The Auburn Tigers posted one of their best performances in a near-decade on Saturday night against No. 1 Georgia, taking down the Bulldogs 27-24 in Athens, Ga., for the first time since 2005.
However, despite the victory being viewed as likely the best win in college football so far this season, the national media seems to think differently.
Auburn remained unranked in the new AP Top 25 that was released on Sunday. Georgia dropped to No. 5, while Texas fell to No. 19 and Florida, who defeated the Longhorns on Saturday, climbed to No. 20.
Other notable listings include Alabama at No. 13, LSU at No. 20 and Missouri at No. 22.
The Tigers are 4-2 on the season, with their only losses coming to Florida in Week 3 and on the road at Tennessee a few weekends ago. Auburn fell to the Gators 44-39 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in September before surrendering a 7-3 halftime lead to the Volunteers on Rocky Top.
Auburn lost by two scores to Tennessee, but it was mainly a one-possession game for the vast majority of the contest, and Alex Golesh’s squad had several missed opportunities to take advantage of Volunteer mistakes and miscues.
Now, though, Auburn’s losses to Florida and Tennessee don’t look too bad.
After a blowout at home to South Carolina last Saturday, the Gators went to Austin, Texas, and took down the Arch Manning-led Texas Longhorns 27-24 in a thrilling upset. Florida also throttled Ole Miss at home — and the Rebels beat LSU earlier this year and just recently blasted Missouri on Saturday.
On the other hand, Tennessee boasts just one loss and defeated No. 7 Alabama 26-10 at home on Saturday. The Vols fell to Texas 20-17 the week before Auburn’s trip to Knoxville, Tenn., but they now stand at 6-1 overall and are now sniffing the top 10.
So, all in all, the two teams Auburn has lost to are both ranked in the top 20, and the Tigers hold the downright most impressive win in the nation thus far.
Golesh and company may not find themselves in the AP Poll after Week 7, but they face another massive test against Lane Kiffin and the LSU Tigers on the Plains next weekend.
But it’s also an opportunity — an opportunity to knock off another top-20 program and prove Auburn’s win over Georgia on Saturday wasn’t just a fluke.
And if they find a way to take down the Bayou Bengals, the Tigers will almost certainly crack the top 25 for the first time since last September.
Add us as a preferred source on Google