The Auburn Tigers may have had a few jittery moments in their season opener, but Hugh Freeze’s crew quickly reminded everyone what kind of bite they carry. A 38-24 win over Baylor revealed both flaws and fireworks, a mix of encouraging plays and lingering concerns. But after pounding Ball State 42-3 in Week 2, AU put all early doubts to rest. Freeze’s squad is being tagged with: “quad crowned.” That phrase, rarely heard in SEC circles, speaks to Auburn’s hold on four categories that matter most when it comes to dictating games.

Through two weeks, Auburn sits atop the conference in rushing offense (265.5 yards per game), rushing defense (30.5 yards per game), tackles for loss (19), and sacks (10). It’s a marker of balance, identity, and physicality. In a league built on trench warfare, the Tigers are beating opponents up front and punishing them on both sides of the ball. If you’re looking for the definition of SEC football, this is it.

On offense, QB1 Jackson Arnold has been the pilot, but the engine has been Jeremiah Cobb. The junior delivered the best outing of his young career against Ball State, torching the Cardinals for 121 yards on 11 carries with two touchdowns. Cobb has already racked up 195 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries this season, nearly matching the 314 yards and two scores he put up across all of last year. His burst and vision add a different gear to Freeze’s attack, turning what was once an area of inconsistency into a hammer Auburn can lean on.

The defense, though, has been the real thunderclap. Keyron Crawford has emerged as a disruptive force, part of a front seven that humiliated Ball State’s ground game to the tune of minus-3 yards. That’s not just domination—it’s humiliation, and the fewest yards allowed by an Auburn defense since Akron suffered the same fate back in 2021. Holding Ball State to just 68 total yards marked the stingiest performance for a Tiger defense since Georgia Southern was smothered for 78 in 2017. That’s how you win games in this conference: you erase hope at the line of scrimmage.

Hugh Freeze himself was quick to highlight how much sharper his team looked from Week 1 to Week 2. According to The War Rapport’s Mike Gittens, “Hugh Freeze starts by reveling in a 17th consecutive sellout this coming weekend. Called Ball State a ‘solid’ win and said tackling was much better from week 1 to week 2.” In the SEC, missed tackles become touchdowns, and Freeze knows the Tigers’ attention to fundamentals will dictate whether these early numbers translate against stiffer competition. And that’s the catch. Auburn has clearly made strides, but the real tests loom ahead.

Auburn’s FPI surge puts Hugh Freeze on CFP radar

Auburn’s destruction of Ball State moved the needle in ESPN’s Football Power Index. The Tigers now sit just outside the top 10 at No. 11, climbing five spots from last week’s No. 16 perch. That’s not a small jump in a model that rewards efficiency and consistency. The climb shows Auburn isn’t just collecting wins, it’s starting to look like a team the metrics respect.

Interestingly, the win total projection barely nudged, decreasing by decimals, but the FPI still leans toward Auburn finishing with eight wins in 2025. That’s the baseline. What excites me is what lies above that ceiling. With Alabama and Georgia both ahead in the rankings and still on the schedule, Auburn holds chances to swing the playoff conversation directly. And according to the numbers, it has the 12th-best shot nationally to crash the College Football Playoff, with a 34% chance.

Efficiency tells a bigger story. Auburn boasts a top-10 overall efficiency rating of 91.4, balanced with a top-15 offensive efficiency score at 84.7. But the real jolt comes on defense. After a shaky opener, the Tigers leapt from No. 51 nationally to No. 17 in defensive efficiency.