Auburn Football: Can Tigers overcome treacherous schedule?

Auburn football has one of the country’s most difficult schedules in 2018. Can the Tigers overcome it to get into the College Football Playoff?

The 1950 Auburn Tigers finished the season winless after an 0-10 season. By 1957, the Tigers were 10-0 and the National Champions per the Associated Press even if they were ineligible for a bowl game.

Carl Voyles had started the decline at Auburn and Earl Brown took them to the cellar but it was Ralph “Shug” Jordan that brought the Tigers to a new standard of excellence. But to get to that standard of excellence the Tigers had committed an NCAA infraction and were ineligible for a bowl trip from 1956-1960.

Jordan was a three-sport star athlete at Auburn playing baseball, basketball and football. He began coaching both basketball and football at Auburn until World War II where he served in the Invasion of Normandy and in Okinawa- receiving a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. “Shug” carried the Auburn Creed with him as he stormed the beach at Normandy. After Jordan retired following the 1975 season Auburn stayed in mediocrity under his replacement Doug Barfield.

In 1981 Pat Dye took over the Tigers football program. Coach Dye’s era will always be tied to his star running back named Bo Jackson. Jackson ran wild on the college football world from 1982 through 1985; overcoming injuries in a limited 1984 season. While Jackson and Dye were a duo the Tigers won 37 football games and Jackson took home the Heisman Trophy in 1985. Jackson, like “Shug,” was a three-sport star at Auburn in football, baseball and track & field.

After Dye, Terry Bowden took the Tigers to an 11-0 record in 1993 but Auburn was ineligible for a bowl game and finished the season ranked fourth in the nation. Auburn was undefeated once again in 2004, this time under Tommy Tuberville, but finished the season second overall with a 13-0 record.

In 2010 Gene Chizik’s Tigers finished 14-0 and won the BCS National Championship over the Oregon Ducks. Auburn escaped with a close 22-19 win with Cam Newton at quarterback. Newton won the 2010 Heisman Trophy and was the 1st overall selection in the 2011 NFL Draft. Auburn’s other shot at a national title came in the 2013 season, but the Tigers and Gus Malzahn lost to the FSU Seminoles 31-34 after late heroics from Jameis Winston.

Auburn enters the 2018 season as the 5th ranked program in the country per S&P+ analytics and three of their opponents are ranked in the top six.