Auburn Hangs On to Top Spot in Rankings in One Poll, Drops in Another
Despite being trounced by the Florida Gators on Saturday, the Auburn Tigers hang on to their No. 1 spot in the AP Poll. They received 34 first-place votes.
The consensus reign at the top is over – at least for now. Picking up an easy Quad 2 win over Oklahoma earlier in the week likely helped keep them afloat.
Their fierce rival, Alabama, is now right on their tail, however. They’re second in the rankings with 24 first-place votes. Florida’s win over Auburn earned them the three remaining first-place votes and the No. 3 rankings.
However, the Coaches Poll was much less forgiving. Despite receiving the most first-place votes, Alabama captured the No. 1 spot and Auburn is now No. 2. It was a tight race with the Crimson Tide taking it by 17 points.
Auburn also hangs on to the top spot in the NET Rankings. They’re still an insane 12-2, so that was much less likely to change after a single game.
Regardless, this latest update in the rankings sets up Saturday’s matchup with Alabama to not just be a top-five matchup like it already was set to be, but the top two teams in the country.
Whoever wins this Saturday will decisively be the top team in the country. Before that, however, Auburn needs to watch for an SEC matchup with Vanderbilt. They’re no longer ranked but it’s a road game, and the Commodores are 12-1 in Nashville. Two of those wins are wins over top-25 teams, Tennessee and Mississippi State.
So, while the Alabama matchup is a top-two match up no matter what, if Auburn wants to be No. 1, they have a potential trap game to dodge first.
That matchup is Tuesday night with a tip-off time of 6 p.m. CST.
