JD PicKell: Auburn will go under win total in 2023

Early lines on win totals for next year’s college football season have plenty of people talking. That includes On3’s JD PicKell who is predicting a decent enough finish for Auburn in their first season under Hugh Freeze

PicKell went with the under on the Tiger’s line of 6.5 wins on a recent episode of ‘The Hard Count’. On a positive note, he did say that he sees at least five guaranteed wins on their schedule under the assumption that they are who he believes them to be.

“Auburn is at 6.5 wins. And I need these five, okay? UMass, Cal, Samford, Vandy, Nex Mexico State,” PicKell said. “That’s five off the top assuming Auburn is who we think they are.”

On the flip side, though, PicKell is uncertain about how the Tigers will fair in SEC play. He essentially has four marked down in the loss column already against Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, and Alabama. That leaves a three-game stretch to decide whether they can get from five wins to seven and, in his eyes, he doesn’t see them overcoming that.

“Here’s my question, though. Are you going two for three against these teams: Mississippi State at the crib, at Arkansas, at A&M,” asked PicKell. “I love Hugh Freeze, I love Payton Thorne. I’ve talked a lot about the Tigers, man. We stan Hugh Freeze here. But the reality is I don’t feel good enough to think they’re going to go two out of three against Mississippi State, Arkansas, and A&M. I like six a lot more than I like seven.”

For as bad as things have been at Auburn the last three seasons, they have hovered right around that number in all three. They came close with six victories in 2020 and 2021 and fell down only one digit to five during 2022. Still, considering their league schedule, PicKell thinks they could be bowl eligible while also missing that current total for their year.

“Auburn fans? The future is bright,” said PicKell. “But I’m gonna go ahead and lean six wins for Auburn (and) I’m gonna go under 6.5 for the Tigers. It’s sad but it’s true.”