Does Auburn football's strength of schedule effect their record in 2022?

Another year, another insane SEC West schedule to try and navigate through.

Auburn enters the 2022 offseason with little fanfare and a whole lot of questions. Bryan Harsin managed to survive what ended up being an incredibly rocky spring, and will now turn his attention to filling in the gaps on the roster through the transfer portal while keeping tabs on the intriguing quarterback battle.

What will likely resonate more in the minds of Auburn fans is speculation over how many games the Tigers will win this season. Auburn doesn't have a lot of room for error after a disappointing 6-7 season (the first losing season since 2012).

Unfortunately, the schedule is the hardest in the nation.

Stat of the day

In 2021, Auburn's strength of schedule was 6th nationally. Their strength of schedule in 2022 is 1st nationally. Mississippi State, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, and Tennessee round out the top five.

What it means

If Auburn is going to meet their goals in 2022, whether that be seven or eight wins, they'll need some things to bounce their way.

Last season, almost every time Auburn had the opportunity to execute, they fired and missed. Not a lot of luck to go around during Harsin's first season at the helm.

Hopefully, things will be different in 2022. Outside of road trips to Georgia and Alabama, every game on the schedule is certainly winnable. Finding a quarterback and playing sound football should get Auburn through this very difficult season.