Many are wondering why right now is Auburn making headlines for adding to its national title count on the gridiron? Clearly, the most obvious answer is they are trying to divert attention away from what may be a long season on the Plains. Honestly, it's a good ploy as many will turn away from news coming from fall camps to talk about this story. There are rumors that Jackson Arnold has struggled all camp, and that isn't a good look considering how poor the overall QB play has been since Hugh Freeze arrived in Auburn.
Four-star freshman defensive lineman Antonio Coleman was suspended on Monday indefinitely for violating team rules, so it might not be that big of a thing long term, but not a good look right before the start of the season. During the summer, Auburn fans were pretty vocal about their displeasure with how much golf Freeze was playing while their recruiting rankings plummeted.
Auburn has always been a place of inconsistency and chaos so claiming these titles right now fits their program perfectly. Their fans will right away point out that Alabama did it before so what is the problem with it now? The problem is if you were mad when your deepest rival did it why would you follow suit? It is one thing claiming titles from an era before most of today's fans were alive but most of us remember what happened in both 1993 and 2004. Auburn can't be anything other than mad at themselves for not being eligible during that run with Terry Bowden, and the only recognized team from both the AP and Coaches poll in 2004 was USC.
This is an embarrassing stunt by Auburn and the timing of this news makes it even more so. I would be willing to bet if there was a lot of confidence coming out of fall camp that this is a story which never comes out. It's one thing for War Eagle fans to debate they could have beaten the likes of Florida State in 1993 or USC in 2004, but that is where this should have stopped. One thing we know for sure is Alabama in my lifetime has never been denied a chance to play for a national championship when going undefeated which further adds to the angst of the Auburn fan base grasping to these types of moral victories.