We are less than two weeks away from the start of the college football season, and Auburn is doing everything it can to divert attention away from its current team. That should tell you everything you need to know about the administration's confidence in Hugh Freeze and the direction of the Tigers' program.
Early on Monday, Auburn announced it would be retiring Cam Newton's jersey. An understandable decision, and one that probably should have happened already. Even this Alabama fan can admit when he sees greatness, regardless of the colors that greatness chose to wear. Newton is the greatest singular force I've ever seen in college football, taking an otherwise pedestrian Auburn team to a National Championship.
That move makes sense, though the timing caused a slight eyebrow raise. If you weren't already on alert, then Auburn's Monday night news would've changed that. The Tigers announced it would be claiming an additional four National Championships to bring their total up to nine in program history, though that number was just *two* not so long ago, and Auburn certainly hasn't won anything of note recently.
Auburn will now claim titles in 1910, 1914, 1958, and 2004, adding to recent claims of 1913, 1983, and 1993. To be clear: the Tigers have two legitimate National Championships in 1957 and 2010. The rest aren't just far-fetched, they are nonsensical.
Auburn is a program that is always grasping for relevancy. And right now, they want to talk about anything other than the current football team as the Tigers stare a potential fifth straight losing season in the face. Hugh Freeze seems to have buyer's remorse on Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold, commenting on Monday after practice that Auburn could end up playing backups Ashton Daniels and Deuce Knight in the opener against Baylor in addition to Arnold. That signals a complete lack of confidence in Arnold, a fact that has become clearer and clearer, one visor throw at a time.
Auburn fans and the administration are probably having buyer's remorse with Freeze, who has gone 11-14 in two seasons on the Plains. If the QB position is as messy as it seems it may be, a third straight losing season for Freeze could become a reality. He won't be given a chance for a fourth.
Auburn's delayed claimed titles are not the same as Alabama's
In the interest of fairness, Alabama claimed five additional National Championships during the 1980s when a man named Wayne Atcheson, who worked in the communications department, combed through Alabama history and found titles he thought the Tide should have claimed all along. At that point in time, the Crimson Tide only claimed the six National Championships won during the Coach Bryant era. Overnight, Alabama went from six National Championships to 11.
I will give you legitimate qualms about two of Alabama's now 18 claimed National Championships. Because two of them are not listed by the NCAA, the rest are. Alabama claims National Championships in 1934 and 1941 that are not officially recognized.
I won't make an argument for 1941 - that's clearly the most dubious claim, and Atcheson including it is the main reason for the gripes of so many for so long. There's no argument for it.
In 1934, however, Minnesota is generally recognized as the National Champion, despite playing only eight games and not playing a postseason game. They were a dominant 8-0, however. Frank Thomas' Alabama team went a dominant 10-0 and beat Stanford by 16 points in the Rose Bowl.
Outside of those two, the NCAA officially recognizes 16 of Alabama's 18 National titles. How many does the NCAA recognize for Auburn, you might ask? Two. The same two it always has: 1957 and 2010. The rest are recognized by Auburn and Auburn only.
1910: Harvard and Pittsburgh are recognized as champions. Pitt went 9-0 and Harvard went 9-0-1. Auburn was 6-1 with a shutout loss to Texas on the road on its resume.
1913: Auburn went a perfect 8-0, but Harvard is the official champion with an unbeaten record as well. Ivy League football was generally considered above and beyond Southern football in this era. Football in the South wasn't taken seriously until Alabama won the 1925 Rose Bowl. You're welcome.
1914: Auburn's defense didn't give up a single point, but the Tigers did finish the season with one blemish: a 0-0 tie to Georgia. The NCAA recognizes undefeated Army as the champion.
1958: Auburn finished the season ranked No. 4 thanks to a tie against Georgia Tech. LSU (a conference rival) and Iowa are recognized by the NCAA as champions.
1983: Miami is the official National Champion, but Auburn fans have griped about this one for years. Miami was ranked No. 5 going into the Orange Bowl, but defeated No. 1 Nebraska and jumped to No. 1 as a result. The final AP Poll listed the Tigers at No. 3, behind No. 1 Miami and No. 2 Nebraska.
1993: Auburn went undefeated and wants to claim a National Championship for this season, even though they were on probation for cheating and ineligible for postseason play as a result. Of course they do.
2004: This Auburn team was also undefeated, and really good, but anyone outside of Lee County would tell you that the Tigers would not have beaten USC in the National Championship Game that season even if they had gotten the opportunity instead of Oklahoma. The Trojans had to ultimately forfeit that title; that doesn't mean Auburn gets to claim it in retrospect.
Auburn has always suffered greatly from "little brother syndrome." Always forced to be in the shadow of Alabama, the Tigers will consistently do whatever they can to try and maintain a semblance of relevancy, and that includes inflating a mediocre history on the gridiron.
It's just another embarrassing moment for a program that has had more than its share of those moments over the years. In typical Auburn fashion, they are leaning into it while the rest of the college football world laughs.