How many games will Auburn lose this year? Paul Finebaum weighs in
History somewhat repeated itself Saturday, as LSU erased a double-digit deficit again to beat Auburn.
It was a particularly heart-breaking result for Auburn, who came into the season with championship aspirations and still has a very difficult schedule ahead. Auburn will receive a chance to regroup against Arkansas and then Southern Miss the next two weeks, but on Oct. 6, they visit No. 14 Mississippi State.
Then in November, Auburn will face three more ranked opponents, including both of last year’s championship game participants, Alabama and Georgia, on the road.
With such a tough slate, Auburn’s over/under loss total is set at a generous 3.5, and ESPN personality Paul Finebaum still isn’t sure the Tigers will finish under that. During his weekly Monday morning appearance on Birmingham-based radio station WJOX 94.5 FM’s The Roundtable, Finebaum offered up these thoughts on Auburn’s upcoming slate.
“I might go over, because I don’t think I see wins at any of those three places,” Finebaum said. “They got one that was debatable (prior to the season debate) — that was Washington. They let one get away (against LSU). … They were fortunate to beat Washington, and they just threw this game away.
“I still don’t know where to go on LSU. I mean, I know what the stats tell me. They’ve beaten two top teams. They’re resilient. And Auburn is good. I think that’s why the voters kept them (Auburn) in the top 10, but the road ahead is very difficult. I certainly don’t see them beating Georgia or Alabama. I think Mississippi State is to be determined. After that, it’s hard to find too many other challenges in the SEC other than maybe Texas A&M.”
Texas A&M began the season unranked but moved into the rankings for the first time after Week 3.
Auburn opened the season with a 21-16 victory against then No. 6 Washington. The Tigers own a 2-1 record.
Even though the playoff committee will certainly take into account their very difficult schedule, they have zero margin of error.
Paul @Finebaum joins the show to recap AU/LSU, Bama/Ole Miss and more! Courtesy of @Craneworks1987 https://t.co/tN7YVbsbnp
— WJOX 94.5 FM (@WJOX945) September 17, 2018
8-4 is probable. They could still go 9-3 IF they can fix the OL. Gus can’t ever seem to get his team figured out until October.
From what I’ve seen of Auburn your DF looks just as deadly as last year when they shut Georgia’s run game down the first meeting. I didn’t watch the LSU game, but I know that by the time we meet again in Athens it’s not going to be an easy task to run or pass on Kevin Steele’s guys. Auburn to me is the one team this year I would say is going to give us the most trouble, and I just can’t imagine y’all only going 8-4.
Fromm just needs to loft it out and count on one of our DB’s to interfere with the receiver. Easy 15 yards. Our secondary has some serious issues they’ll need to iron out if we’re to have any hope at a close game in Athens or Tuscaloosa.
I’m worried about State and A&M games in addition to the obviously very tough GA/AL games. 7-5 would be a monumental disappointment, 8-4 would really be a disappointment as well. There’s a long way to go from here however things change.
8-4 looks like it will happen. But Gus will lose our bowl game that’s a fact I hope we don’t win another game so we can fire him myself. I’m tired of a mediocre football team. War Eagle Forever.
I think it’s conceivable that Auburn loses two more games, but I’m not sure they end the season with more than 3 losses in the regular season.
Its so hard to ding AU very much for this loss because LSU just doesn’t look like a dominant top 10 beating team (despite doing just that!) i hope LSU is for real, but Washington just seemed SO overrated to start the season. So, that win didn’t jazz me as much as it should. If LSU is for real, then not much shame in a close loss. But, My gut is telling me that LSU is a top 10-15 ranked team that played a great game, and AU is a top 5-10 team that suffered one of Gus’ inexplicable hickups.
9-3 is more likely than 8-4. Georgia and Alabama games will more than likely be close, but they will probably handle MSST like they have the last two years.
I don’t agree. This is not last years MSU team and I’m not being overconfident but that game will be no cake walk like a lot of people think. I might feel differently was it to be played at auburn.
Until Fitzgerald becomes a mediocre threat in the passing game, MSST will not be able to compete against the best SEC defenses.
We shall see!