Auburn Football Ranks Surprisingly High in ‘Most Experienced Teams’ List

With so many new transfers joining the Auburn Tigers over the past few months, it is easy to forget that many of these players have already had top-level experience in their respective careers. The stats have not forgotten, though, as the Tigers rank ninth in the country in terms of experience, per CBS Sports.

The Tigers’ ninth ranking is a result of the 29,393 snaps taken by their players over the course of their careers so far, with 16,664 of those attributed to the offense and only 12,699 to the defense. The Tigers’ offense ranks an impressive eighth overall in total snaps played, while DJ Durkin’s defense fell all the way to 30th.

Additionally, the Tigers rank 13th overall in terms of total games played with 1,003, as well as ninth overall in total starts with 401.

So, what does this mean for the Tigers? First and foremost, it means that the squad, the offense in particular, has a level of experience that, despite a short time on the Plains, should serve the team well throughout the course of the season. After all, football experience is football experience, regardless of uniform.

Additionally, it means that the Tigers are working with a more inexperienced defense than many would expect, given their expected level of production. With that said, rising junior Xavier Atkins did not play many games at LSU in his freshman season before transferring to Auburn, but he still dominated in his first-ever full season as a starter in 2025.

As the saying goes, though, ‘experience outranks everything,’ and the Tigers’ offense will attempt to be proof of that rule in 2026. Byrum Brown, now in his final year of eligibility with multiple full seasons under his belt, is joined by Jeremiah Cobb in the backfield, who played his first full season as a starter in 2025, but has significant game experience throughout his years.

Defensively, Da’Shawn Womack headlines an Auburn unit that otherwise depends on less experienced players like the aforementioned Atkins. Womack has played three seasons ahead of the 2026 season, including two at LSU and one at Ole Miss. He has yet to see full production in a season, though, so the veteran Womack still has much to prove to the world.

At the end of the day, winning football games can come down to experience, but it is far from limited to just that factor. Effort, scheming, adjusting and a litany of other factors consistently make the difference in football games, but having an experienced roster, and a top-10 in the nation-level experienced roster at that, certainly can make those other aspects much easier.

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