Rivalry week of the college football season is here and so is the Iron Bowl, with Auburn football traveling to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama. Ultimately, though, Auburn wasn't able to get it done, falling 28-14. The loss dropped the Tigers to 5-7 and made them officially ineligible for a bowl game in Hugh Freeze's second season.

Immediately following the loss, though, Freeze revealed to the media what their immediate plan is going forward. It's simple, they want to finish strong in recruiting.

“We're going to try and sign the best high school class,” said Freeze according to Justin Hokanson of On3. After recruiting wraps up, they can then turn their focus to the transfer portal, which opens December 9.

While the season didn't go their way, Auburn was still able to get one signature win before it was all said and done. In the second to last week of the season, the Tigers took down Texas A&M in an intense overtime game.

Auburn's incredible 2025 recruiting class

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Following the end of the regular season, Auburn football's 2025 recruiting class ranks No. 5 in the country. They have two five-stars and 12 four-stars. Their highest-rated recruit is EDGE Jared Smith, who ranks No. 25 in the nation and No. 2 at his position.

The thing is, it isn't just who they have committed, it's also who they might get. No. 12 ranked cornerback Na'eem Offord, who is currently committed to Ohio State, has been projected to flip to Auburn. Offord is the No. 1 ranked recruit in the state of Alabama. It does help that Ohio State just lost to Michigan for the fourth time in a row.

In terms of the transfer portal, it's unknown who will be in the portal for the most part. However, it's a strong assumption that they will target a quarterback who can start for at least one year. If they don't get that, though, they do have four-star quarterback Deuce Knight committed.