Auburn football schedule: Predicting first loss of Bryan Harsin era

With Bryan Harsin replacing Gus Malzahn at the helm, the Auburn football team is officially entering into a new era in 2021.

Bryan Harsin is about to find out just how hard it is to win in the SEC. Harsin, previously a remarkably successful head coach of the Boise State Broncos, is now facing a brand new challenge as Auburn football heads into a new era.

While Harsin has coached in the South before, it’s been a little while and he’s now going up against a new level of competition.

Before he led Boise State, Harsin was the head coach of the Arkansas State Red Wolves. Now he’s been given the keys and is being trusted to run one of the most well-known programs in the country, the Auburn Tigers.

The Tigers, who went through a roller coaster at various times with Gus Malzahn, their previous coach, are likely going to experience a season full of growing pains in the first season of the Bryan Harsin era of Auburn Football. That doesn’t mean the year won’t be a good one, but it’s generally not surprising for things to be bumpy as a new coach gets settled in.

So, when will we see the Auburn Tigers stumble and lose their first game in 2021? Let’s roll through the schedule and find out.

Get a glimpse of the 2021 Auburn football schedule

• Sept. 4 – vs. Akron Zips
• Sept. 11 – vs. Alabama State Hornets
• Sept. 18 – at Penn State Nittany Lions
• Sept. 25 – vs. Georgia State Panthers
• Oct. 2 – at LSU Tigers
• Oct. 9 – vs. Georgia Bulldogs
• Oct. 16 – at Arkansas Razorbacks
• Oct. 30 – vs. Ole Miss Rebels
• Nov. 6 – at Texas A&M Aggies
• Nov. 13 – vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs
• Nov. 20 – at South Carolina Gamecocks
• Nov. 27 – vs. Alabama Crimson Tide

Those first two games should be easy wins for the Auburn Tigers. This group has too much talent for it to really struggle with either Akron or Alabama State.

Harsin’s team should be 2-0 before it takes a trip on up to face the Penn State Nittany Lions. And that road trip might be tough. Penn State got off to a horrific start in 2020, going 0-5 before finishing out with four-straight wins.

Those victories gave Penn State a good bit of momentum going into the offseason, which could easily make them dangerous this coming season. Add in the fact that this game is on the road and fans are itching to get back into college football stadiums as thing open back up, it would not be surprising at all to see the Tigers lose for the first time under Harsin in its third game of the 2021 Auburn football season.

But let’s also work under the assumption that they travel up to Happy Valley and somehow sneak out unscathed.

If they’re able to beat Penn State, they shouldn’t have any issues the following week against Georgia State. It’s the opponent after Georgia State that would then likely deliver Auburn’s first loss of the season, the LSU Tigers.

Unsurprisingly, in 2020, LSU regressed a fairly significant amount. The LSU Tigers took a huge step back after winning the national title at the end of the 2019 season. As such, Ed Orgeron and company have a lot to prove. LSU will be looking to defend its home turf against a team that is working on transitioning to a new coaching staff. Considering LSU was embarrassed by Auburn last season, I suspect there’s a little extra motivation for the Bayou Bengals in this game.

And like with Penn State, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Death Valley loaded with fans as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. That gives LSU a huge advantage over Auburn, who has not won on the road in Baton Rouge since 1999.

Given how Auburn will be making some significant adjustments this year, it’s fair to expect them to stumble on the road against Penn State. But if that’s not Harsin’s first loss as Auburn’s head coach, then that’ll almost certainly come a little bit later in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.