The Auburn Tigers suffered a brutal defeat at the hands of the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday. Between 5 turnovers, inefficient offensive drives, and a tired and uninspired defense, Hugh Freeze’s team was outclassed for the second time in four games to open the season. Auburn has now turned the ball over a horrifically bad 10 times against Power 4 competition so far this season, giving little-to-no hope that the supposedly improved offense can turn it around any time soon.
Neither freshman quarterback Hank Brown or senior signal-caller Payton Thorne looked particularly sharp in the loss, casting doubt on where Auburn’s head coach will turn heading into next week’s matchup with Oklahoma. Not much went right for the Tigers in week four, and that can be further seen in ESPN’s Football Power Index, where Auburn slipped from No. 26 to No. 34 in the FPI. This marks the first time in the 2024-2025 season Hugh Freeze’s Tigers have been ranked outside of the top 30.
The FPI ranks each college football team by a variety of factors; Strength of record, strength of schedule, offensive efficiency, defensive efficiency, and overall efficiency. Here is where Auburn ranks in each category ahead of the Tigers’ week five matchup with Oklahoma at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Overall Ranking. No 34
John Reed-Imagn Images
Auburn experienced its worst slip of the young season in the FPI this week. Now at No. 34, the Tigers rank ahead of just Kentucky (38), Florida (39), Vanderbilt (54), and Mississippi State (72) in the SEC. There is also a very real chance Florida leapfrogs the Tigers after Saturday, as the Gators have the the week off while Auburn hosts No. 18 ranked Oklahoma this week.
The Tigers rank just ahead of Kansas (35) and just behind Pittsburgh (33) in the Football Power Index. A pair of undefeated teams in BYU (37) and Illinois (40) could also pass Auburn in the ranking with another victory in week five.
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