Rivals Rankings Week: Will Auburn get best of Alabama in 2019 class?

Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling a handful of issues in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and a local expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites.

MORE: Is Evan Neal a five-star? | Debating Wease vs. Haselwood

THE STORYLINE

In the latest Rivals100 rankings release, Auburn saw three commits receive their fifth-star in quarterback Bo Nix, wide receiver George Pickens and linebacker Owen Pappoe. The Tigers are now tied for the SEC lead with LSU, both schools boasting three five-star pledges in its respective recruiting class.

Alabama still has zero even though it has the top-rated recruiting class nationally once again with 17 four-star pledges.

In an always-heated battle for top recruits, the Crimson Tide have won six of the last eight team ranking recruiting titles. Auburn has not beaten Alabama in that measure since the 2010 season. That was the rankings cycle when the Tigers finished fourth, Alabama was fifth and Auburn landed five-stars Cam Newton, Shon Coleman and Michael Dyer.

With a surge in this latest rankings release and only 13 commits so far, as Auburn fills out the class, will this be the first time in a number of years where the Tigers finish ahead of Alabama when all is said and done?

FIRST TAKE: ANDREW BONE, BAMAINSIDER.COM

“Auburn has quietly put together a very good recruiting class. It’s one of those classes a lot of people are not talking about because of the small number (13). Alabama currently has the top class in the country, but other schools have been right on the Tide’s heels for a while including Oregon, Texas A&M and Georgia.

"Alabama has to continue to add big names to hang onto the top spot. The good news for Alabama is it is still on the short list for guys like Trey Sanders, Darnell Wright, Clay Webb, Ishmael Sopsher, Nakobe Dean and Daxton Hill. Alabama is also very high on the list for guys like Evan Neal and Wandale Robinson.

"Alabama has several spots available after a small class in 2018. This may not be the year Auburn beats Alabama in terms of overall ranking. It will be tough for anyone to beat the Tide this year if they can close with their top remaining targets.”

SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, RIVALS.COM

“It’s hard to bet against Alabama and I’ve stopped betting against Alabama a long time ago. With that being said, this could be the best Auburn class in the last five or six years.

“Bo Nix is one of two five-star quarterbacks in this class, George Pickens could push up the list at receiver and be in the conversation for No. 1 at that position and linebacker Owen Pappoe is a five-star now, too. Plus, Auburn only has 13 commits with three five-stars, so its average star ranking is among the best in the country.

“Auburn’s class is very good, but going against Alabama is tough. They have the No. 1 class in the country already and they still have a lot of top targets remaining on the board.”

#RivalsRankingsWeek Schedule

Monday: Who could land in new top 10? | Top 10 players revealed | Who is top wide receiver? | Could McCoy make push for No. 1?

Friday: DL rankings | LB rankings | DB rankings | ATH rankings

Saturday: Team rankings breakdown