Auburn Ranked in AP Poll for First Time in Freeze Era

The Auburn Tigers are on the rise after wins over Baylor and Ball State to open the season.

The Auburn Tigers are ranked for the first time under head coach Hugh Freeze. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

AUBURN, Ala.-- For the first time since the 2021 season, the Auburn Tigers have found themselves back in the AP Top 25.

After defeating the Ball State Cardinals 42-3, the Tigers find themselves ranked at No. 24 in Sunday's poll heading into Week 3.

BREAKING: College Football AP Poll🚨https://t.co/tJG9HZsTML pic.twitter.com/J0Qv4jkQuc

— On3 (@On3sports) September 7, 2025

Auburn has, so far, made a complete turnaround from its struggles over the last few seasons. The Tigers defeated the Baylor Bears in Week 1, 38-24. Baylor, meanwhile, defeated SMU, a team that participated in last season’s College Football Playoff and was ranked at the No.17 spot before this new AP Poll, giving Auburn's road win much more weight.

Current Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold appears to have found his comfort zone again playing for the Tigers. Arnold passed for 251 yards and three touchdowns in the Tigers’ win over the Cardinals.

Eric Singleton Jr. found the endzone twice on Saturday night, having four catches for 64 yards. Running back Jeremiah Cobb also found the end zone twice on his way to a 121-yard rushing game. Cobb had two big breakaway runs in the game, one for 46 yards and another for 45 yards. 

46 YARDS TO THE HOUSE! 💨

Longest run of @JeremiahCobb13 career! 🦅 pic.twitter.com/bHR1RvBkqr

— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) September 7, 2025

The Auburn defense played with killer instinct all night Saturday night against Ball State, only allowing 68 total yards all night long. The lone Ball State field goal came from an Auburn offensive turnover that gave the Cardinals the ball near the redzone. 

Every position group on the defensive side of the ball played outstanding for the Tigers. Xavier Atkins had five total tackles, four of which were for loss, along with two sacks. Smith had six tackles during the contest, while senior defensive end Keyron Crawford also had two sacks, already proving to be a force off the edge with now three sacks on the year. 

Times in recent years for the Auburn Tigers have been rough, to say the least, but things appear to be turning around for them. While Auburn seemingly has another tune-up game this week with South Alabama coming to the Plains, the slate won't get any easier.

The Tigers open SEC play at No. 13 Oklahoma (Sept. 20), at No. 16 Texas A&M (Sept. 27), versus No. 6 Georgia (Oct. 11) and versus No. 25 Missouri (Oct. 18) for four-straight games. Auburn also hosts No. 19 Alabama on Nov. 29.

Still, with a high likelihood of heading into SEC play 3-0, the Tigers could carry strong momentum into a tough schedule ahead of them.