Auburn heads into its lone home date in October riding a wave of confidence, fresh off its biggest win of the decade. Now head coach Alex Golesh gets the chance to see if that momentum holds for another week.
The next test is a big one: No. 18 LSU comes to Jordan-Hare Stadium in a game that feels like a title eliminator for the SEC Championship. Both teams are still on the outside looking in, and a win Saturday keeps the survivor alive.
The first thing worth watching is whether Auburn can stay locked in after the emotional high of last weekend’s win over No. 1 Georgia.
That kind of follow-up is never simple in the SEC. Opposing head coach Lane Kiffin believes the letdown factor could be real, and it’s the sort of thing that can sneak up on a team if the focus slips for even a few possessions.
Golesh, though, seemed eager to move on immediately after the celebration at Toomer’s Corner on Saturday night. His message pointed toward a group that should be ready for another heavyweight fight on the Plains. Still, history says these spots can get tricky, especially after knocking off the top team in the country.
Then there’s LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt, who gives the Bayou Bengals a wild-card element every time he lines up. The Arizona State transfer can flip a game with explosive throws, but he can also hand the other side momentum with turnovers.
That boom-or-bust style has shown up in LSU’s losses, too. Against Ole Miss, Leavitt threw an interception in the end zone to seal the game.
In the loss to Kentucky, the Tigers were beaten by two in the turnover margin in overtime.
That makes Auburn’s defensive approach especially interesting after what it did to Georgia. Golesh watched his defense force three turnovers against the Bulldogs, including two interceptions of Gunner Stockton, which marked the first two-interception game of Stockton’s career. If Auburn can rattle Leavitt and force him into mistakes, it could swing the game in a hurry.
The final storyline is the ground game, and that one could decide whether Auburn can control the tempo. Against Georgia, the Tigers ran for 192 yards and threw for 174. That balance worked last week, but LSU presents a tougher challenge up front.
The LSU defense has been stout against the run all season, allowing just 88.1 rushing yards per game, which leads the SEC. That has pushed opposing teams toward the pass through the early stretch of the 2026 season, and Auburn may have to lean that way again. Still, the legs of quarterback Byrum Brown could matter a lot as a scrambling threat.
Golesh has made the running game a priority since arriving on campus at the end of last year, and how Auburn handles that aspect against LSU’s front will go a long way toward keeping the crowd engaged and the pressure on the visitors.
Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. Central, with the game airing on ABC.
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