will ensure its success.

Freeze’s job first and foremost is to be a football coach, though, and the best interests of his program — including the quality of matchups and rivalries offered to the fan base and his players — are his focus.

“Whatever's best for Auburn,” Freeze said. “I don't know if I'm the authority to say (whether it should be eight or nine games). Are you guys gonna put us in the playoff with three losses if we run the table on everybody else? All of those things are going to be what coaches are thinking about: How do we best position ourselves and satisfy our fans? All of that is kind of difficult. But I love coaching in big games, and our players love playing in big games. They should. They have in the past, and I want to get that back. There's so many unknowns with what's coming in the future.

“And I haven't even talked about the money stuff — and thank God I'm not in those discussions, with the TV money and what it means to each institution. I think our ADs and presidents will make the right decision, along with Commissioner Sankey.”

Dawgs247 reporter Jordan Hill, who's in Destin this week for spring meetings, contributed to this story.

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Five-star WR Perry Thompson sets visit with Auburn

Lance Dawe
~2 minutes

Thompson, a current Alabama commit, is coming to the Plains in a couple of weeks.

In this story:

Auburn Tigers

Auburn Tigers

Perry Thompson, a current Alabama commit and five-star wide receiver, is set to take a visit to Auburn, per his social media.

Thompson, the No. 7 wide receiver and No. 31 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting cycle (according to the 247Sports composite rankings), has been committed to the Crimson Tide for a little over nine months. The recent surge from Auburn was in large part due to new wide receivers coach Marcus Davis building a strong connection with Thompson and getting him on the Plains for A-Day.

If Auburn were to land him, he would be the first five-star recruit to sign with Auburn since Owen Pappoe. Thompson would be the first in-state five-star since Bo Nix.

A Foley native and a large 6-foot-3, 205 pound receiver, Thompson's obvious comparison is Alabama superstar Julio Jones. He has performed at a Jones-like level in his high school career so far, racking up over over 1,800 yards receiving and 15 touchdowns in his three years as a starter for the Foley Lions.

The Tigers currently have five players committed in the 2024 class, including four-stars J'Marion Burnette (RB), Walker White (QB), A'Mon Lane (CB), Jayden Lewis (CB), and Martavious Collins (TE)


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auburnwire.usatoday.com

Mike Farrell talks Auburn's 'interesting' additions of Jalen McLeod and Larry Nixon III

Taylor Jones

2–3 minutes

When it comes to the transfer portal, Auburn football had just as much success in the spring window as it did in the winter by reeling in seven more players which included two linebackers.

Mike Farrell recently spent time breaking down transfer linebackers, and has listed Auburn’s additions of Larry Nixon III from North Texas and Jalen McLeod from Appalachian State as “interesting moves.”

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Farrell released his choices for the top five interesting linebacker moves of the spring transfer window and has included Nixon and McLeod in the mix. Starting with Nixon, Farrell says that he will have plenty of opportunities to earn playing time this season.

Having totaled 245 tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss and 6.5 sacks during his time with North Texas, Nixon now brings his productive experience to Auburn. He is part of a revamped linebacking group, being the fourth added by the Tigers during this cycle. While Cam Riley and Wesley Steiner are also important returnees at the position, there is plenty of opportunity to earn playing time this fall.

He then mentions McLeod by saying that his production at Appalachian State will provide a quick boost to the position.

McLeod arrives at Auburn in a similar situation as the above-mentioned Larry Nixon. Coming off a season when he finished with 7.5 tackles for a loss and six sacks, his production and playmaking ability will be an immediate valuable asset for the Tigers. However, just like Nixon, he will have to battle with several returning players and other transfers for playing time which will make summer camp very interesting at the position.

Nixon and McLeod are among the seven valuable additions to Auburn’s roster from the spring window of the portal. Quarterback Payton Thorne, offensive lineman Jaden Muskrat, and wide receiver Jyaire Shorter brings Auburn’s transfer haul to 21 total members, which is second in the nation behind Colorado.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

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saturdaydownsouth.com

Hugh Freeze shares bold idea to end tampering, addresses questions about scheduling

Keith Farner

2–3 minutes

Hugh Freeze has a bold idea to end tampering in college football. But it’s so strong, the Auburn coach doesn’t believe it’s realistic.

Freeze said his idea is to end transfers except for when a player graduates, or a coach is fired. “But I don’t think that will ever happen again,” he said.

As far as coaching in this era of the transfer portal, Freeze admitted that he sometimes asks himself if his way still works.

Freeze is a big fan of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry with Georgia, and said it’s “huge” for fans, but deflected questions about an 8- or 9-game schedule, and said his athletics director and president should weigh in.

“I don’t think it will be real spirited within the coaches room … Just give us our matching orders,” Freeze said. “Tell us what’s best for the conference.”

Hugh Freeze says to eliminate tampering you’d have to suspend the rule that allows athletes to transfer and play immediately (unless the coach leaves/is fired or they graduate).

“But I don’t think that will ever happen again.”

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) May 30, 2023

H/T Jesse Simonton.

