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2023 Auburn

6–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Southeastern Conference), coached by Hugh Freeze.

Schedule and results

Auburn in 2023, game by game: won vs. Massachusetts 59–14; won at California 14–10; won vs. Samford 45–13; lost at Texas A&M 10–27; lost vs. No. 1 Georgia 20–27; lost at No. 22 LSU 18–48; lost vs. No. 13 Ole Miss 21–28; won vs. Mississippi State 27–13; won at Vanderbilt 31–15; won at Arkansas 48–10; lost vs. New Mexico State 10–31; lost vs. No. 8 Alabama 24–27; lost vs. Maryland 13–31+45−30Won 59–14 vs. Massachusetts+45MassachusettsWon 14–10 at California+4CaliforniaWon 45–13 vs. Samford+32SamfordLost 10–27 at Texas A&M-17Texas A&MLost 20–27 vs. No. 1 Georgia-7No. 1 GeorgiaLost 18–48 at No. 22 LSU-30No. 22 LSULost 21–28 vs. No. 13 Ole Miss-7No. 13 Ole MissWon 27–13 vs. Mississippi State+14Mississippi Sta…Won 31–15 at Vanderbilt+16VanderbiltWon 48–10 at Arkansas+38ArkansasLost 10–31 vs. New Mexico State-21New Mexico StateLost 24–27 vs. No. 8 Alabama-3No. 8 AlabamaLost 13–31 vs. Maryland-18Maryland
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsMassachusettsW 59–⁠1479%
Sep 9atCaliforniaW 14–⁠1046%
Sep 16vsSamfordW 45–⁠1377%
Sep 23atTexas A&ML 10–⁠2744%
Sep 30vs1GeorgiaL 20–⁠2723%
Oct 14at22LSUL 18–⁠4827%
Oct 21vs13Ole MissL 21–⁠2839%
Oct 28vsMississippi StateW 27–⁠1348%
Nov 4atVanderbiltW 31–⁠1563%
Nov 11atArkansasW 48–⁠1044%
Nov 18vsNew Mexico StateL 10–⁠3164%
Nov 25vs8AlabamaL 24–⁠2722%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvsMarylandMusic City BowlL 13–⁠3145%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Maryland 31–⁠13 in the Music City Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 96th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 8th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
340–⁠294
Coach
Hugh Freeze
Elo
1505 −2 this season
SP+ rating
7.6 No. 36 of 133; offense No. 67, defense No. 27, special teams No. 26
SRS
4.3 No. 46 of 133 in FBS
Returning
79% of last season’s EPA, No. 15 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 18 roster talent No. 18 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Philip Montgomery
Defensive coordinator
Ron Roberts
Offense
Veer and shoot
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense67th of 133
  • Defense62nd of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted66th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted37th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0941%1.2767th of 133
Defense0.1041%1.2862nd of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.10 off
0.06 def		42% off
39% def		—66th off
37th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.0own 2917% allowed
Defense3.6own 2918% caused

CORE rating -0.7, 68th of 133 (offense -3.1, defense -2.4).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsPayton Thorne QB1,755 yds
Passing touchdownsPayton Thorne QB16 TD
Rushing yardsJarquez Hunter RB909 yds
Rushing touchdownsJarquez Hunter RB7 TD
Receiving yardsRivaldo Fairweather TE394 yds
Receiving touchdownsRivaldo Fairweather TE6 TD
TacklesEugene Asante LB86 tkl
SacksMarcus Harris DL7 sacks
InterceptionsJaylin Simpson CB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Keldric Faulk DL★★★★No. 75
Kayin Lee CB★★★★No. 147
Jeremiah Cobb RB★★★★No. 168
D.J. Reed DL★★★★No. 189
Sylvester Smith S★★★★No. 233
Terrance Love S★★★★No. 281
Tyler Scott CB★★★★No. 330
Colton Hood CB★★★★No. 374

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.849
Running backs14.00.933
Receivers13.00.889
Offensive line43.30.886
Defensive line53.60.901
Defensive backs73.70.902
Whole class193.50.897

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2024

The 2024 draft
Rd 5Nehemiah Pritchett CBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 5Jaylin Simpson SIndianapolis Colts
Rd 6D.J. James CBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 7Justin Rogers DTDallas Cowboys
Rd 7Marcus Harris DTHouston Texans

Roster 119

The 2023 roster

119 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 64 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 20

The 2023 portal
Avery Jones OL★★★★from East Carolina
Dillon Wade OT★★★★from Tulsa
Justin Rogers DL★★★★from Kentucky
Brian Battie RB★★★★from South Florida
Gunner Britton OT★★★★from Western Kentucky
Rivaldo Fairweather TE★★★★from Florida International
Caleb Burton WR★★★★from Ohio State
DeMario Tolan LB★★★★from LSU
Jyaire Shorter WR★★★★from North Texas
Mosiah Nasili-Kite DL★★★★from Maryland
Shane Hooks WR★★★★from Jackson State
Nick Mardner WR★★★from Cincinnati

And 8 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 20

Dylan Brooks DE★★★to Kansas
Landen King TE★★★to Utah
Jeffrey M’Ba DL★★★to Purdue
Marquis Robinson DL★★★no new school on file
Tar’Varish Dawson Jr. WR★★★to Colorado
Craig McDonald S★★★to Minnesota
Keiondre Jones OL★★★to Florida State
Desmond Tisdol LB★★★★to Florida Atlantic
J.J. Evans WR★★★★to North Alabama
Ze’Vian Capers WR★★★★to Western Kentucky
Armani Diamond CB★★★to UAB
Colby Smith OT★★★to Troy

And 8 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-SEC

1 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2023 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2023 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Georgia8–⁠013–⁠14
Alabama8–⁠012–⁠25
Missouri6–⁠211–⁠28
Ole Miss6–⁠211–⁠2
LSU6–⁠210–⁠312
Tennessee4–⁠49–⁠417
Texas A&M4–⁠47–⁠6
Kentucky3–⁠57–⁠6
Auburn3–⁠56–⁠7
South Carolina3–⁠55–⁠7
Florida3–⁠55–⁠7
Mississippi State1–⁠75–⁠79
Arkansas1–⁠74–⁠8
Vanderbilt0–⁠82–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.