Auburn heads into the final stretch with bowl eligibility still in reach, and the Tigers get a chance to grab that sixth win this weekend when they travel to Starkville to face Mississippi State.
Alex Golesh’s team is coming off a 26-23 comeback win over Arkansas, a result that snapped a two-game losing streak and gave Auburn some needed momentum at the right time. Now the focus shifts to another SEC test, with the Tigers trying to keep their season moving in the right direction.
That game is part of a busy Week 11 slate featuring several matchups with major SEC and College Football Playoff implications. The Auburn Daily staff weighed in with picks across the board, including Alabama vs.
Vanderbilt and Missouri vs. Georgia.
Against #3 Alabama and Vanderbilt, all three staff picks went with Alabama.
In #8 Tennessee vs. Texas A&M, Kyle Rush picked Texas A&M, while Darrell Dapprich and Brad Law both took Tennessee.
For #22 Missouri vs. #1 Georgia, the staff was unanimous: Georgia across the board.
In #19 Ole Miss vs. Oklahoma, Kyle Rush and Brad Law picked Ole Miss, while Darrell Dapprich went with Oklahoma.
Florida vs. #11 Kentucky split the group, with Kyle Rush taking Florida and Darrell Dapprich and Brad Law choosing Kentucky.
The same kind of split showed up in #6 Texas vs. #21 LSU. Kyle Rush picked LSU, while Darrell Dapprich and Brad Law both went with Texas.
#17 South Carolina vs. Arkansas produced a clean sweep for South Carolina.
So did Duke vs. #7 Miami, with all three staff members picking Miami.
For #13 Wake Forest vs. SMU, Kyle Rush and Brad Law selected SMU, while Darrell Dapprich went with Wake Forest.
Northwestern vs. #20 Ohio State was another unanimous call, with all three choosing Ohio State.
Boston College vs. #5 Notre Dame also drew a clean sweep for Notre Dame.
In #18 USC vs. #9 Indiana, Kyle Rush and Brad Law picked Indiana, while Darrell Dapprich chose USC.
Baylor vs. #10 BYU was unanimous for BYU.
Michigan vs. #16 Oregon also went the same way, with all three staff members backing Oregon.
Oregon State vs. #24 Boise State produced a split, as Kyle Rush picked Oregon State while Darrell Dapprich and Brad Law chose Boise State.
#2 Utah vs. #23 Arizona was another divided pick: Kyle Rush and Darrell Dapprich took Arizona, while Brad Law went with Utah.
Purdue vs. #15 Iowa was unanimous for Iowa.
And in #12 Texas Tech vs. #25 Oklahoma State, all three staff picks landed on Texas Tech.
In Other News...
Auburns Arizona Loss May Have Changed Steven Pearls Rotation
Auburns 80-69 loss to Arizona did more than snap the nations best non-conference home winning streak. It also may have nudged Steven Pearl toward a different look in his rotation, with Thomas Dowd leading the Tigers in scoring and minutes while Owen Freeman logged important run during the most meaningful stretches of the game. Even in defeat, Auburn found some individual bright spots, but the overall performance was uneven enough to raise questions about how the frontcourt minutes should be distributed moving forward.
Foul trouble and shooting issues made the night harder to sort out than a typical early-season setback, and Arizona took advantage of the openings. For Auburn, the bigger takeaway may be less about the final margin than about which combinations held up when the game tightened, and which ones did not. Pearl now has a little more evidence to weigh as the Tigers move ahead, especially if he wants a rotation that can better survive the kind of pressure Arizona brought to Neville Arena. [Read more 🡒]
Auburns Mississippi State Trip Just Got Tougher Before Early Kickoff
Auburns Week 11 trip to Mississippi State has turned into a little more of a grind than planned, with the Tigers set to bus to Starkville because of a nationwide FAA ground stop that has disrupted flights. The original plan called for the team to fly out of Columbus and then continue by bus from Tupelo, but the travel change adds another wrinkle to a road game already built around an early start.
Coach Alex Golesh addressed the challenge of getting his team ready for an 11 a.m. kickoff after an early morning ride, and for Auburn the focus now shifts to keeping the routine as normal as possible on a day that will not feel normal at all. There have been no indications the game will be postponed or canceled, so the Tigers are simply adjusting and moving forward with a tougher-than-expected travel day. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Showed Real Promise But One Problem Will Follow This Team
Auburn left plenty to like in its 80-69 loss to No. 12 Arizona, even if the final score still sent the Tigers home with their first blemish of the season. The defense was active and disruptive, piling up 13 blocks and 12 steals, and the bench gave the team a real lift with 34 points, nearly half of Auburns total.
The problem was the kind that can undo good stretches against quality opponents: turnovers, fouls and missed free throws. Auburn showed it can defend and get production beyond the starters, but until the Tigers clean up the mistakes that kept giving Arizona extra chances, the margin for error against ranked teams will stay thin. [Read more 🡒]