AuburnFamilyNews.com: Auburn is Lucky #13 in Fan Pulse Ahead of Date with Alabama

NCAA Football: Music City Bowl-Auburn vs Purdue

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

There wasn’t a ton of change at the top after SoCon Saturday. The only big upset came with Oregon losing to Arizona State, dropping them down one spot behind Auburn at #14. Fans are still plenty divided on what to do with Oregon, though, as they had the most variance from ballot to ballot this week. Fans placed the Ducks as high as #7 (Underdog Dynasty, for the G5 teams) and as low as #18 (Inside NU, for Northwestern).

LSU still has a stranglehold on the top spot with 41 of the 50 #1 votes. They’ve likely already clinched their playoff spot at this point - unless they lose to BOTH Texas A&M and UGA, I think they’re in. There’s still plenty of havoc to be made, though, with a possibility of up to eight P5 teams that could all be at 0 or 1 losses after conference championship weekend. If LSU were to lose to UGA and Ohio State to Minnesota, those four teams would all have one loss, plus likely Clemson, the winner of OU/Baylor pt. II, Utah if they win the Pac 12, and Alabama if they win the Iron Bowl. As much as I wouldn’t mind seeing chaos reign this year, hopefully Auburn can help break up the log jam by beating Alabama this week.

Speaking of Auburn, the Tigers ranged anywhere from #10 to #17 in this weeks rankings, with the #17 votes coming from Underdog Dynasty, From the Rumble Seat, and Land Grant Holy Land, while the #10 votes came from Card Chronicle and A Sea of Blue.

Up, down, up down, up, down, up down... We talk plenty about how there’s totally valid arguments for still being all-in on Gus, and equally valid arguments for being ready to move on. While some of the decisions and game plans are infuriating at times, he’s also got the hardest job in the country as pointed out by Josh Dub.

I’ve got to imagine this chart will fly wildly in either direction pending the result of the Iron Bowl this week. Win, and he’s at 9-3 with a win over Alabama. Lose, and you’re 8-4 and 4-4 in the SEC. The difference in perception is huge.