AUBURN — There's no question Auburn football has some momentum going on the recruiting trail.

The Tigers pulled in the No. 10 class in the nation last cycle, per the 247Sports Composite, and currently hold the country's No. 6 haul in 2025. Coach Hugh Freeze signed six of the top 15 in-state prospects in 2024, and he holds commitments from five of the top 15 in 2025.

Auburn hasn't inked five or more of the top 15 recruits in Alabama in back to back years since it nabbed six in 2017 and five in 2018.

But recruiting alone won't get the job done for Freeze, who led the Tigers to a 6-7 record in his first season back in the SEC since 2016. Auburn was once 6-4 in 2023, but an inexcusable home loss to New Mexico State, a heartbreaker in the Iron Bowl and an uninspiring performance against Maryland in the Music City Bowl led the Tigers to their third consecutive losing season.

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The wins need to start coming. Not only to keep impatient fans quelled, but also to keep players happy in the age of the transfer portal.

Any sort of improvement from last season would show progress, but the energy around the program would shift into high gear if the Tigers reach eight wins in 2024. By breaking the schedule up into categories, here's a path for Auburn to get there:

Got to have it

The games: vs. Alabama A&M (Week 1), vs. Cal (Week 2), vs. New Mexico (Week 3), vs. Arkansas (Week 4), vs. Vanderbilt (Week 10) and vs. Louisiana-Monroe (Week 12)

The reasoning: Let's start easy: Auburn can't afford another hiccup against an inferior nonconference opponent. Assuming the Tigers can handle those four non-SEC programs, that already puts them halfway there to the eight-game benchmark. Other matchups categorized as de facto must-win opportunties are home bouts with Arkansas and Vanderbilt. Auburn played both the Razorbacks and Commodores on the road last season, and it won those games by a combined score of 79-25. Don't take a step back.

Flip a coin

The games: vs. Oklahoma (Week 5), at Missouri (Week 8), at Kentucky (Week 9) and vs. Texas A&M (Week 13)

The reasoning: Here are four games that could go either way. Oklahoma has a better roster than Auburn, but the Tigers have the benefit of welcoming the Sooners to Jordan-Hare Stadium for the latter's first road test in the SEC. Missouri and Kentucky will likely both be average-to-above-average teams in the conference, so going on the road to play those games will be tough. Auburn and Texas A&M are in similar spots. The Tigers may have a bit of an advantage with Aggies coach Mike Elko in Year 1, though, so long as they don't look ahead to the Iron Bowl the following week.

Good luck

The games: at Georgia (Week 6) and at Alabama (Week 14)

The reasoning: Listen, it's just what the history says. Auburn hasn't gone into Bryant-Denny Stadium and left with a win since Cam Newton led a miraculous comeback in 2010, and the drought at Georgia has been even longer (2005). Nick Saban may not be leading the Crimson Tide anymore, but that roster is still littered with players he recruited. As for the Bulldogs, everyone knows what coach Kirby Smart has been able to build. Given the state of the teams and recent trends, fans should be elated if Auburn is able to pull either of these games out.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football: How Tigers can reach 8 wins under Hugh Freeze in 2024