CBS Sports lists Auburn among five teams least likely to turn season around
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Though the College Football Playoff probably wasn’t a realistic goal for Auburn this preseason, a 3-2 (1-1) start with a loss to division rival Texas A&M at home isn’t exactly ideal.
CBS Sports college football writer Tom Fornelli tends to agree, including the Tigers in his list of five college football teams least likely to turn their seasons around. Here’s his reasoning behind the column:
The thing about preseason expectations is that, for every team that meets or exceeds them, there’s always a team that doesn’t. So far, the 2016 season doesn’t seem to have a shortage of teams that are off to rougher starts than they anticipated.
Here are his rankings:
5. USC Trojans
4. Northwestern Wildcats
3. Auburn Tigers
2. Michigan State Spartans
1. Oregon Ducks
His thoughts on Auburn and its remaining schedule:
Honestly, as I wrote about in The Fornelli 50 earlier this week, I’m actually a bit more optimistic about Auburn right now than I had been before the season. I still have to be pragmatic here and include them on this list. The Tigers are 3-2, but still have games remaining against Arkansas, Georgia, Ole Miss and Alabama. Of those games, only Arkansas will be on The Plains. That doesn’t leave much room for error.
ESPN’s FPI currently predicts Auburn to finish 8-4 (5-3) this season with upcoming losses to No. 14 Ole Miss and No. 1 Alabama — both of which come on the road. After last year’s 6-6 (2-6) mark during the regular season, five wins in conference play doesn’t sound all that bad.
Tyler Waddell is a member of the Saturday Down South news team. He brings over five years of professional journalism experience and is closing in on a Bachelor's in sports management. Follow him on Twitter (@Tyler_Waddell).
