One of the biggest questions entering the SEC this season, more specifically when it comes to the Auburn Tigers program is will they go bowling in the inaugural season of the Hugh Freeze era?

It’s never too early to think about planning for a potential bowl trip in December or January, and if early — very early — projections are true, then the holiday season will soon become bowl season.

Action Network believes it won’t take Freeze long to get Auburn back to a winning record by projecting the Tigers for a Gator Bowl matchup against Louisville in Jacksonville, Fla.

College Football News, in early May, picked Auburn to play in the Birmingham Bowl against Memphis. However, that came before the Tigers signed quarterback Payton Thorne out of the transfer portal. 247 Sports also projected Auburn into the Birmingham Bowl against Memphis in their post-spring charts. An exciting aspect of several bowl projection articles is the reminder of how demanding Auburn’s schedule can be in the SEC West.

For instance, 247 Sports projects Alabama playing in the Peach Bowl and LSU in the Cotton Bowl. College Football News picked Alabama to make the playoffs with a Rose Bowl contest against Ohio State.

While Bama supporters would likely be unhappy with a non-New Year’s Six game appearance, it speaks to Auburn’s schedule as a crucible when several division opponents are expected to have winning records. If that’s not enough, nearly every projection has rival UGA returning to the College Football Playoff with a chance to win an unprecedented third consecutive national championship.

Auburn opens the season on Sept. 2 at Jordan-Hare with a game against UMass. A key for the Tigers being a bowl-eligible team comes in the first three games. If Auburn can start out above .500 heading into the conference opener on the road against Texas A&M, it presents a game that may carry much more weight than most anticipated.

How Auburn handles winnable games against its first three opponents and conference play could determine if the road to redemption for the Tigers ends up with a desirable bowl game.

Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn for Alabama Media Group.