Auburn Tigers 2024 College Football Preview
Posted July 18, 2024
2023 Recap
Record – 6-7
ATS – 6-7
That was a wild ride for a 6-7 season. The Tigers only beat one team that went bowling (California) but they treated us to some entertaining football in their toughest games. They gave #1 Georgia all they could handle and lost by a TD (L 27-20), and who will ever forget the 4th and a mile conversion that ROLL TIDE needed to beat Auburn by three points in the dying seconds **. There were a few horrid moments like getting smoked at home vs something called New Mexico St (L 31-10) and being poleaxed by Maryland in the Music City Bowl, but I guess that was just all part of the fun.
** “Bond. Isaiah Bond.” <Brad Nessler>
Let’s see what HC Hugh Freeze has cooking in his second season on the Plains.
Auburn Tigers 2024 Outlook
OFFENSE
The Tigers had an inconsistent THROW GAME last season behind the arm of Payton Thorne (16-10 TD to INT) but they did a good job on the ground thanks primarily to the work of #1 RB Jarquez Hunter (909, 7 TD, 5.7). The top-three RBs are back for battle and don’t forget that Thorne can do some damage with his legs (515, 3 TD). The WR group has been massively upgraded and that’s great news for stud TE Rivaldo Fairweather who led the team in receptions and receiving yards LY. Robert Lewis (Georgia St, 877 yards, 7 TD LY) and Keandre Lambert-Smith (673, 4 TD) are two instant starters, and don’t sleep on true freshman Cam Coleman who dazzled during the spring according to our AUBURN INSIDERS **. The offensive line should be fine and they made a fantastic addition by snagging stud LT Percy Lewis from Mississippi St. We’re confident in projecting that Auburn will average 30+ PPG for the first time since 2019.
** who also attended SEC MEDIA DAYS ^^
^^ Fact check: Ok, buddy. Nice try.
DEFENSE
Auburn was decent on defense LY (22.6 PPG, #43) but they still haven’t got back to the pre-PLANDEMIC days when they consistently allowed less than 20 PPG. This year’s DL looks very deep even after losing a pair of players to the NFL Draft. They added a few big bodies inside as well as a legit PENETRATOR in DE Keyron Crawford (5.5 sacks LY with Ark St). The Tigers have a fantastic 1-2 punch at LB in #1 tackler Eugene Asante (5 sacks, 8.5 TFL) and Jalen McLeod (5.5 sacks, 10.5 TFL), and our only concern on defense is a secondary that lost three players to the NFL. There are at least two legit doods on the back end in CB Keionte Scott and safety Jerrin Thompson (Texas) but we’ll have to see how they hold up vs the better passing attacks on the schedule **.
** Exhibit A: Oklahoma in week 5, Georgia in week 6.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Yes, guy.
The Tigers have one of the best special teams units in the SEC (#5 per Phil Steele LY) and everyone is back in 2024. Two players to keep an eye on are PK Alex McPherson (13/13 FG, 40/40 XP LY) and PR Keionte Scott (14.8, TD).
Schedule Analysis
Overall – We love the non-conference action as they look like a great bet to go 4-0 (three TOMATO CANS, Cal at home). The SEC slate is nasty as they’ve gotta face Georgia, Missouri, and ROLL TIDE on the road. Oklahoma is coming to town in late September and that one should be fun.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – Nothing heinous is noted. New Mexico and ULM are potential lookahead games but those teams are HOT TRASH.
Season Win Total
Market consensus July 18
Over 7.5 +120
Under 7.5 -150
MEGALOCKS says:
No leanage.
We’d almost certainly play the ‘over 7’ if we could find one but we’re still searching as we approach press time. Seven wins seems extremely doable but eight wins is getting close to the ceiling.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
Hugh Freeze is an eye-popping 81-56-1 ATS (59%) during his time with Arkansas St, Ole Miss, Liberty, and Auburn (6-7).
Auburn has won precisely five or six games in every year since the 2020 SCAMDEMIC season. Previous to that, the Tigers had won seven or more games in every campaign from 2013-2019.
Auburn is often referred to as ‘the Plains’. This dates back to a 1770 Oliver Goldsmith poem called ‘The Deserted Village’ which includes the line, ‘sweet Auburn, the loveliest village on the plain.’ While the poem is actually referring to a town in IRELAND, Auburn fans adopted the nickname as their own **.
** Is this cultural appropriation? If any lawyers want to start suing every Auburn fan that’s ever lived into the Stone Age we’ll take 5% of the eventual settlement for bringing the idea to your attention.
MEGALOCKS Forecast:
It didn’t take very long for Hugh Freeze to make us think, “Hey, these guys look pretty good.” That certainly wasn’t the case heading into the 2023 season but they were right there with ROLL TIDE and Georgia. The Tigers are clearly in the 2nd tier of the SEC but they’ve improved the roster on both sides of the football. It’s too bad the schedule is so tough, but we’ll still call for eight wins and give them a shot to head into the game at Georgia with a mark of 5-0. WAR EAGLE!