Fox Sports' Joel Klatt Takes Weird Shot at Auburn Tigers, Sparks Fan Backlash

Everyone knows the Auburn Tigers have experienced statistically the worst stretch in program history over the past five seasons.

Auburn has cycled through four head coaches since 2020 and posted five consecutive seven-loss seasons. The Tigers have won just 11 SEC games since 2021, including 1-7 with former head coach Hugh Freeze at the helm a year ago, and they haven’t beaten Alabama since 2019.

Those numbers are abhorrent, and Auburn fans know they have suffered through a period in which their team has been the laughing stock of college football in a lot of ways.

However, the recent struggles don’t change the fact that Auburn is historically an extremely successful program, as they hold nine claimed national championships (two consensus), including one in the last two decades, and three Heisman Trophy winners.

Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt seems to believe otherwise, though.

Klatt made an appearance on “The Next Round” earlier this week to discuss the upcoming season, and a clip of his bold take on Auburn went viral on social media, essentially downplaying the historic significance of the Tigers’ football program.

“Auburn reminds me a lot of Texas A&M in that there’s not a ton of consistency, but the expectations are always that they’re going to be great,” Klatt said. “Texas A&M fans have an overinflated view of just what they are, and I would say the same for Auburn.”

Klatt seemed slightly uncomfortable after the claim, as “The Next Round” focuses on Auburn and Alabama coverage, issuing somewhat of an awkward apology.

“Sorry, it just — you’ve got pops. You pop up there, and when it’s great, it’s great. It’s fantastic. It’s a great program. I love Auburn. But they have not shown the consistency of other quality programs,” Klatt said.

While this is certainly true in the last half-decade, Auburn is historically among the top 20 or top 25 college football programs of all time.

In 2023, College Football News released a “25 greatest programs of all time” ranking based on every final AP Top 25 Poll since 1936. Auburn placed No. 14, ranking ahead of big brands such as Clemson, Florida, and Miami.

Granted, it was created three years ago, but the last three years are an extremely small portion of that calculation if included.

Auburn also sits No. 14 nationally in all-time wins with 820, according to Winsipedia, even following five straight losing seasons.

“They’re a popcorn program, just like Texas A&M,” Klatt said. “They’re an average program that pops up every once in a while.”

This is certainly an interesting claim, as Auburn has won eight SEC championships in its history, while Texas A&M has won zero since joining the league in 2012.

The Aggies won three conference championships (1997, 1998, 2010) when they were a member of the Big 12 after claiming 17 titles in the Southwest Conference prior to their stint in the Big 12.

The video of Klatt making these statements garnered nearly 500,000 views on X alone, and Auburn fans were not hesitant to share their criticisms in the comment section.

“This screams I started watching football 10 years ago,” commented a fan on X.

“People are witnessing Auburn at its worst while forgetting Auburn is at the heels of the blue-bloods in all-time wins,” said another Auburn fan account.

“Please stop talking about the SEC, Klatt. You don't know it at all,” another fan wrote. “Auburn's football program is down, but it's not a popcorn program.”

This one likely sums it up the best. No Auburn fan is denying that the Tigers have put one of their worst products on the field since 2020, but it doesn’t downplay their consistent success prior to this six-year stretch.

Overall, it’s probably due to a loss of respect, which is somewhat understandable after the disaster that has been Auburn football in recent seasons, but it comes off as uneducated and foolish to ignore and turn a blind eye to the program’s all-time status.

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