Auburn Tigers Football 2011: 8 Teams That Should Be on the Future Schedule
With every new season of college football the discussion of the SEC and its weaker non-conference opponents are discussed. When the expansion of the schedule to 12 games occurred, the hope would be that more marquee games would be picked up by the major conference teams.
The SEC has been slowly dragging behind the times to add premium non-conference games on top of the already rigorous in-conference contests that happen in every season. Auburn has been one of the teams that have been slower to add the marquee matchups.
Looking forward, there are eight teams that would make the future for Auburn and its fans much more interesting. There are some natural rivalries that occur out of conference for the Tigers and there are some games that would be great first time matchups of storied football programs.
What future schedules hold is anyone’s guess, but these eight opponents should fall under consideration.
Georgia Tech
1 of 9
Auburn and Georgia Tech is one of the best rivalries no longer played in college football. Georgia Tech was once a member of the Southeastern Conference until June of 1964. The nature of the rivalry was formed as the Tigers and Yellow Jackets were conference opponents.
It doesn’t hurt that Auburn is only a short one-hour drive from Atlanta.
Auburn and Georgia Tech have played 89 times in their history with Auburn leading the series 47-41-4. The Auburn football rivalry is one that has a very historic past and one that should have a future. The first game between the schools was in 1892, resulting in a 26-0 Auburn victory. The game was a staple in college football until 1987 and was shortly rekindled in the mid-2000’s.
This game should be an annual contest between the two schools. It would add a tough contest on the schedule, but also would fill one of the four non-conference contests and would allow for one more premier game annually on the schedule.
Florida State
2 of 9
Florida State has become one of the more legendary programs in college football. With only a border and a few hundred miles separating Tallahassee and Auburn, it seems like a natural fit. These two teams battle year in and year out for recruits off the field—they may as well continue the battle on the field.
Auburn and Florida State have played 18 times in the past. Auburn leads the series 13-4-1 and the last meeting was in 1990. A game for the ages and the history books was scheduled for 1999 that would have matched Terry Bowden against father Bobby Bowden. It would have marked the first father-son game in college football history.
In 1998, however, Auburn started 1-5 and subsequently released Terry Bowden from his contract. Shortly after signing day in 1999, Auburn opted out of the season-opening contest against the Seminoles. There has not been a game played between the schools since.
This is a natural rivalry game that should be rekindled in the future.
Southern Cal
3 of 9
USC and Auburn have met three times in the history of the programs: 1987, 2002 and 2003. Auburn won the bowl game matchup in 1987 but lost both games in the home and home series in the early 2000’s.
USC has captured tons of talent in recent years and has wins to show for it. Auburn learned in ’02 and ’03 that the Trojans play great football. USC popped Auburn in the mouth in 2003 especially and Auburn needs to return the favor in the future.
Watching another home-and-home series or a neutral location game at Cowboys Stadium would draw a national audience and would have a great impact for both the universities and the fans.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Texas A&M
4 of 9
The Aggies from Texas A&M are very similar to the Auburn Tigers. Both schools are agricultural and mechanical land-grant Universities. Both universities are also in the minority in their respective states as far as a fanbase is concerned.
Don’t misunderstand, Auburn and Texas A&M have some of the most dedicated and intense fans in college football, but typically there is a tie to the school other than just living in the state. Mix the intensity of the fans and the history on the football field and this would be a great matchup.
With the expansion of the Pac-12 and Big Ten this past season there was also a courting phase for the Aggies to come to the SEC. The Tigers and Aggies should make this game happen sooner rather than later.
Michigan
5 of 9
The Big House, need I say more. Michigan has one of the most storied and tradition-rich football programs in college football. A series between Auburn and Michigan would be fun not only for the fans of the schools, it would be a treat nationally.
Auburn and Michigan have played twice in their history. Both times they met in bowl games. Auburn won the 1984 Sugar bowl 9-7 while the Wolverines earned the victory in the Citrus Bowl 31-28 in 2001.
Recently Michigan and Auburn have gone after each other for recruits like the recently committed Zeke Pike and 2011 signee Kris Frost. Adding a contest on the field would be fun to watch for sure.
Adding games against other major conference opponents like Michigan will fuel a return to the national title and will remove the argument of the weak schedule for Auburn.
Nebraska
6 of 9
Auburn and Nebraska would be another marquee matchup between the Big Ten and SEC. Nebraska is another program that has a rich college football tradition. Adding this game to the mix would fuel a national audience and produce one heck of a football game.
In 2007 the Huskers and Auburn met in the Cotton Bowl that finished with an Auburn victory. The final score was 17-14 with the last points being scored in the third quarter.
This would be a major series for college football and could be a great season-opener at a neutral field. Finding a place for this matchup in the foreseeable future may be difficult but it would pay dividends to both schools.
Notre Dame
7 of 9
The Fighting Irish are on the same level as Michigan in my mind when thinking college football tradition. Lately, there hasn’t been a ton to write home about for the Irish, but the history is what makes this matchup so intriguing.
The Irish and the Tigers have never met on the football field. It is about time that they started. The Irish carry a mystique no matter with wins or losses in the modern era of football, and they maintain a following that rivals schools in the South.
Notre Dame has the revenue and fan following that could allow it to fit right in to the SEC if it weren’t for the distance geographically. Having the Tigers host the Fighting Irish would be a history-maker and would drive a national audience like no other contest.
TCU
8 of 9
With all the talk of the non-BCS conference teams being left out of the title picture it is about time for some BCS auto qualifying schools to go head to head with non-auto qualifying schools. TCU is a team that has been in the mix lately but somewhat overlooked because of the national attention to Boise.
Despite the Horned Frogs making it out of the 2010 season undefeated and gaining a win over a BCS conference program with their Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin, Boise is still the first team that comes to mind for most when the BCS unfairness talk begins.
TCU is a team that is talented but overlooked because there are at least two other major programs in the state of Texas that overshadow it. However, TCU has and will continue to be one of the best teams in football.
Adding a home-and-home with TCU would allow for Auburn to add a non-qualifying team to the schedule but not lose the marquee matchup that could be an out of conference game. This would be a great way to start a season or two in the future.
In Closing…
9 of 9
The future schedules are developed years in advance for the major conference teams. Auburn recently turned down a game in the Georgia Dome to open the season against UCLA due to a schedule that had been built years in advance. With that being said, Auburn should have changed the dates and made the game happen.
In the future, every SEC team needs to look for more difficult games to place on the non-conference schedule. It won’t necessarily help the league, but it won’t hurt it either. The SEC already has national exposure and five consecutive national titles. Scheduling more marquee games, however, makes college football as a whole better.
Opening day this year has LSU and Oregon playing in Dallas while Boise State and Georgia play in the Georgia Dome. Those games are huge for college football. Auburn has to continue the trend in the future by scheduling its own opening day matchup or early-season nationally televised game.
This season, Auburn completes a home-and-home with Clemson which has become a rekindled rivalry and has seen the nation take notice. Auburn needs to add one more big game to the schedule in coming years, however, as it will become the norm for teams across the major conferences to build even tougher matchups to gain the national audience.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
