The Auburn Corner: Tigers have a chance to make a late run at a bowl game

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October 29, 2024

Every Tuesday we present “The Auburn Corner,” where we’ll get into a different topic on the Auburn Tigers, break down the previous game, preview the upcoming game, and everything in between.

It’s incredible how much just one win over an inferior team can change expectations so dramatically for a program.

Heading into a road game in Lexington against a dreadful Kentucky team, the Auburn Tigers were 2-5 and 0-4 in the SEC with seemingly no end in sight to the torture that has been the 2024 season on The Plains.

But Auburn went into Kentucky and earned a victory on the back of a sensational and historic performance from star running back Jarquez Hunter. The Tigers gave Hunter the ball 23 times, which he turned into 278 yards and two touchdowns in the victory. Hunter’s big night was good for the fourth-most rushing yards in a game by an Auburn running back in program history, behind only legends like Bo Jackson and Tre Mason.

As the team prepares to attack the backend of their schedule, now sitting at 3-5 and needing to win three of their final four in order to make a bowl game, all of the sudden it doesn’t feel so unrealistic. While nobody is saying it will be a cake walk, there is certainly a path to make it happen.

First, the Tigers will have to handle Vanderbilt this week, and while the Commodores don’t present the push over that they usually do, it’s still a game Auburn should win. After that, a bye week arrives before Louisiana-Monroe comes to town the following week in what should be another win.

If they can handle their business over the next two games, the Tigers will simply need to beat at least one of Texas A&M at home in what should be the best environment of the season, or claim the Iron Bowl in Tuscaloosa for the first time since 2010 against a vulnerable Alabama team.

Neither of these feats are going to be easy, but it’s the hole Auburn has left itself following losses to teams they had no business losing against.

This entire conversation is a moot point if Auburn cannot defeat Vanderbilt at home this week, but keep an eye on the potential bowl game push for a Tiger team that could quietly surprise some people down the stretch.

Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.