Is Auburn a playoff-caliber team in 2025? Tigers coach Hugh Freeze certainly thinks so.
Freeze said Tuesday at SEC media days he believed his team would be in the playoff conversation at the end of the season. Auburn went 5-7 in 2024, but Freeze said that he felt his team was better than it was a season ago.
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“I truly believe that in the playoff run we’re going to be in this discussion because I love this team,” Freeze said. “… Now, we’ve got to stay healthy and we need the ball to bounce our way a couple times this year instead of against us, I’m sure, but that’s our full expectation. We embrace the fact that is what Auburn should be, in those talks year in, year out.
“It takes a little time to build it, and we’ve been doing that. Certainly I wish we would have won more games a few times, but the future is very bright in my eyes.”
The Tigers are 11-14 in Freeze’s two seasons and 5-11 in the SEC. Former Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold is in line to start after arriving from Norman in the offseason. But Arnold struggled himself in 2024 and was replaced as Oklahoma’s starter during the season.
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Auburn’s schedule is one of the toughest in the country as well. In addition to annual rivalry games with Georgia and Alabama, the Tigers have road games at Oklahoma and Texas A&M and also host a Missouri team that went 10-3 in 2024. A trip to Baylor is on tap in Week 1 too. The Bears ended the 2024 regular season on a six-game win streak and finished 8-5.
If Auburn is in the playoff discussion, Freeze will get serious consideration for the SEC coach of the year. Conversely, if the Tigers are under .500 for a third straight season, Freeze may find himself under serious pressure. Especially after setting expectations so high before the season.
