Auburn stays put at No. 31 in ESPN FPI following win vs. Vanderbilt
The Auburn Tigers won another game last weekend, thumping the Vanderbilt Commodores 31-15 in Nashville.
Hugh Freeze’s squad was clearly the better team in the first half of the game but struggled in the second half, allowing Vandy to make things interesting in the fourth quarter.
Despite covering the spread and winning the game by 16, ESPN’s Football Power Index was not convinced enough to move the Tigers up the rankings this week.
Auburn should be able to finally crack the top 30 with a win as a road underdog in Arkansas this week.
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 their trip to Arkansas.
Overall Ranking: No. 31
Auburn improved to 2-4 in the SEC after beating Vanderbilt and now has a legitimate chance to finish the regular season at 4-4 in the SEC and 8-4 overall.
The Tigers are the eighth highest ranked team in the SEC, trailing Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Tennessee, and Missouri.
They are four spots ahead of this week’s opponent, Arkansas.
Strength of Record: No. 39
Vanderbilt is ranked No. 98 in the Football Power Index, so it makes sense why Auburn’s victory didn’t move the needle in the strength of record category.
Auburn may have moved up in this category with a resounding win, but the second half in Nashville was sloppier than a table at Little Italy’s at 2 in the morning.
Auburn failed to score touchdowns in the second and fourth quarter of the game. They will have to fix the offensive lulls against a better Arkansas team on Saturday
Strength of Schedule: No. 9
Auburn has fallen from No. 4 in strenght of schedule to No. 9 following week 10.
Hugh Freeze’s team was bound to fall in the category considering the amount of marquee matchups across college football a week ago.
It is quite possible the this trend continues, as Auburn’s next two opponents are 3-6 Arkansas and a New Mexico State team that lost to Umass, who Auburn blew out 59-14.
Overall Efficiency: No. 31
When your offense scores three touchdowns of 50 yards or more, it’s due for a bump in overall efficiency.
Payton Thorne and the Auburn offense struggled at times against Vanderbilt, but the big play potential flashed during the game helped the Tigers jump from two spots in this category, from No. 33 to No. 31
The defense did their part as well, holding the Commodores to 266 total yards despite them possessing the ball for seven more minutes than Auburn.
Offensive Efficiency: No. 86
Quarterback Payton Thorne and running back Jarquez Hunter are getting hot at the right time for the Tigers.
Thorne has averaged 212 passing yards over his last two games after averaging under 140 in Auburn’s first seven.
Jarquez Hunter has been even better, rushing for 327 yards and 2 touchdowns in that span.
Auburn’s quarterback and running back will have to keep up the good play with the Iron Bowl looming at the end of November.
Defensive Efficiency: No. 13
We’re at the point where I am running out of compliments for how well the Auburn defense has played this year.
The unit once again dominated on Saturday, holding Vanderbilt to 4.2 yards per play and sacking quarterback Ken Seals 5 times.
The only SEC team ranked higher in defensive efficiency is rival Alabama.
