The Auburn football team is building some momentum late in the 2024 season after picking up a wild 43-41 win over Texas A&M in quadruple overtime to send its seniors out on a high note. Now, Hugh Freeze and the Tigers hoping that momentum can carry over into the offseason as they look to build an SEC contender in 2025.
Auburn is off to a good start in that regard, as it is now projected to flip five-star cornerback Na’eem Offord, according to On3 Sports. Offord is currently committed to Ohio State and has been ever since his initial pledge back in February.
Offord is an Alabama native, so Auburn is looking to keep him in his home state as it tries to add more blue-chip talent to the roster. Offord is one of the top recruits in the nation and is a consensus elite prospect.
Auburn is looking to bring Na’eem Offord in along with another elite cornerback recruit in Blake Woodby. The two would form one of the top freshman duos on the outside in the nation if Offord does end up staying home.
Auburn fighting for bowl eligibility after Texas A&M win
It took four extra periods, but plenty of late-game heroics from the Auburn offense and one critical Texas A&M drop allowed Auburn to get to 5-6 on the season with a big upset win. After struggling with the quarterback situation earlier in the season, Hugh Freeze finally has this offense playing good football.
In order to reach a bowl game this season, Auburn will have to pull off one more upset. The Iron Bowl is this week and the Tigers will be taking on a very hungry Alabama team who is coming off of an embarrassing loss against Oklahoma. Both teams will be very desperate as the Crimson Tide fight to remain on the outskirts of the College Football Playoff Picture.
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Things will be even harder for Auburn this week as they won’t be playing in the friendly confines of Jordan-Hare Stadium. The crowd in Tuscaloosa will surely make it more difficult on the Tigers, but they have been playing with a lot of confidence of late.
The biggest key for Auburn to come up with a victory against Alabama is leaning on its running game. Jarquez Hunter is always one of the best players on the field when he is in the game, and he can control the clock and allow Auburn to control the flow of the game on Saturday.
Auburn can also try to get some explosive plays out of wide receivers Cam Coleman and KeAndre Lambert-Smith on the outside. Alabama’s secondary is very talented, but those guys are young and can make inexperienced mistakes at times. If Auburn can establish the run and hit some big plays through the air, it might just have another upset in the cards.