Notable College Football Program Primed To Be The Surprise Team In The SEC

The first season of the Hugh Freeze era had plenty of growing pains. The Tigers finished the season 6-7 after a disappointing Music City Bowl loss against Maryland

The Tigers also suffered an embarrassing loss to New Mexico State a week before a heartbreaking loss to end the regular season against in-state rival Alabama. The Crimson Tide scored the game-winning touchdown with 32 seconds remaining as Jalen Milroe found wide receiver Isaiah Bond.

Next season will be an important milestone for Freeze as the Tigers are expected to take a massive step forward. As the head coach at Liberty, Freeze improved from 8-5 to 10-1 in his second season with the Flames.

On3's J.D. PicKell made an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show , saying that fans are overlooking the Tigers due to their poor performance last season. He points to the shocking upset loss against New Mexico State as the main reason that Auburn is being overlooked.

"I think social media is having a little bit too much fun with Auburn and what happened last year with the New Mexico State loss, and they barely won six games and all of that," PicKell said.

"I'm looking at the rest of what happened this past season and I'm like, really took Alabama down to the final play... should have beat Alabama. They take Georgia to the final drive. If both of those games and if is a major variable here but if both of those games swing a different direction, how are we talking about Hugh Freeze and their roster?"

It will not be easy for the Tigers as Auburn will face five of the top nine teams in On3's latest SEC power rankings. But Auburn is bringing in the No. 27 transfer class and the No. 10 recruiting class from a season ago, per 247Sports.

Auburn returns plenty of experience, ranking Top 12 nationally in terms of returning starters. Experience and an impressive signing class could all be factors that could help Auburn be the surprise of the conference in 2024.

Auburn will kickoff the 2024 season against Alabama A&M on Aug. 31 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Related: College Football Fans Torn Over Preseason SEC Power Rankings