It will be strange to see an Auburn offense without Bo Nix at the helm.
The former blue-chip quarterback and legacy was the starter since 2019 but transferred to Oregon this offseason. Quarterback is just one question facing a Tigers team that finished with a 6-7 record a year and enters 2022 with a load of questions – and a low win total (5.5) in college football betting. That’s not going to cut it at Auburn, and Bryan Harsin may find himself on the college football hot seat yet again after surviving a long offseason.
Tank Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter form a prolific duo at running back, but there are questions everywhere else offensively and the defense returns only five starters. The schedule starts off somewhat slow but gets very difficult later on.
Here’s a look at Auburn’s schedule with dates, times, opponents, and analysis:
Week 1 – vs. Mercer Bears
Date: September
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
This should be a free win to get things going for Harsin and company to kick off what is a manageable first two games. Auburn has a remarkable five straight home games to begin the year.
Week 2 – vs. San Jose State Spartans
Date: September 10
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
The Spartans are a program that can surprise a Power 5 team now and then if playing at their best. They were not at their best a year ago, finishing 5-7, but turn to Hawaii transfer Chevan Cordeiro and bring back a slew of receiving talent.
Week 3 – vs. Penn State Nittany Lions
Date: September 17
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
This will be a pivotal moment in Auburn’s season despite it being a non-conference game. There’s a good chance that they’re 2-0 heading into this one and it would be a huge boost to start the season 3-0, but a win over an improved-looking Nittany Lions team won’t be easy to come by.
James Franklin was AMPED up after Penn State beat Auburn❗ pic.twitter.com/ZZSLQ7jfD9
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) September 19, 2021
Week 4 – vs. Missouri Tigers
Date: September 24
Time: TBD
Missouri finished only 6-7 a year ago and lost the bowl game to Army. This is another winnable game for Auburn, who should aim to be at least 3-1 after four weeks of the season.
Week 5 – vs. LSU Tigers
Date: October 1
Time: TBD
LSU will look much different this year under Brian Kelly and a slew of transfers. There’s a strong probability that Kelly has this team playing better at the end of the season, so Week 5 isn’t a bad time to catch them.
Week 6 – at Georgia Bulldogs
Date: October 8
Time: TBD
You can probably chalk this one up as a loss even though Georgia has to replace a ton from last year’s national championship team. The Bulldogs won 34-10 at Auburn a year ago.
Week 7 – at Ole Miss Rebels
Date: October 15
Time: TBD
Ole Miss captured a 31-20 win at Jordan-Hare a year ago and this is a difficult spot with back-to-back road games against two good teams. There’s a chance Auburn goes on a mini slide before their off week.
Week 8 – BYE
Week 9 – vs. Arkansas Razorbacks
Date: October 29
Time: TBD
Auburn will be refreshed after the bye week, assuming their record isn’t so bad at this point in the season that things start to go south for the program and the bye week is more of a hindrance than a help. Arkansas will be bent on revenge after losing in front of their home crowd a year ago.
Week 10 – at Mississippi State Bulldogs
Date: November 5
Time: TBD
This is another pivotal game in the season. With three tough games and an off week preceding this matchup, Auburn has to go and try to tame the cowbell after the Bulldogs won at Jordan-Hare 43-34 a year ago.
DAWGS WIN!!!
State upsets No. 17 Auburn on the road with the largest comeback in school history (25-points) and we are going BOWLING‼️#HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/5UXkmEcOMa
— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) November 13, 2021
Week 11 – vs. Texas A&M Aggies
Date: November 12
Time: TBD
Jimbo Fisher has made headlines for a lot of reasons off the field. He brings in arguably the best recruiting class of all time, but the results need to show on the field.
Week 12 – vs. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
Date: November 19
Time: TBD
Western Kentucky rewrote the record book a year ago thanks primarily to quarterback Bailey Zappe and offensive coordinator Zach Kittley. Pretty much every major contributor from a year ago is gone and the Hilltoppers rank just 109th in returning production on the offensive side of the ball.
Week 13 – at Alabama Crimson Tide
Date: November 26
Time: TBD
Weird things happen when these teams play each other, evidenced by last year’s 24-22 overtime game (which Auburn should have won) that almost derailed the Crimson Tide’s season. There’s a chance Alabama has a perfect record heading into this game and they will be sizable favorites.
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