Can Auburn Crack the Top 25 After Win at Baylor?

With the Auburn Tigers beating the Baylor Bears 38-24, it is time to turn the page of Week 1 of the 2025 season and look into Week 2. After the strong win, Auburn made a case to be ranked in this week's AP Poll.

Can the Tigers finally crack the top 25 for the first time since the 2021 season?

The Tigers have not been in the top-25 since the 2021 season, when Bryan Harsin was the head coach. Times have changed to say the least since that season, which ended up being Harsin's last.

Under Freeze, Auburn had back-to-back losing seasons, but the Tigers appear to be righting the ship and getting it back on course.

With multiple ranked teams taking losses and Auburn making a statement at Baylor, it feels as if the four-year streak of not being in the top-25 could come to a close this week.

No. 8 Alabama took a beating from unranked Florida State, No. 17 Kansas State not only took a loss in Week 0, but had to resort to a last-second touchdown to get past an FCS school, North Dakota, this week, and No. 25 Boise State took a thumping from unranked USF.

Some teams could also make their cases for jumping into the top-25, a list which obviously includes the Seminoles and the Bulls. With Florida State in the mix, it makes it slightly harder for the Tigers to crack the top-25. Considering their high ranking to start the season, Alabama may not fall out of the rankings despite the loss.

Auburn made its statement, marching into the Lone Star State and running the ball all over the Baylor defense. Auburn currently has the most rushing yards of any other SEC team, with Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold sitting as the lead rusher in the SEC after his 137-yard performance at Baylor.

All in all, Auburn had a tough road game in Week 1 but showed the college football world that the Tigers could finally be heading in the right direction after snapping Baylor's six-game winning streak.

The new AP Poll rankings are set to be released on Tuesday ahead of Week 2 after Monday's game between TCU and North Carolina.

More From Auburn Tigers on SI