ESPN Snubs Auburn Tigers in Latest Top 25

They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but not for the Auburn Tigers, who failed to feature on ESPN's Way-Too-Early College Football top 25 rankings.

The SEC featured nine teams in the top 25 including Ole Miss and Oklahoma bringing up the rear at No. 24 and No. 25 respectively. Would a 10th place finish in the SEC bring seismic changes to the program?

Hopefully the blow to the Tigers collective ego elicits some response in kind, but it remains clear that the national narrative on Auburn will only change when they start stringing wins together.

Penn State leapfrogging the reigning national champion Ohio State Buckeyes for ESPN's top-spot will provide the shock factor, but Tigers fans will scroll through and find themselves pretty disappointed.

Mainly because head coach Hugh Freeze has carried on his acumen in the recruiting game and has added some talented new blood to the program, the expectations have continued to shift for the Auburn fanbase.

Even so, the snub by ESPN probably all boils down to the fact that Freeze is going all-in on trying to resuscitate the college career of quarterback Jackson Arnold, and that's tricky after a disappointing 2024 campaign with the Sooners. 

Sure, Arnold still has the raw talent that won him a Gatorade award at high school and made him a 5-star recruit, but his confidence needs to be  rebuilt by coach Freeze and Co. on the Plains.

Given the repeated failures of Freeze to get Payton Thorne really going, you get the distinct vibe that ESPN reasonably has its doubts with Freeze and Arnold. 

Of course, levels of confidence are far more buoyant in local circles, but that corresponds in large part to the improving defensive unit which is still under the continued tutelage of the well-respected DJ Durkin.

Further reinforcements like Eric Singleton have arrived to improve an already extremely talented wide receiving room, and that should in theory massively help Arnold quickly find his feet.

Nevertheless, ESPN appears hell-bent on letting the Tigers conclusively prove they merit regaining a seat back at the big boys table, and quite frankly, that's understandable. 

Talk is cheap, and for all the once again positive soundbites we've heard from Freeze and others within the Auburn program over the winter and spring, they simply need to force the issue and make people respect them once again.