AUBURN | In five more days, Auburn will embark on one of its most consequential seasons in more than three decades.

It isn’t because the Tigers are primed for a championship run this fall. It’s because Hugh Freeze and his staff are in the midst of building a championship program.

And there are only a few things that can derail it starting with the results on the field this season.

Auburn doesn’t need to win the SEC or make the 12-team playoff this year. It doesn’t even need to pull off an upset of one of its two biggest rivals on the road, although that would certainly be a bonus.

All AU needs to show is positive progress and avoid what happened in Gainesville last season.

A year ago, Florida was sitting pretty going into Billy Napier’s second season. After a 6-7 first year, the Gators were hot on the recruiting trail with a class ranked within the top 5 nationally and expected to take a step forward on the field.

The opposite occurred.

Florida closed out the season with five consecutive losses to finish 5-7 including an ugly 39-36 home loss to Arkansas. As the losses piled up and the heat turned up on Napier, the recruits started jumping ship.

Florida’s top 5 class finished 15th.

UF goes into this season with the nation’s 47th-ranked recruiting class and Napier atop every list of coaches on the hot seat. In addition, the Gators will play one of the nation’s toughest schedules this fall beginning with No. 19 Miami Saturday.

Barring a miraculous turnaround, Florida will be starting over in the next couple of months, which would be their fifth head coach in the past 13 years.

Auburn has a chance to go in the opposite direction over the next three months.

Freeze signed the nation’s No. 8 class last December. The ’25 class is currently ranked 5th in the country and Auburn has an opportunity to add more key pieces in the coming days and weeks.

The 2026 class is already ranked No. 1.

That greatness that Auburn has always strived for and grasped at times, but never for long, is right there for the taking.

If Freeze shows progress on the field this fall and, more importantly, Auburn’s administration, boosters and fanbase stay behind him and the program, the next important steps can and will be taken.

If Auburn emerges from the next three months with momentum and positivity within and around the football team, Freeze can build a program that can have sustained success.

That doesn’t guarantee a championship in 2025 or 26 or any year. But having the talent that Freeze and his staff are amassing, would put Auburn in position to compete at the top of the SEC and nationally on a consistent basis.

You haven't been able to say that since the 1980's.

It’s time to say it again and again, and say it loudly.

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In today’s musical journey, we go back 52 years to a one-hit wonder, which has become a staple of classic rock stations for the last five decades, rising to the top of the charts. On Aug. 26, 1972, “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” by Looking Glass reached No. 1 on the Billboard 100, where it remained for just one week. It was the band’s only top 30 hit and one of just two to chart in the U.S. along with 1973’s “Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne,” which peaked at No. 33. “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” was written by lead guitarist Elliot Laurie, who was inspired by a high school girlfriend whose actual name was Randy. The song was released on the B-side of 7-inch single but took off when WPGC disc jockey Harv Moore put it on the air in Washington D.C. and his switchboards lit up with calls. The name, Brandy, became more popular in the U.S. due to the song. It was the 353rd most popular name in 1971 and rose to 82nd in 73. The song was most recently used in the 2017 movie, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Looking Glass was formed at Rutgers University in 1969 by four students including Laurie and pianist Larry Gonsky. They played mainly rock and roll covers at fraternity parties and bars during college. The original group broke up after school and drummer Jeff Grob and bassist Pieter Sweval joined to form the group that would release two albums over a couple of years before breaking up in 1974 after Laurie left to pursue a solo career. He joined 20th Century Fox in 1985 as the head of the music department. Sweval passed away in 1990. The group briefly reunited in 1995 for a 70’s reunion concert in Madison Square Garden, and Laurie brought together new musicians to re-form the band in 2003.