5 college football teams that will be better than you think in 2021

A revamped coaching staff could make celebratory toilet paper expendable again

What gets lost in the tumultuous offseason in the SEC landscape is the Auburn Tigers had a really good team. Sure, they went 6-4, but that was in a 10-game, conference-only slate. Three of their regular-season losses came to top-10 teams in Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M. Even if they parted ways with former head coach Gus Malzahn, Auburn stands a great chance to bounce back.

Even more surprising than Malzahn getting dismissed after a winning season is who Auburn University hired to replace him. The athletic department was able to pry former Boise State Broncos head coach Bryan Harsin away from his alma mater to come coach on The Plains. What has been a pleasant surprise is how strong of a coaching staff he has assembled for 2021.

Harsin brought in former Vanderbilt Commodores head coach Derek Mason to run his defense. Former Colorado State Rams head coach and longtime SEC offensive coordinator Mike Bobo comes over from South Carolina, along with offensive line Will Friend. Now, it is all about Auburn putting in the work. With a less tumultuous offseason across the board, the Tigers can do this.

Because Auburn will host their two biggest rivals this year in Alabama and Georgia, that gives the Tigers an outside shot of pulling off an upset. And with second place in the SEC West up for grabs, maybe a refocused Auburn team centered around true junior quarterback Bo Nix can challenge Alabama for divisional supremacy to maybe get to Atlanta or even a New Year’s Six bowl game?