Auburn managed to hold onto hope the previous two weekends.
Despite sloppy play and some concerns — namely, another injury to Carl Lawson and the extreme ineffectiveness of Jeremy Johnson — the Tigers escaped with wins against Louisville and Jacksonville State.
RELATED: Associated Press Top 25 | Coaches Poll Top 25
Remaining unbeaten early in the season, Auburn traveled to Baton Rouge hoping that its on-field play improved to match its national ranking and lofty preseason expectations.
Instead, LSU clobbered Auburn back to reality with a sledgehammer otherwise known as Leonard Fournette. The 45-21 loss was over at halftime.
In a mild shock, the Coaches Poll still ranked Auburn at No. 25 on Sunday, though the Tigers fell out of the Associated Press Top 25. Auburn is the eighth team listed in the “also receiving votes” category, behind both Mississippi State and Tennessee.
Auburn dropped 12 spots to No. 18 in the AP last week after a win and ranked at No. 15 prior to Saturday’s loss according to the coaches.
Coach Gus Malzahn must at least evaluate whether Johnson gives the team the best chance to win moving forward, so complete have been his struggles through three games. Auburn (2-1, 0-1) also must re-evaluate its realistic expectations for the 2015 season.
There’s good news and bad news.
Saturday’s game only counts as one loss. Theoretically, the team could finish 11-1 in the regular season, win the SEC championship and make the College Football Playoff. Remaining in the top 25 shows a lot of respect among peers for Malzahn and defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.
But the way Auburn has played through three games, just finishing in the top half of the SEC West is going to be a major chore.
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
