All Auburn Has To Do Is Win

When all is said and done, if Auburn is undefeated through the end of the regular season, they should be in the College Football Playoff. Period.

If they win the SEC championship, even with one loss, they’d still probably make it in. But if they’re sitting at 13-0 after the conference title has been awarded, they should be the top seed in the playoff as far as I’m concerned.

All Auburn has to do is win.

Sounds easy, right? If only it were that simple.

Anyone with half a brain recognized the talent and explosive ability of Auburn’s roster entering the 2014 season. Save Tre Mason, Greg Robinson, Dee Ford, and Jay Prosch, this young team was bringing back most of the key pieces to its 2013 national championship campaign that shocked the nation.

Nick Marshall, the shrewd operator of the read option, was back. Four starters on a bulldozer of an offensive line were back. The defense lost playmakers in Dee Ford and Chris Davis, but retained its two starting linebackers, the explosive Robenson Therezie, and a multitude of senior defensive linemen.

The 2014 Auburn Tigers have the perfect combination of talent and returning experience to be serious contenders for the national title.

And then there’s the schedule. Nothing will ruin championship aspirations like a terrible schedule.

After playing what turned out to be a schedule with some advantageous home matchups last season, Auburn has to run the gauntlet this time around.

As it stands now, eight of Auburn’s twelve regular season opponents will be or have been ranked at the time they play the Tigers. Auburn has already passed its first major test in Kansas State, so what’s next?

An easy win over Louisiana Tech before October. The calm before the storm.

Starting in the tenth month, Auburn will battle through the worst stretch of games I’ve ever seen a team play through. It starts with a home matchup with #17 LSU, then a road game against #14 Mississippi State. The Tigers come home to face #13 South Carolina, and then go over to Oxford for a clash with #10 Ole Miss. Now we’re in the home stretch, with a home game against #6 Texas A&M, followed by a road trip to play #12 Georgia.

The Tigers get a scrimmage against Samford the next week, and then head over to Tuscaloosa for the big one: a matchup against #3 Alabama, the game that could very well determine the SEC West champion.

In case you weren’t keeping count, that’s six games in a row against teams ranked in the top 20, and seven of eight games against such teams.

And the way they’ve played since week one, Arkansas will likely jump into the top 25 by season’s end. That will give Auburn an unprecedented nine ranked teams on its schedule.

It’s a nightmarish schedule, one you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy (unless they posed a real threat to you, of course). All five of Auburn’s road games will be against ranked teams, and the only guaranteed wins left on the schedule are Louisiana Tech and Samford.

I don’t think that Auburn will only win five games, they proved at Kansas State they can win tough, gritty games. But they could lose three games and still be a better team than last year.

Now, enough pessimism. Here’s the awesome news: if Auburn makes it to the SEC championship undefeated or with just one loss, they’re in.

One of the primary factors the College Football Playoff Committee claims they will take into account when making their picks is strength of schedule. And who’s schedule is stronger than Auburn’s?

Look at the four teams ranked ahead of Auburn. Florida State? Two ranked teams. Oregon?  Three ranked teams. Alabama? Five ranked teams, none outside of the SEC West. Oklahoma? Three ranked teams.

I repeat, Auburn could look back on this season having played NINE.

Every team has a tough road ahead of them in their own respect. They each face their own challenges and overcome different obstacles. And sometimes, a tough schedule for one team can be easy for another.

But I dare any team to play through the schedule that Auburn is playing through this year.

If they win, they’re in. Period.