2025 Auburn Football Predictions: Tigers Ranked 39th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136

By RJ Young
Published

This isn't your average college football ranking.

My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list:

  • Who do I think is good?
  • Why do I think they're good?
  • What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations?

Here is a look at where Auburn lands in my Ultimate 136.

Auburn Tigers ranking: 39
Last year’s ranking: 38
Top player: WR Cam Coleman: SEC All-Freshman selection last season, was one of seven SEC players to record 8 TD catches, and his 598 receiving yards were the third-most in a single season by a freshman in Auburn history.

[Auburn's 2025 schedule]



RJ's take: Hugh Freeze has stocked the cupboard with "Next Man Up" if QB Jackson Arnold gets off to the start he did at Oklahoma. That's why Deuce Knight and Ashton Daniels are at Auburn. That's the highest-ranked player in Auburn’s 2025 class and a two-year starter at Stanford, respectively.

Transfer Eric Singleton will join Coleman to create a strong wide receiver pairing for Freeze, but the loss of all four starters in the secondary might show itself sooner rather than later with a Week 1 matchup at Baylor as well as games at Oklahoma and at Texas A&M all before Week 6.

Running back Jarquez Hunter was one of the best tailbacks in the country last year, rushing for 1,201 yards on just 187 carries. Running backs Damari Alston and UConn transfer Durrell Robinson each averaged better than six yards per carry in 2024, though. If Jeremiah Cobb pops, the most talented tailback in the room, Freeze could end up with a rather pleasing backfield in time to challenge the best team in the SEC, Georgia, on October 11.

In Year 3, after an 11-14 start, Freeze needs to win at least 10 games this year to ensure he gets a chance to coach the Tigers in 2026.

[Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here]

Auburn Win Total Odds: Over 7.5 (-162) Under 7.5 (+132)

Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young, and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article.

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young.