Auburn Football Projected to Finish Poorly In Latest Media Poll

During SEC Media Days, the media got together to vote on where they expected each SEC team to finish after this season, and the Auburn Tigers were ranked quite low at No. 12.

Of course, this ranking is out of the 16 teams in the SEC, so the Tigers are projected to be right at the cusp of the bottom fourth of the league.

NEW: 2026 College Football SEC Preseason Media Poll👀

Do you agree?🤔https://t.co/myqeeUhKBt pic.twitter.com/df2vYYu0P1
— On3 (@On3) July 24, 2026

This is not quite the vote of confidence many were hoping for at this point in the season, though even if the Tigers do finish right where they are projected to by this poll, it will already be an improvement over the past few seasons, a testament to just how low the bar is on the Plains right now.

New head coach Alex Golesh is the third in a line of Auburn coaches who are looking to bring the Tigers to their first winning season since 2019, and with the unit he has brought in, the Tigers have a strong chance to do so, particularly with the schedule they have this year.

That is not to say that the Tigers will have an easy run in the SEC–ESPN’s FPI ranked them with the 13th-toughest schedule in the country, after all–but the Tigers have a fair amount of in-conference winnable games that could push them over the hump and in the right direction for future seasons.

An important note: Alex Golesh has been clear that his aim, though he says he does not have specific goals, for this season is not to win a set amount of games, but rather to set a foundation that will bring the Tigers in the right direction to contend for National Championships in future seasons. He has already begun to do so in recruiting, as well as setting a culture standard, but it will take much more than just those two things to get the program set straight.

For now, the Tigers are set to play Florida, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Alabama in the SEC’s new nine-game conference schedule, and though they may have some trouble, particularly against the Tennessee Vols, Georgia Bulldogs, LSU Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide, the team has significant chances to take down Vanderbilt, Florida, Ole Miss, Arkansas and Mississippi State.

After all, if the Tigers can take down just two names on that list, they will already be improved from last season, though I would be surprised if that is all Golesh is looking to do this year.

Sign up for our free Auburn Tigers newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news!

Add us as a preferred source on Google