Auburn Football Schedule 2011: What to Know for Each Game

Auburn has the toughest road to tread in the SEC this season. Each game will bring a challenge this year, especially early as the Tigers will be breaking in new players at virtually every position. Each contest will have its own unique reasons to bring cheeks to the seats this fall.

How the Tigers are able to handle the first SEC contest against Mississippi State and the first road game at Clemson may be a very good indicator as to which direction the season will go for Auburn. Auburn will have a chance to be challenged to survive tough contests early and build chemistry.

The heart of Auburn’s schedule will fall in the five Saturdays during October. With three away games and two home games against quality SEC competition, October could be a rough month for the Tigers.

With little relief to close the season, Auburn will need a strong push early and win at least three games through October to earn a decent bowl bid. The year will be tough for these young Tigers, but each contest will bring great competition and fierce football.

Utah State, Sept. 3 at 11 a.m.

The Utah State Aggies will be traveling to Jordan-Hare Stadium for an early 11 a.m. kickoff. Auburn and Utah State have never played football against each other before this season and it will be the Aggies' first time playing against an SEC team since 2006.

The Aggies return 16 starters from last year’s 4-8 squad but Gary Andersen is hoping for better success in his third year at the helm. There would be no better way to start the season than a win over the defending national champion on national television.

A close similarity between the schools is that both are agricultural institutions founded as land grant universities—hence the "Aggies" nickname for the Utah State program. Both schools began football competition in 1892.

Game to be televised on ESPN/ESPN2.

Mississippi State, Sept. 10 at 11:21 a.m.

Mississippi State and Auburn are known for their tough defensive ball games. It was just a few seasons ago that the final score was 3-2. Just last season as Gus Malzahn was developing his offense around eventual superstar Cam Newton, the final score was 17-14. This game will likely be a tough battle as usual.

Auburn leads the series 58-23 and has won 21 of the last 28 games against the Bulldogs. The last time the Bulldogs have won in Jordan-Hare was in 2007 when they scored in the fourth quarter to take the lead 19-14.

Mississippi State has a lot of returning talent this season and will be a challenge for the Tigers. Chris Relf is the returning starter at quarterback and was picked as an All-SEC second-team selection. This game will be a good one and likely go down to the wire.

Game to be televised on SEC Network.

At Clemson, Sept. 17 at 11 a.m.

Both of these Tigers will need a win in the third week of the season. Auburn will be traveling for the first time in 2011 to Clemson and the Clemson fans will be looking to make the environment as hostile as possible.

Auburn and Clemson have an overall record that is 34-11-2. Auburn leads the series. Auburn and Clemson will also play next season in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic at the Georgia Dome.

Auburn and Clemson have played numerous times in the past and hold many things in common, a few of which are colors, former coaches and even mascots. Clemson is hoping to beat Auburn for the first time in 60 years this September, and returning 16 of their starters from a year ago will help.

Don’t expect Auburn to lay down on its first away game, however, and after a tough contest against Mississippi State the Tigers from Auburn will be either finding their stride or falling apart.

Game to be televised by ABC.

Florida Atlantic, Sept. 24, TBA

Howard Schnellenberger enters his 10th season with the Owls from Florida Atlantic. Schnellenberger coached the Miami Hurricanes to a national title in 1983 and has led a wealth of other teams in his storied coaching career.

Schnellenberger will be remembered as a legend in the game. He led Florida Atlantic from no football program in 2001 to FBS competitors today. The Owls are 57-63 all time and have carried winning seasons two out of the five they have played at the upper level of college football.

Auburn will look to win the first contest between the two schools as it heads into the heart of the schedule the following week. 

At South Carolina, Oct. 1, TBA

Last season built a large chapter in the history between these two teams. After an early season battle that ended with a last-minute interception in the end zone, Auburn routed Carolina in the SEC championship game.

Auburn destroyed South Carolina 56-17 in the final contest of last season and the Gamecocks and their fans are sure to remember this year as the Tigers come to visit. South Carolina returns a host of playmakers on offense and defense and is the favorite of most to win the SEC East.

Auburn will be making its first SEC road trip of the season when it heads to Columbia. Auburn holds the lead in the series historically with an all-time record of 8-1-1. The Gamecocks will hope to use their experience and talent to turn the dial in their favor for a change this season against the Tigers.

At Arkansas, Oct. 8, TBA

Auburn and Arkansas have played some tight football in the past and last season’s barn burner won’t likely be forgotten any time soon. The Tigers and Razorbacks have to hope for a more tame game this season, but the offense is sure to be out and about again in this contest.

Auburn holds the lead in the series 11-8-1 overall, but traveling to Fayetteville in recent years has been a tough pill to swallow for the Tigers. Arkansas will likely have the leading receiving corps in the country this season, and even though Tyler Wilson will be in his first season as the starter, he proved last season in Auburn that he can make all the throws needed to win big games.

Auburn will be fielding a very young defensive secondary so the Tigers will need to be ready mentally for this contest. They will have faced one premier receiver at South Carolina the week prior but Arkansas has three elite receiving threats.

