Auburn opens at No. 16 in AP poll

Auburn will officially open the 2019 season as a top-20 team.

Gus Malzahn's squad came in at No. 16 in the season-opening AP poll Monday morning, behind SEC opponents No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Georgia, No. 6 LSU, No. 8 Florida and No. 12 Texas A&M.

Auburn plays all those teams this season, including the opener against No. 11 Oregon.

The Tigers also came in at No. 16 in the preseason coaches poll earlier this month.

Auburn is the last SEC team ranked in the first Top 25, though South Carolina, Mizzou and Mississippi State were among "others receiving votes."

Fall camp wrapped up Sunday afternoon for the Tigers, ahead of their showdown with Oregon on Aug. 31. Malzahn said he and his staff will take "24 to 48 hours" to assess their main takeaways from camp and evaluate key position battles — including the race under center.

True freshman Bo Nix finished camp leading redshirt freshman Joey Gatewood in the quarterback race. Malzahn will likely name one the starter this week, but most expect both to play against Oregon.

“I would rather not do that,” Malzahn said of possibly waiting until the day of the opener to crown a starting quarterback. “But I’m not going to sit here today and say anything more than we’re going to go back, and if we can — like I said all along, if we compare who gives us the best chance of beating Oregon, when we get to that point, we’ll name a starter. I’m not ready to say exactly right now or really any scenario at this point."