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South. Follow on Twitter.

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cbssports.com

College football transfer portal: Colorado, LSU among teams that upgraded 2023 rosters with new additions

Barrett Sallee

8–10 minutes

The first offseason with two official transfer portal windows is winding down, and the new era of player movement is at the center of a national discourse. Undergraduate players no longer have to sit on the sideline for an entire season before hitting the field, and a version of free agency has taken control of the sport. Like it or not, this is the new reality, and we've seen players around the country take advantage of the new rules.

Among the big names to find new homes are former Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman, who made his way to Notre Dame; former NC State signal-caller Devin Leary, who moved to Kentucky; and star wide receiver Travis Hunter, who followed coach Deion Sanders from Jackson State to Colorado.

Some teams went hard by targeting multiple players in an effort to revamp their rosters, while others targeted specific players that can add some depth and summer competition to help them make the College Football Playoff. Which method will work? That depends on the needs of each program and coach based on where they currently sit in the landscape of their divisions and conferences.

The new era has ushered in more freedom for players than we've ever seen before thanks to immediate eligibility and the ability to make money off of their name, image and likeness. Following these chess pieces around the board is nearly impossible. No worries, CBS Sports has you covered. Here are the five teams that benefitted the most during the transfer portal madness of the winter and spring windows.

1. Colorado Buffaloes

Notable additions: DB/WR Travis Hunter (Jackson State), QB Shedeur Sanders (Jackson State), LB Demouy Kennedy (Alabama), RB Alton McCaskill (Houston), Jimmy Horn Jr. (South Florida), EDGE Derrick McLendon II (Florida State), S Brendan Gant (Florida State)

Notable additions, of course, could take up several lines at Colorado given the way coach Deion Sanders has utilized the transfer portal; instead, we'll focus on headliners from the most substantial roster overhaul (incoming and outgoing) in modern college football. 

Hunter pulled a stunner as the top-ranked recruit in the Class of 2022 by choosing Jackson State over Florida State. He went on to nab two interceptions (including a pick six) during his freshman campaign. Additionally, he had 190 yards receiving and four touchdowns as an offensive weapon. He should do some serious damage in the Pac-12.

Shedeur Sanders is already entrenched as the starting quarterback after following his father from Jackson to Boulder. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound dual-threat stud has the tools and production (accounting for 70 passing touchdowns in two seasons at JSU) to contend for the top tier of the Pac-12's loaded quarterback room. 

Will the new-look Colorado roster help the Buffs contend for the conference title this season? That's a tall order for a program coming off a 1-11 season, but Sanders made it clear from the moment he stepped onto campus that what was in place wasn't going to remain. That "process" has come to fruition, and it was significant regardless of what happens this fall. 

2. Auburn Tigers

Notable additions: QB Payton Thorne (Michigan State), RB Brian Battie (South Florida), OL Avery Jones (East Carolina), OL Dillon Wade (Tulsa), DL Justin Rogers (Kentucky), WR Caleb Burton (Ohio State)

First-year coach Hugh Freeze's portal plan was clear right away: "Go get 'em." Freeze went hard after offensive and defensive linemen to build SEC-caliber units. It's nearly impossible to find 6-foot 5, 320-pound offensive tackles with feet like ballerinas in the transfer portal, so stocking up on some developmental projects is a healthy approach.

"We had to try to get depth in the offensive line and defensive line first for this league," Freeze told CBS Sports in February. "The only way that I knew how to do that was the portal. We are excited about numbers that we signed and the guys we signed out of the portal who have experience to try to lay us a foundation of how we are going to keep."

Freeze also needed another option at quarterback alongside incumbent starter Robby Ashford, and he gets a multi-year starter with New Year's Six bowl experience in Thorne from Michigan State. Freeze made sure to provide help at wide receiver, too, and he added a former 1,000-yard rusher in Battie, who is also a factor special teams.

3. Florida State Seminoles

Notable additions: WR Keon Coleman (Michigan State), Fentrell Cypress II (Virginia), TE Jaheim Bell (South Carolina), DL Braden Fiske (Western Michigan), EDGE Gilber Edmond (South Carolina)

The Seminoles are trendy College Football Playoff picks, and coach Mike Norvell used the portal to add even more to his championship-caliber roster. Coleman, a 6-foot-4, 216-pounder, is a breakout candidate in a receiving corps that includes 6-foot-7 star Johnny Wilson and 6-foot-4 junior Deuce Spann. That's a lot of length for star quarterback and preseason Heisman Trophy candidate Jordan Travis to use. 

Star defensive lineman Jared Verse passed on the NFL and has plenty of help for what should be one of the best units in the country. Fiske was ranked 18th nationally among players in the transfer portal and No. 2 overall along the defensive line. Edmond was the top-ranked EDGE and ninth overall in the 247Sports transfer portal rankings. Norvell clearly wanted to create more depth and versatility up front, which is exactly what championship-caliber programs need.

