Bold predictions for Auburn football in 2023 include a historic season for QB Payton Thorne

AUBURN — You don't have to pinch yourself Auburn football fans, it's real.

It's game week for the Tigers, which means we're a handful of days from the opening of the 2023 season against UMass on Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT, ESPN). It'll officially mark the beginning of the Hugh Freeze era on the Plains, which technically began with his hire a little less than 10 months ago.

To ring in the upcoming campaign, here are a few bold predictions that could come true for Auburn by season's end, including one about AU's recently named starting quarterback.

Transfer QB Payton Thorne has a top five passing season in Auburn football history

It sounds crazy, but it's really not.

Throughout the majority of Auburn's storied history, the Tigers have found much of their success as a hard-nosed team with a knack for running the ball and coupling that with some staunch defenses. From Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown to Tre Mason and Kerryon Johnson — can't forget about Bo Jackson, of course — Auburn's pride is in its running backs.

It's been a different story at quarterback. The Tigers have produced a 3,000-yard passer twice in program history (Dameyune Craig in 1997 and Jarrett Stidham in 2017). Payton Thorne's worst season as a starter at Michigan State featured him racking up 2,679 yards through the air; that would rank No. 6 in Auburn history. His 2021 total of 3,240 yards is ahead of Stidham (3,158) and just behind Craig (3,277).

And with Freeze's influence, it's not outlandish to dream of Thorne's potential for historic production.

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Keionte Scott emerges as a star for Auburn at nickel cornerback

Auburn's secondary is top heavy with experience.

The Tigers returned every defensive back who recorded a stat last season with the exceptions of Craig McDonald (transfer) and Cayden Bridges (no longer with team). The expected five starters on the back end — DJ James and Nehemiah Pritchett on the boundary, Jaylin Simpson and Zion Puckett at the two safety spots and Keionte Scott in the nickel — have all previously started multiple games in their roles.

But Scott has a chance to really turn things up. A former junior college standout who joined Auburn last offseason, Scott enters his second season with the Tigers as a player primed to breakout onto the scene.

Auburn sweeps the Mississippi schools in 2023

The Ole Miss matchup, which comes after Auburn goes through a gauntlet of Texas A&M, Georgia and LSU, is the most intriguing game on Auburn's schedule in 2023. Between Freeze's history with the Rebels and Lane Kiffin's reported interest in the Tigers this offseason, the storylines are endless.

But the fact that this game is at Jordan-Hare gives Auburn an advantage; the Tigers are 8-2 in their last 10 matchups at home with Ole Miss and 17-3 dating back to 1953. A similar thing can be said for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, who make the trip to the Plains one week after their in-state rivals.

Auburn is 7-3 at home against MSU since 2003 — the Bulldogs have won two of the last four, though — and 27-9-1 since 1949.

With a clean sweep of the Mississippi schools, the Tigers would line themselves up nicely to get back to a bowl game in 2023 and perhaps even surpass the expectations placed on them.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football: 3 bold predictions for the Tigers in 2023