From Portal to Playoff: LSU, TCU, USC and... Auburn?
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Let's wind the clocks back to 2021. For many Auburn fans, this was a strange new territory as the short-lived Harsin era was about to kick off after the days of Gus Malzahn came to a close. For Georgia and Alabama fans, this was just another season of contending for playoff berths and churning out NFL draft picks. For LSU, USC and TCU fans, this would be their final with their lame-duck head coach before bringing in the likes of Lincoln Riley, Brian Kelly and Sonny Dykes.
Little did anyone know what would happen next. In years past, their respective rebuilds would've taken a few years to put together a decent squadron. Instead, LSU dethroned mighty Alabama for the SEC West, Heisman winner Caleb Williams took the Trojans to the Pac-12 Championship, TCU proved they could hang with anyone (not named Georgia) and all three were in Playoff contention come December.
The secret sauce? The transfer portal.
Scott Clause/The Daily Advertiser via AP
The great equalizers in college football, the transfer portal and NIL deals, are beginning to level the playing field between the SEC and the rest of the country (Georgia and Alabama will just be Georgia and Alabama for now) and the results have made college football more of a frenzy in the offseason. Nobody would have put money on the Horned Frogs to crash the CFP, but the defensive talents of Emani Bailey and Josh Newton weren't on campus yet. Jayden Daniels was wildly underrated as a transfer prospect, but apparently he was the last piece of another LSU championship run. We already know how Lincoln Riley cheat-coded USC's quick return to the top with Williams and Jordan Addison, but long story short, welcome to the new normal.
Program fires previous head coach, brings in new head coach, new head coach quickly puts together a roster filled with hidden gems and plug-and-play athletes at positions at need so that the "rebuild" sets a foundation and a championship standard.
Sound familiar?
Eric Starling/Auburn Daily
It's not as impossible as it once was. Just ask the teams mentioned above.
One of the biggest challenges facing Auburn's new staff was the talented yet depleted roster being expected to compete in the SEC. A problem that was known nationwide, as coach Freeze only needed to verbally agree to taking the job while living in Virginia before he got started 20 minutes later calling players to come play for Auburn.
His efforts have so far led to a bigger, beefier offensive line, several new weapons in the offense and a QB who led his team to a New Years 6 Bowl. The additions of linebacker Larry Nixon III and wideout Jyaire Shorter are the cherry on top of a strong transfer class, ranking in the top 3 according to On3. The 5-7 record last year however is keeping the college football world skeptical, which is fair, but did a 5-7 record matter to TCU when 2022 began?
Vegas betting odds over at Fanduel put Auburn's win total at 6.5 games for 2023, and that number remains even after the addition of quarterback Peyton Thorne. I'm not a betting man myself, but if you want to make some easy money I'd be willing to bet Auburn exceeds a few expectations from our friends in Sin City.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE NUMBERS as I mentioned in my previous article looking at Peyton Thorne's commitment further backs up the idea that Auburn could be a sleeper in the West. The Hugh Freeze offense averages 250 passing yards per game, which is what Thorne's average was when he had a strong backfield to support him, and would automatically move Auburn into the upper half of SEC passing play last season.
Keep in mind, not even Georgia and Alabama have a proven QB on their roster. Even Robby Ashford had more upside than anyone else in their room just because of experience, and the only schools that boast NFL-caliber signal callers are LSU, Tennessee and South Carolina (I would throw MSU's Will Rogers in there, but he's learning a new offense, so we'll have to see).
Call me a homer, call me biased, but the numbers and histories point towards a much better season than expected. 8-9 wins could be considered the floor thanks to all the recent additions Freeze and Co. have made.
And for the record, the last three quarterbacks to win Auburn the West were won with transfer quarterbacks.
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