Joel Klatt took a shot at Auburn this week, lumping the Tigers in with Texas A&M as what he called a “popcorn program” - a team that shows up every so often, but not with any real consistency.
That comparison landed as a sharp one, but it also ignored a big piece of Auburn’s recent history. Unlike Texas A&M, Auburn has won a championship since the end of World War II. The Tigers have two nationally recognized titles in that span, in 1957 and 2010, plus four self-claimed championships in 1958, 1983, 1993 and 2004.
Klatt made the remark on The Next Round, saying, "Auburn reminds me a lot of Texas A&M in that there's not a ton of consistency, but the expectations are always that they're going to be great... They're a popcorn program just like A&M. They're an average program that pops up every once in a while," Klatt said.
The problem with that framing is that Auburn’s modern resume has more substance than the insult suggests. The Tigers have had real peaks under multiple coaches, while Texas A&M’s recent history has been much thinner.
Since 2000, Aggie coaches have produced just one nine-win regular season apiece. Jimbo Fisher didn’t technically get one, though the Aggies likely would have reached that mark in 2020 if the season had been played in full.
Auburn’s 2010s were hardly empty, either. There were three double-digit win seasons in that decade. Gene Chizik led the 2010 national title team, Gus Malzahn followed with a national championship game appearance three years later, and Auburn was back in the SEC Championship Game in 2017.
That’s a different profile from the one Klatt described. Auburn wasn’t drifting through the decade as an afterthought, and it certainly wasn’t living off one isolated spike. Tommy Tuberville’s teams were usually around nine wins, and he also had Auburn undefeated in 2004.
The bigger point is that Auburn has reached program highs Texas A&M still hasn’t touched. The Aggies have had their flashes, but Auburn has hit more of the peaks that matter.
And while the national media often gravitates toward Alabama and Texas because of the brand power they bring, their in-state rivals can get flattened into jokes. Auburn was fair game for that kind of treatment during the Bryan Harsin and Hugh Freeze years, when neither coach seemed to have a real grip on what it takes to win in Lee County, Alabama.
Alex Golesh is different, though. His attention to detail and make him fit like a glove.
In Other News...
Auburn Fans Just Got Another Reminder How Many Tigers Are Still In Play
With NFL teams trimming down to their 53-man rosters for the 2026 season, the next wave of moves has already begun, and a familiar Auburn name is among the players landing on practice squads. Eugene Asante has signed with the Arizona Cardinals, joining the pool of players who are still very much in the mix as teams keep reshaping the bottom of their rosters in the days after cutdowns.
For Auburn fans, it is another reminder that the Tigers remain well represented across the league even after roster deadlines pass. Practice squad spots can hold up to 16 players, but they are hardly dead-end jobs, since those players can be signed away by other teams and must be added to a main roster before they can appear in games. Nick Mullens is among the other recent additions around the NFL, and the churn suggests there may be more Auburn connections to track before the dust settles. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&M Just Got Dragged Into Joel Klatts Auburn Critique
Joel Klatts latest critique of Auburn landed in a familiar place for the program: right alongside Texas A&M in the conversation about high-profile jobs that have not managed to sustain steady success. On Fox Sports, Klatt labeled both schools popcorn programs, a blunt way of saying they can flash when the conditions are right but have too often lacked the consistency expected from big-budget SEC powers. For Auburn, the comment arrives as the Tigers continue to live with the churn that has defined much of the last quarter-century.
Auburn is set to enter the 2026 season under Alex Golesh, its fourth head coach in seven seasons, a number that underscores how much the program has been searching for traction. The instability has been part of the backdrop for years, with stretches of promise followed by abrupt resets, and that is the tension Klatt was tapping into. Texas A&M got pulled into the same critique, but for Auburn the bigger issue is whether this latest move can finally offer something the Tigers have rarely enjoyed for long: continuity. [Read more 🡒]
Auburns First Baylor Depth Chart Leaves Some Jobs Far From Settled
Auburns first depth chart for the season opener against Baylor is out, and it gives the clearest early look yet at how the Tigers are lining up across offense, defense and special teams. The release lays out starters and backups at every spot, offering the first official snapshot of where the staff sees the roster after camp and where players have positioned themselves heading into game week.
Still, a depth chart in late August is more roadmap than final verdict, and plenty can change before kickoff. The list includes player names and jersey numbers throughout the lineup, but the bigger takeaway for Auburn is how many jobs are still open to be sorted out once the Tigers start playing live football against Baylor. [Read more 🡒]