This will be one of the toughest contests for Auburn this season but it will be a pivotal game in determining its 2011 season.

Florida, Oct. 15, TBA

Auburn vs. Florida is one of the oldest contests in the SEC. Before the forced schedule shift began and teams could only lock in one SEC opponent not in their division, Auburn and Florida played annually. Auburn held Georgia as its locked team and dropped Florida.

Auburn has the lead in the series so far with a 42-38-2 record against the Gators, but every contest as of late has brought extremely good football. Will Muschamp will be returning to the Plains for the first time as a head coach and will be looking for a big win for his program.

Auburn will be back home after a rough two-game away stretch and will likely be clicking on offense by midseason. The concern for the Tigers again will be the pass defense as John Brantley is supposedly leaps and bounds better in the Charlie Weis system this offseason.

I would expect this contest to be a very physical game and will look for a lower scoring close contest. Auburn will need a win here if it wants to keep hope in playing in a New Year’s Day bowl. 

At LSU, Oct. 22, TBA

Auburn vs. LSU has become one of the more bitter rivalries in the SEC, an annual slobber-knocking game in the conference.

Last season Auburn pulled away a win with a 71-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter by Onterio McCalebb. This season LSU will be prepared and poised for a very special season in the SEC. If the Tigers can find a starting quarterback in either Jordan Jefferson or JUCO transfer Zach Mettenberger they will be the most potent team in the country.

LSU has the talent to run the table this year but it seems to find ways to lose big games once or twice in season. This will be Auburn’s third road trip of October and will likely be one of the losses for the Tigers this season.

LSU owns the series with a 24-20-1 overall record. Auburn won the 1957 national title and just a season later the LSU Tigers won a title of their own in 1958. Could history repeat itself this season for LSU? Who knows for sure, but this game will go a long way determining where both of these teams stand in the conference and nationally in 2011.

Ole Miss, Oct. 29, TBA

Ole Miss will travel to Auburn for the last contest of the month of October. By this Saturday, Auburn will be ready to keep the past in the past and buckle in for a win at home. Auburn leads the series with Ole Miss 26-9 and will look to extend its lead.

Ole Miss will not come to Auburn expecting to lose, however, and the Rebels will be looking to lean on senior running back Brandon Bolden and a host of backups to take the middle of Auburn’s defensive line to task. Auburn will be experienced but still young by this point and taking Ole Miss lightly will earn Auburn a loss.

This is another must-win for Auburn, and despite the fact that Ole Miss seems to like to win on occasion in Jordan-Hare, Auburn will likely take this game away in the end.

At Georgia, Nov. 12, TBA

Auburn and Georgia have played each other in football 114 times. This game is known as the oldest rivalry in the south with Auburn leading the series 54-52-8. Auburn played its first football game against the University of Georgia at Piedmont Park in Atlanta in 1892. Auburn won that contest 10-0 and is also the game attributed to the “War Eagle” tradition.

Georgia is another favorite to win the East for some but the lack of experience in the backfield may hurt its chances. Georgia will look to start true freshman Isaiah Crowell but will have little to no depth beyond him.

Aaron Murray will likely be the best quarterback in the SEC if he can find a consistent target early but by this time in the season Murray will be hitting on all cylinders. Georgia will be wearing a chip on the shoulder as this game approaches after the rough contest a year ago.

This game will be very important for both teams, but more so Georgia, assuming it will be in contention for the SEC East. Going between the hedges is going to be a rough time for Auburn’s young team but Gene Chizik and Co. will have this team ready after weathering the storm that was October.

Samford, Nov. 19, TBA

Auburn and Samford have played each other 26 times with Auburn holding the series lead 25-0-1. The lone tie for the Bulldogs came in 1929 in Birmingham with a final score of 9-9. Another interesting point to the contest is the coaching staff for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs will be coming to Auburn with a former Auburn Heisman winner and legend leading the program. Pat Sullivan is entering his fifth season with the Bulldogs and returns 12 starters, which will help their hopes against the defending national champs.

Rhett Lashlee will be another familiar face for the Tigers on the opposite sideline as Lashlee was an assistant and some say right-hand man to Gus Malzahn during his two seasons with Auburn.

By this time in the season Auburn is likely out of the title race but this will be a good win for Auburn to carry over before the Iron Bowl. 

Alabama, Nov. 26, TBA

The Iron Bowl is a game that turns families against each other in a way similar to the Civil War. Nothing compares to the passion of SEC football fans, but put two major programs from the conference in the same state and the blood really begins to boil.

Alabama leads the series with a 40-34-1 record. The past two seasons this game has hosted the eventual national champion and most national pundits think this game will again host a title contender in Alabama.

With the Iron Bowl again coming to Auburn, Alabama can expect a hard road to a win. The Alabama defense looks to be one of the best in the country this season but stopping the Auburn offense will not be a simple task.

This will be a huge game with national implications, and as tight as the race in the West appears to be it could make waves in the SEC West on the last week of the season.