Florida State isn't like Auburn and Colorado, two programs that clearly went for quantity to beef up their rosters. Norvell was more targeted in his approach, indicating he could be more comfortable with his roster.

4. LSU Tigers

Notable additions: CB Denver Harris (Texas A&M), CB Duce Chestnut (Syracuse) CB Zy Alexander (Southeastern Louisiana), RB Logan Diggs (Notre Dame)

Coach Brian Kelly did a great job in the portal, specifically in the secondary. Harris and Chestnut have high-profile Power Five experience, and Alexander moves up to FBS with plenty of hype. LSU likes to tout itself as "DBU," and Kelly wants to make sure that moniker sticks through a massive haul through the portal. 

"You know we have a little bit of experience when you take a look at Alexander, Harris and Chestnut who played a lot at Syracuse," Kelly said in April. "I don't feel like we have put ourselves in a position where we are throwing freshmen out there." 

Star quarterback Jayden Daniels could use some help, too, and Kelly targeted several weapons, including the recently committed Diggs -- Notre Dame's second-leading rusher last season. The rushing attack at LSU is loaded with experience, but the statuses of several of those incumbents are up-in-the-air based on multiple factors, including injuries to three potential contributors and the absence of veteran John Emery Jr. due to academic issues.

5. USC Trojans

Notable additions: DL Bear Alexander (Georgia), DL Anthony Lucas (Texas A&M), DB Christian Roland-Wallace (Arizona), RB MarShawn Lloyd (South Carolina), WR Dorian Singer (Arizona)

The Trojans defense was brutal last season, so coach Lincoln Riley loaded up on defenders in the portal -- especially up front. Alexander, a 6-foot-3, 325-pound monster, was a four-star prospect and the No. 111 overall player in the Class of 2022. He was ranked 12th among players in the transfer portal and was the top-ranked defensive lineman. He will likely be the centerpiece of the Trojans' defensive line.

If they are going to make a run to the CFP, it's imperative that Riley makes his defense at least "average" considering how dynamic the offense should be. Lloyd was a star with the Gamecocks and Singer was a 1,100-yard performer for the Wildcats. Star quarterback Caleb Williams won the Heisman Trophy last year after an unbelievable season, and 2023 looks even scarier thanks to what Riley did to supplement his offensive depth chart.

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Auburn football top ten in blue-chip ratio for 2024 recruiting class

Lance Dawe

~2 minutes

The Tigers are recruiting strongly again.

The Tigers are recruiting strongly again.

Auburn football's 2024 recruiting class has garnered attention with their impressive fifth-best blue chip ratio in the country. The blue chip ratio is a metric used to measure a team's recruiting success by comparing the number of highly regarded recruits to the total number of recruits in a given class. In this case, Auburn has secured a significant portion of top-tier talent.

Per On3, the 80% of the Tigers commits are blue-chip, which isn't difficult to calculate given the fact that the class is only five players large right now.

The class features several notable recruits, including four-star players such as Walker White, J'Marion Brunette, A'Mon Lane, Jayden Lewis, and three-star tight end Martavious Collins. Auburn's class is ranked No. 32 nationally right now.

The high blue chip ratio for Auburn indicates that the program is heading back in the right direction under new head coach Hugh Freeze. The Tigers struggled to pull themselves out of the basement of the SEC for a few seasons when it came to recruiting, and if they can kick things off with a strong 2024 class, the future will be looking extremely bright.

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Here are the two newcomers not yet qualified to join Auburn football

Richard Silva

MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. — Two players Auburn football added this offseason are not yet qualified to join the team.

Three-star wide receiver Daquayvious Sorey and former junior college defensive lineman Quientrail Jamison-Travis are still working to qualify, a source told the Montgomery Advertiser on Tuesday.

At an AMBUSH event in LaGrange, Georgia on May 17, coach Hugh Freeze said there were two players who were "not finished up (with) everything that would make (them) a qualifier yet."

"I feel good about one of them," Freeze added. "The other, truthfully, I have a hard time knowing what to feel, really."

Auburn has brought in more than 40 new players this offseason, including 20 transfers, 19 recruits in the Class of 2023 and two players from the JUCO level. The Tigers have the No. 18 freshman class in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite.

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Just now, toddc said:

Here are the two newcomers not yet qualified to join Auburn football

Richard Silva

MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. — Two players Auburn football added this offseason are not yet qualified to join the team.

Three-star wide receiver Daquayvious Sorey and former junior college defensive lineman Quientrail Jamison-Travis are still working to qualify, a source told the Montgomery Advertiser on Tuesday.

At an AMBUSH event in LaGrange, Georgia on May 17, coach Hugh Freeze said there were two players who were "not finished up (with) everything that would make (them) a qualifier yet."

"I feel good about one of them," Freeze added. "The other, truthfully, I have a hard time knowing what to feel, really."

Auburn has brought in more than 40 new players this offseason, including 20 transfers, 19 recruits in the Class of 2023 and two players from the JUCO level. The Tigers have the No. 18 freshman class in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite.

I wonder if this might still have an effect on the dude who tried to commit but didn’t have room for??

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