A way-too-early breakdown of Auburn’s tough 2020 football schedule
Same story, different year.
Auburn has its hands full in 2020, regardless of whether fans are allowed in stadiums. This isn’t uncommon ground for the Tigers: They already compete in the SEC’s Western Division, one of the toughest top-to-bottom divisions in college football.
The recent success of cross-division rival Georgia adds yet another wrinkle to the Tigers’ annual slate of opponents.
ESPN’s FPI ranks Auburn as having the No. 11 strength of schedule in the nation, behind fellow SEC members Ole Miss (9), Arkansas (7), LSU (4), Alabama (3) and South Carolina (2). The Tigers are projected to finish 9-3.
This year, a season that includes what should be a doable first five games quickly turns into a back-loaded grind.
A tough start
Auburn opens the 2020 season at home against Alcorn State, then travels to Atlanta to face Mack Brown-led North Carolina, a team that finished third in the ACC Coastal Division and nearly took down national runner-up Clemson in 2019.
The Tar Heels are no pushover but are certainly beatable. The Tigers’ week 3 road trip to Ole Miss — a team they squeaked by last year — will serve as new Rebels coach Lane Kiffin’s first SEC game since taking the job in Oxford.
Saturday in Athens — in early October
The schedule ramps up Oct. 10, when the Tigers make the trip to Athens to face Sugar Bowl winner Georgia.
The annual game was moved to early October to help Auburn split its two biggest — and usually most physically and emotionally taxing — games of the year. Having to play Georgia and Alabama in the span of two weeks had not been an issue until recent years.
ESPN gives the Tigers just a 33.6% chance to win the game (in each game before, it gives Auburn at least a 79.7% chance). And recent history is not on Auburn’s side.
The Tigers have not won in Athens since 2005, and they hold a 3-7 record in the series dating back to 2010. Georgia has won six of the previous seven contests, including last year’s 21-14 win inside Jordan-Hare.
The good news for Auburn is that the schedule slows down a bit afterward.
Following the Georgia game are four winnable games in Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Arkansas and UMass. But what follows UMass might be the most difficult two-game stretch in recent memory.
A brutal late November
As a reward for moving the Georgia game to earlier in the year, Auburn gets back-to-back games against national champion LSU and longtime rival Alabama.
Auburn trails the all-time series with Alabama 46-37. The Tigers have won two of the previous three including last year’s back-and-forth 48-45 win that featured more Crimson Tide special teams nightmares.
There are rarely question marks surrounding Nick Saban’s Alabama teams, and that’s likely the case in 2020. The same cannot be said for LSU.
LSU lost a slew of talent, including Heisman winner Joe Burrow. Passing game coordinator Joe Brady left after one year for an offensive coordinator position with the Carolina Panthers.
Question marks aside, those final two weeks could shape the Tigers’ postseason hopes. They could be the difference between an SEC Championship appearance and another Outback Bowl trip.
There’s no telling what could happen, and many questions remain about the 2020 Tigers.
Spring football was supposed to answer a lot of things, such as how the Tigers would replace the departed Marlon Davidson and Derrick Brown. And what the running back situation will look like given the departure of JaTarvious “Boobee” Whitlow. And how new offensive coordinator Chad Morris — who head coach Gus Malzahn considers one of the best offensive minds college football — will affect quarterback Bo Nix’s development.
Full 2020 Auburn football schedule
* Denotes neutral site game. Bold denotes home game. All game times are TBA.
- Alcorn State, Sept. 5
- *North Carolina, Sept. 12 (Atlanta)
- at Ole Miss, Sept. 19
- Southern Miss, Sept. 26
- Kentucky, Oct. 3
- at Georgia, Oct. 10
- Texas A&M, Oct. 17
- BYE, Oct. 24
- at Mississippi State, Oct. 31
- Arkansas, Nov. 7
- UMass, Nov. 14
- LSU, Nov. 21
- at Alabama, Nov. 28
