'It's going to be crazy:'

[aubiefifty 18,248]

'It's going to be crazy:' Tigers understand importance of 5 straight home games

Nathan King

5-6 minutes

---

 

Preseason All-SEC Pick Discusses Auburn's Defense

 

ATLANTA — It was a brisk flight over to Atlanta on Auburn’s private athletics plane Wednesday. But as Tank Bigsby, Derick Hall and John Samuel Shenker hovered over some of their southeastern footprint, they reflected on some of the venues they’ve played at in their 12 combined seasons of college football.

According to their head coach, the conversation ultimately looped its way back around to their home turf.

“Our stadium — I don't think there's a better one in the country,” Bryan Harsin said on the main stage at SEC Media Days.

And Auburn will need its signature home-field advantage to be exercised to its fullest this season. The Tigers don’t leave home for the entire month of September, playing five straight home games in 2022: Mercer, San Jose State, Penn State, Missouri, and culminating with a division showdown against rival LSU on the first Saturday of October.

It’s the longest stretch of home games for Auburn since the 2016 season, when, similar to this fall, it hosted a high-profile, nonconference opponent (Clemson), two non-Power Five teams (Arkansas State and Louisiana Monroe) and two SEC foes (Texas A&M and LSU). Auburn went 3-2 during that stretch and used some of its early momentum, particularly with the dramatic, last-second win over LSU, to embark on a six-game winning streak.

Considering what awaits the Tigers in the rest of their SEC gauntlet, it’s reasonable to say that they received a favorable draw for their five consecutive home games. Of Auburn’s nine Power Five opponents this year, the two lowest-rated ones in ESPN’s preseason SP+ are coming to town during the five-game home stand (No. 52 Missouri and No. 36 LSU).

After the opening stretch, Auburn plays SP+ No. 26 and No. 8 at home, and No. 3, No. 17, No. 15 and No. 2 on the road.

“Home or away, you want to get off to a fast start regardless,” Harsin said.

Last season, Auburn used a 4-1 start at home to buoy a 6-2 start overall — beating No. 10 Ole Miss in Jordan-Hare to enter the top 15 of the Playoff rankings in October. As part of their five-game losing streak to end the year, though, the Tigers lost at home to Mississippi State and South Carolina.

“Just being a part of a couple games last season, it's phenomenal,” Harsin said. “To be around our fans, to have those teams coming in, playing in Jordan-Hare. We're excited about that, to have a chance to be home for five straight games.”

Auburn’s fourth-year seniors, like Hall, are 14-5 at home. Shenker, who’s been on the roster since 2017, is 26-7.

“Any time you come into Jordan-Hare, it's going to be crazy,” Hall said Thursday. “It's the best college atmosphere anywhere in college football right now. And I think it will be for a very long time. Just having that home-game experience in Jordan-Hare, having the fans around you, everybody doing the Swag Surf heading into the fourth quarter — it's special. You really have to be there to see it. Just having the opportunity to play in Jordan-Hare is something special.

“Every time I walk into that stadium, I get chill bumps. I get excited for the buses to come. A home game in Jordan-Hare is one-of-a-kind.”

Auburn was picked to finish last in the SEC West on Friday. Coincidentally, the last two times it had eight home games in a season — 2013 and 2016 — it was picked lowly in the division (No. 6 in both years), and vastly surpassed expectations. It won the SEC and finished No. 2 in the division, respectively, with a combined home record of 14-2.

“Jordan-Hare is a different stadium,” Bigsby said Thursday. “It's hard to play in for the opponent, but it's great to play in if you're playing for Auburn. The stadium and the fans are great. They can get so loud in there. When big plays are made, it's unbelievable.”

Other SEC teams with comparably favorable starts, in terms of location, this coming season are Arkansas, Texas A&M and LSU — none of whom play a true road game until October. LSU doesn’t leave the state of Louisiana until its Week 5 matchup at Auburn.

“Hopefully we're having success through those five games,” Harsin said. “We get into the back half of the season — it doesn't really matter who you play, you get into that half of the season, that stretch right there. That's the one that really determines, especially in November, who's going to have a chance to be in those Playoff games, who has a chance to play for championships.”

7COMMENTS