He has them finishing ahead of Arkansas, Mississippi State and Texas A&M. In saying that, I’m guessing that Steele believes Auburn will win all three of those games, which means the Tigers are likely projected to finish 7-5 (4-4).
He also has Auburn ranked 29th in his top 40, which puts them as the sixth best team in the SEC behind Alabama, LSU, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Georgia. Unfortunately for Auburn, they play four of the five SEC teams ahead of them in his rankings, as well as his number five team in Clemson. That’s also why he ranks Auburn’s schedule as the fifth toughest in the country.