How much can Auburn football *really* learn from a Week 1 paycheck game?

Auburn is a massive favorite over Akron this weekend. If it's a blowout, as expected, how much of it will truly matter in the long run? Here's what recent history tells us.

(Todd Van Emst/Auburn Athletics)

On the surface, there should be a lot to take away from Auburn’s season opener Saturday night against Akron.

It’ll be the first game of a brand-new era under head coach Bryan Harsin. Both the offensive and defensive schemes are quite different from what the Tigers have run for the better part of the past decade. There are unknowns at wide receiver and a new-look position group on the edge. There are question marks about Bo Nix and a veteran offensive line. So much is still uncertain.

But any sweeping observations from whatever happens this weekend will most likely be met by a common refrain.

“Yeah, but look who they were playing against.”

And that’s a fair response. Akron was one of the worst teams in FBS last season, finishing dead last in offensive yards per play and in the bottom 10 in points scored per game. It allowed the fifth-most points per game and was inside the bottom 15 nationally in yards allowed per play. And those numbers came in an all-MAC s…