AUBURN | Auburn’s six draft picks in each of the last two years is an impressive accomplishment for Gus Malzahn and his staff.

It’s the most in program history since the NFL Draft contracted to seven rounds in 1994 and it’s the most impressive two-year run since Pat Dye’s 1988 and 89 teams combined to put 18 players in two 12-round drafts.

It also puts Auburn among the top eight schools for producing NFL talent over the past two years, but unlike LSU, Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, Clemson, Florida and Oklahoma, the Tigers haven’t been able to turn that into a top seven finish in the polls, ranking No. 14 at the end of last season and unranked at the end of 2018.

There’s not one easy answer to Auburn coming up short during a full season but there’s certainly one factor that stands out above all others — the schedule. It’s no coincidence that three of the top five producers of NFL draft picks over the past two seasons — Alabama (19), LSU (17) and Georgia (14) — are the Tigers’ three biggest rivals and permanent opponents. During that period, Alabama (7), LSU (6) and Georgia (3) have combined for 16 first round draft picks while Auburn’s had two.

And it’s not just the past two seasons. Over the past five drafts, Alabama ranks first nationally with 48 draft picks, LSU third with 37 and Georgia seventh with 26. Auburn had 24, a solid number but half of what its in-state rival produced. Over the last 10 years, Alabama (85) is first, LSU (68) is tied with Ohio State for second and Georgia (54) is sixth. Auburn is outside the top 10 with 38.

It’s very similar over the past 20 years. Alabama is second with 127, LSU third with 126, Georgia sixth with 115, and Auburn outside the top 10 with 72. During that span, Alabama had 31 first round picks, LSU 19, Georgia 19 and Auburn 10.

There’s clearly a talent gap between Auburn and its three biggest rivals and the Rivals.com recruiting rankings back that up even further. Over the past two signing classes, Georgia has ranked first twice, Alabama second and third, LSU third and fourth, and Auburn 12th and 10th. Over five years, Alabama has an average finish of 2.8 in the rankings, Georgia 3.0, LSU 6.8 and Auburn 11.2. Over 10 years it’s Alabama 2.0, Georgia 5.7, LSU 7.4 and Auburn 9.7.

The disparity in five-star signees is more pronounced. Georgia has signed eight in the last two classes, Alabama seven, LSU six and Auburn one. In the last five it’s Alabama 22, Georgia 21, LSU 12 and Auburn three. The last 10: Alabama 42, Georgia 28, LSU 21 and Auburn 11.

THE PATH TO CHAMPIONSHIPS

Despite those disparities, Auburn has managed to win a national championship, play for another and win two SEC championships in the past 10 seasons, and is 16 years removed from its SEC Championship and undefeated season in 2004. The Tigers also played for an SEC Championship and came agonizingly close to its first-ever bid to the college football playoffs in 2017 before an injury to running back Kerryon Johnson.

So there is a formula for the Tigers to have success at the highest level and it consists of four factors: Having elite talent at key positions, surrounding that talent with a lot of veteran players, staying healthy and playing their biggest rivals at home.

The 2004 team had four first-round draft picks plus a number of senior starters like Junior Rosegreen, Jay Ratliff, Bret Eddins, Danny Lindsey and Jeremy Ingle, along with some future NFL standouts including Marcus McNeill and Ben Grubbs.

The 2010 team had Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton plus 24 seniors and first round pick Nick Fairley. The 2013 team had two first rounders in Greg Robinson and Dee Ford, seven senior starters, a dynamic quarterback in Nick Marshall and Auburn’s all-time leading single-season rusher in Tre Mason. The 2017 team had three second-round picks including Johnson, the SEC Offensive Player of the Year, 19 seniors including seven starters and potentially a future NFL starting quarterback in Jarrett Stidham.

In all four of those seasons, Auburn played two of its top three rivals at Jordan-Hare Stadium: LSU and Georgia in 2004 and 10, and Georgia and Alabama in 2013 and 17.

COMPETING ON AN ANNUAL BASIS

There’s only one path for Auburn to be able to compete for SEC and national championships on a more consistent basis and that’s recruiting better. The Tigers have to turn those classes that finish in the 10-12 range into classes within the top five to seven. They also need to at least double the number of five-star prospects they sign each year. When its biggest rivals have double or even triple the number of elite players on their teams, a lot of things have to line up right for Auburn to win, especially when they go on the road. Auburn is 0-8 on the road against Alabama, Georgia and LSU in the last five years and 1-14 in the last 10. The only win was the Cam-Back in the 2010 Iron Bowl.

Perhaps if the Tigers were in another conference or division, the path to championships would be easier, but these are the cards they’ve been dealt and it seems highly unlikely to change anytime soon.

Of course, there’s no guarantee of championships even if the Tigers can turn up their recruiting haul. Despite all of its recruiting success, Georgia has managed just three SEC Championships over the last 20 years, the same as Auburn, and hasn’t won a national championship since Jimmy Carter was President.

KEEPING IT IN PERSPECTIVE

There’s really no team in the country that plays three teams with this much talent on an annual basis during the regular season. Four Big Ten East teams including Michigan State play Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State annually. The Spartans have averaged 7.8 wins over the last five seasons but did earn a bid to the 2015 college football playoffs only to get walloped 38-0 by Alabama in the semifinals. The Big 12 (Texas still isn’t back), ACC (Miami is best known for its retired NFL players) and Pac-12 (best known for its cheerleaders) don’t really have three consistent powerhouse teams at the moment.

Back in the SEC, LSU has a tough road playing Auburn, Alabama and Florida every season. Not so much for Alabama, which hasn’t lost to its cross-division rival, Tennessee, in 14 years.