Good morning. This is LEADOFF, today’s early look inside Atlanta sports.
Ranked No. 14 by the College Football Playoff selection committee five weeks ago, Auburn will bring the committee's No. 2 ranking into Saturday's SEC Championship game against Georgia in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Auburn’s climb from No. 14 in the committee’s first rankings of the season Oct. 31 was turbocharged by two wins over then-No. 1 teams. The 40-17 win over Georgia on Nov. 11 propelled the Tigers from No. 10 to No. 6. And the 26-14 win over Alabama last week vaulted the Tigers from No. 6 to No. 2 in the new rankings released Tuesday night.
Shortly after the rankings release, selection committee chairman Kirby Hocutt – Texas Tech’s athletic director -- discussed the committee’s view of Auburn on a conference call with reporters.
“When we talked about Auburn over the course of the last two days, Auburn is a team that’s played well all year, (had an) impressive win over Mississippi State and then obviously two of the last three weeks over the No. 1-ranked team at the time,” Hocutt said.
“Auburn is a physical team. They’re balanced, getting solid play from the quarterback position at this point in time in the season. The two losses (were) to a ranked LSU team (and) a head-to-head loss to Clemson.”
In fact, Auburn’s 14-6 loss at Clemson on Sept. 9 might be the reason Clemson is now ranked No. 1.
“The selection committee is really impressed with Clemson’s resume, and I would say the victory over Auburn is definitely a highlight there,” Hocutt said Tuesday night.
He said Clemson has “other quality wins against Louisville, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State and South Carolina, but that win over Auburn is significant.”
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