The Associated Press preseason Top 25 football rankings were released on Monday, and for the fourth straight year, Auburn will start the season unranked. Auburn’s current team, under second-year head coach Hugh Freeze, received just two votes, placing them at 41st overall. This continues a trend, as Auburn has also finished the last three seasons unranked.
The last time Auburn was ranked in the AP Poll was November 2021, before consecutive losses to Texas A&M and Mississippi State dropped them out of the Top 25. Since 1981, Auburn has only gone an entire season without being ranked six times, typically during either the first or last year of a head coach’s tenure.
Historically, Auburn has had mixed results when starting the season unranked. Some of their best seasons, such as in 1982, 1993, 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2010, began outside the rankings but ended with high finishes. Conversely, Auburn has also had seasons where they started ranked but ended unranked, as seen in 1985, 2003, 2008, and 2018, among others.
The 2024 season presents opportunities for Auburn to climb into the rankings, especially with early games against unranked opponents. The Tigers will face Alabama A&M, California, New Mexico, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, with only the Sooners ranked at #16 in the preseason poll. Auburn also has matchups against four other Top 25 teams, including #1 Georgia, #5 Alabama, #11 Missouri, and #20 Texas A&M.
Overall, nine SEC teams made the preseason Top 25, and while Auburn is not among them, they did receive some votes, along with Kentucky. The Tigers will have to prove themselves on the field to break their streak of unranked finishes.