It’s been a rough go of it for Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers over the last two years since he took over as head coach on The Plains. After a 6-6 first season capped off by an embarrassing beatdown against Maryland in the Music City Bowl, hopes were high that the product on the field would be better in 2024 than it was in 2023.

Instead, it was worse and the Tigers finished 5-7 with losses at home to California, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Vanderbilt. While Freeze was able to avoid complete disaster with a late season upset over Texas A&M, it’s safe to say he has to win more games in 2025 in order to avoid a warm seat turning scorching hot.

At least one major publication believes in what Freeze and Auburn will have next year, with the Tigers shockingly coming in within the top-10 in On3’s ‘way way way too early’ preseason rankings for the 2025 season:

Way, Way, Way Too Early 2025 Top 10 College Football Teams via @Andy_Staples & @AriWasserman👀https://t.co/KnLdhhyJ2y pic.twitter.com/YOqqFcu7e5

— On3 (@On3sports) January 4, 2025

Unsurprisingly, half of the top-10 is represented by teams in the SEC with some interesting possibilities including Florida and South Carolina. The big shock comes with Auburn in the No. 10 spot coming off a 5-7 season. Also notable is the exclusion of the Alabama Crimson Tide, but obviously at least one publication thinks 2025 is the year the Tigers pass the Tide.

Auburn will have a new quarterback in presumed starter Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold plus the continuity of their young receivers with a year of experience under their belts. There’s reason for hope that the Tigers will take the next step as a program and at least have their first winning season since 2020, but predicting them to be top-10 in the country may be getting just a bit ahead of things.