Auburn Tigers 2023 Future Odds

The Auburn Tigers reeled in one of the biggest fish in the offseason coaching carousel in Hugh Freeze. Can Freeze lead the Tigers back to contention in Year One? Or will this rebuild, if you will, require a bit more patience? Read on as we break down the Auburn Tigers future odds in our team preview.

Auburn Tigers At A Glance

Freeze Era is Underway

Hiring Hugh Freeze was a bold move, one that comes with obvious upside but also some risk. Freeze has won, and won big, in the SEC. He brought Ole Miss to the Sugar Bowl and even beat Alabama twice. But Freeze’s success story soon came crashing down. Freeze came under fire prior to the 2017 season after it was discovered that he’d made phone calls to an escort service. There were NCAA recruiting violations as well, and Freeze ultimately resigned as the Rebels’ head coach.

Following a brief hiatus from coaching, Freeze rebranded his image at Liberty. He went 34-15 and made a bowl game in each of his four seasons at the school.

Auburn, in hopes of resurrecting its floundering program, is betting big on Freeze. The Tigers were a mess under Bryan Harsin, with two straight sub-.500 finishes. Freeze has a lot of work to do — Auburn, for instance, hasn’t won a bowl since 2018 — but he appears to have gotten off on the right foot. Freeze did plenty of heavy lifting in the transfer portal, landing three potential starters on the offensive line and former Michigan State quarterback Payton Thorne. Over the last two seasons, Thorne combined to pass for more than 6,000 yards, 46 touchdowns, and 21 interceptions, per NCAA football stats. He figures to compete for the starting job with returning sophomore Robby Ashford. Keep that in mind as you assess the Auburn Tigers future odds.

National Championship Odds: Maybe in the Future

Since the start of the preseason, the Auburn Tigers future odds have dropped from +10000 to +15000. That speaks volumes. Freeze was a strong hire, a definite upgrade over his predecessor, but Auburn isn’t ready to make this big a leap.

Even if all the transfers fall into place and Freeze has Auburn back into contention faster than expected, what is the ceiling? Are they good enough to beat Georgia? Alabama? Ohio State? Michigan? Doubtful.

Conference Odds: It’s a Two, Maybe Three-Team Race

Eight of the last nine SEC titles have gone to either Georgia or Alabama since Auburn won in 2013. No surprise, those two powerhouses figure to be atop the conference again this season, with LSU also in contention. At +8000, Auburn is something of a longshot. That’s the short and (no pun intended) long of it.

Headlined by Alabama and LSU, the SEC West is a bear. Auburn will likely finish closer to the bottom than the top.

Regular Season Wins: SEC Play to Make or Break Them

Auburn is projected for 6.5 wins, with the Under juiced to +110. The Tigers haven’t hit the Over since 2019, and this year won’t be any different if they can’t hold their own in SEC play.

Fortunately, the non-conference schedule is soft. And that’s putting it mildly. The Tigers are currently 39-point favorites for their Sept. 2 opener against UMass. Many NCAAF predictions have pegged the Minutemen as one of the worst FBS teams in the country. Same with New Mexico State, which visits on Nov. 18.

But Auburn will make up for that in the conference. Its first four SEC games are against Texas A&M, Georgia, LSU, and Ole Miss. That stretch, from Sept. 23 to Oct. 21, will likely shape their season.

To Make Playoffs: Not Even Under Consideration

Is Auburn in the College Football Playoff? Oddsmakers aren’t even considering it. That’d be simply too big a hill to climb in Year One under Freeze. The Tigers would need to, at worst, reach the SEC title game, which at this point is highly unlikely.

For NCAAF scores, odds, analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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