Hope springs eternal across college campuses this time of year.
Hope is there because every school’s football program – big or small, renowned or forgotten – is preparing for the 2025 season. Those teams are primed and pumped and ready to dominate their opponents, and most importantly, they haven’t played a game yet.
Because once talking season ends and games start in a couple weeks, no longer will hope spring eternal for everyone.
Right now, there is plenty of hope for the Auburn Tigers. Despite 2-straight losing seasons under coach Hugh Freeze and 2 more before Freeze arrived, the Auburn family still knows not only has it won a national championship in this millennium, but it also has plenty of talent in orange and blue that can win plenty of games.
Does Auburn have a chance to be a spoiler – and even a contender – in 2025? Absolutely. Will either of those happen? Here are 5 reasons the answer for Auburn may ultimately be no:
1. Uncertainty under center
Listen, there are plenty of contenders out there across the college football landscape with uncertain quarterback situations. Look no further than the Capstone – which is currently embroiled in a 3-way QB battle. But just like that being a concern for Alabama, not quite knowing what to expect from Auburn’s quarterback is a concern.
Auburn has endured plenty of quarterback uncertainty under Freeze and is facing a revamped 2025 that will either see 2 transfers or a freshman at the offensive helm. Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold is the projected starter, and his skillset certainly fits Auburn’s RPO-based offense – look no further than his 131-yard rushing performance in Oklahoma’s victory over Alabama last season.
But should Arnold fall short early, Freeze could be tempted to yank the rip cord early. Ashton Daniels is capable, and his legs were also a weapon at Stanford. And freshman Deuce Knight might well be the future. But this position is still very much a question mark.
2. The schedule is no joke
A common complaint across the SEC is just how tough everyone’s schedule is, and it is a valid gripe – seeing as how the conference is stocked with quality teams from top to bottom and going on the road to even a historic bottom-dweller like Vanderbilt is now wrought with terror (See Tide, Crimson in 2025).
Auburn’s 2025 slate is similarly nasty, though it doesn’t also feature a challenging nonconference matchup besides the Aug. 29 season opener at Baylor. But going to Oklahoma and Texas A&M on back-to-back weeks to open SEC play, then taking on Georgia at home Oct. 11 is as tough a 3-game stretch as it gets. Add in the aforementioned Commodores in Nashville on Nov. 8 and the cross-state archrival Tide inside Jordan-Hare on Nov. 29, and suddenly it feels like walking through an “It Just Means More” field of landmines.
3. Winning close contests doesn’t happen
Auburn finished 5-7 last season and didn’t make a bowl appearance for the second time in the past 4 years, which without question is unacceptable. But the Tigers could have easily made that 8-4 and been bowling had they not blown leads against Cal, Oklahoma and Missouri.
A paradox to No. 2 above is the fact that Auburn will end up squaring off against just 2 opponents in 2025 that won at least 10 games in 2024 – and will face 8 teams that won 8 or less. But at some point, you simply gotta win those games… and the Tigers have yet to show they can in the Freeze Era instead of going 1-3 in 1-score games like they have.
4. Figuring it out at linebacker
This is where the transfer portal should have borne more fruit, but inexplicably Freeze and Co. were unable to conjure up enough talent to properly replace the deficit left by Dorian Mausi Jr., Eugene Asante, and Austin Keys.
It also didn’t help matters that redshirt freshman D’Angelo Barber was dismissed from the team following his arrest. Sophomore Demarcus Riddick shows fantastic potential, and Maryland transfer Caleb Wheatland was above average in the Big Ten. But history has shown that you simply cannot have enough experienced linebackers to contend in the SEC and beyond.
5. Hugh Freeze, y’all
“Beware the cornered coach” could be etched in stone somewhere, because it is certainly possible that Freeze facing a make-or-break year could result in fantastic deliverables.
Or not, as we detailed earlier this week.
It doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to understand that, after 6-7 and 5-7 seasons at the Happiest Village on the Plains, the natives are getting restless for some actual victories instead of the jumbo handful of moral ones. Freeze showed consistent upward success at Ole Miss before his myriad issues caused his downfall, and the the job he did at Liberty literally revived his career.
But 2025 is undoubtedly it for Freeze at Auburn. Win 8 or more games (and beat Alabama or Georgia) and he still quaffs lemonade for free at Toomer’s Drug Store. But finish .500 or worse and throw up a bagel against the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide… look out.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
