Why Auburn's Matchup With Florida Has Important AP Poll Implications

The Auburn Tigers host an opponent on the fringe of being inside the top 25. After being under the radar with votes, this is their chance to prove the world wrong.

The last time Auburn played Florida, Bo Nix was the quarterback for the Tigers. | USA TODAY Sports

It could only take three weeks for Auburn Tigers head coach Alex Golesh to potentially have his statement win of his first season, but the AP Poll has other ideas for the time being. 

Despite dominating Southern Miss in a 43-8 rout last Saturday night, Auburn wasn’t given any votes of consideration for the AP Top 25, which came out on Sunday afternoon. It’s the first time this season that Golesh’s group isn’t given a nod for any vote at all, dating back to the preseason poll. 

However, that can all change this weekend, with the Florida Gators coming into town to play under the lights at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Saturday’s matchup also marks the first game of SEC play for both teams, and the Tigers will look to take advantage of the home-field advantage to start the season off right. 

The benefit of playing Florida is the Gators’ stance in the AP Poll. Jon Sumerall’s team is the second team out of the top 25, receiving 83 votes of consideration. If Auburn was to win this weekend’s game, it would put the program on the fringe of getting into the new ranking next week. 

Golesh’s group and Sumerall’s group also have two different identities. While Florida has amassed 118 points on offense in the first two weeks, Auburn has only allowed 24 points in two contests, winning through its defense. Of course, Golesh was brought in to bring back the Tiger offense of old, and that could be on display on Saturday night. 

The contest also features two transfer quarterbacks of previous systems: Byrum Brown and Aaron Philo. Brown followed Golesh from USF, while Philo transferred to the Swamp from Georgia Tech, following offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner. 

With non-conference play behind Golesh, though, all focus going to SEC play, which Auburn has to go through a gauntlet that starts with Florida and ends in the Iron Bowl against Alabama. He wants to see some things cleaned up before next week, however. 

“I thought we left some out there in the pass game, and it wasn’t all the drops,” he said. “The drops are, as we know, disappointing. I thought Byrum settled in; he’s going to continue to get better as he continues to be around this group. We have a long way to go if we’re going to win SEC games here, so we’ll get there.”

If Auburn does get there, and gets a win this weekend, don’t be surprised if there’s a number next to its name as the end of September comes around. There’s 60 minutes of football until that happens, though. 

Kick off for that game is set for 6 p.m. central time with the game being broadcast on ESPN. 

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