Auburn’s path to 3-0 got a lot easier in a hurry.
The Tigers already opened by surviving Baylor 17-16 in the Aflac Kickoff Game, and after a tune-up against Southern Miss in Alex Golesh and Co.’s Jordan-Hare Stadium debut this coming weekend, Florida comes to the Plains two weekends from now. That makes the matchup in East Central Alabama the first SEC game of the 2026 season.
And based on what Florida showed in its opener against FAU, Auburn has every reason to feel good about what’s next.
Florida’s first night under Jon Sumrall was supposed to show off a new identity in the “Swamp.” Instead, it gave Auburn a roadmap.
Sumrall didn’t hide his frustration after Florida’s 66-21 win over the Owls, and his comments landed squarely on the defensive side of the ball. He called the effort “atrocious at times” and said, “Our defense was atrocious at times, quite honestly.
So we had a hard time keeping pace with them. It was that way in my opinion.
Like I watch that play, I'm a little bit frustrated about how we played defensively at times. I don't think we're as good as we think we are," Sumrall said postgame.
FAU still managed 396 yards of offense, even if plenty of that damage came after the game had already tilted out of reach. That doesn’t erase what quarterback Caden Veltkamp did, though. He completed 34 passes and was the Owls’ most efficient passer of all time last year, finishing with a 67% completion percentage, a program record.
But the opponent matters here, too. Florida Atlantic had to replace both starting guards and a starting right tackle, and this was the kind of game Florida was expected to control with a sharper, tougher culture under Sumrall.
Instead, Sumrall came away unhappy with both his coaches and his players, and he hinted that some of the issues were rooted in oversized egos.
That’s where Auburn may have landed on the better fit.
Alex Golesh, not Jon Sumrall, is the coach Auburn brought in, and his postgame tone after the Baylor win showed exactly why that matters. Golesh said he even had players scan the sideline to make sure nobody was standing out for the wrong reasons.
He found none. More importantly, he owned the parts that needed owning and praised the way his team stayed connected.
"Today I saw a team that played together. ... When I tell you that that has been a big of a focus to bring guys together, it's the hardest thing to do in CFB. I saw dudes that played for each other and genuinely love each other," Golesh said.
That kind of accountability showed up in winning moments against Baylor, too. Safety Eric Winters made the game-saving tackle on Bears tight end Matthew Klopfenstein during what would have been the game-winning two-point conversion try.
It also showed up in the way Auburn kept battling up front. The Tigers were outmatched in the trenches, but running back Jeremiah Cobb and quarterback Byrum Brown kept fighting for extra yards anyway.
If Tyler Hudanick can settle the offensive line, especially by finding the right mix at left guard, Auburn should be able to keep an offensive pace that Florida’s offense may not be able to match.
There’s still a question waiting on the other side of the ball, though: can Florida quarterback Aaron Philo handle what Auburn throws at him?
Philo looked sharp against FAU, but Jordan-Hare is a different animal. With 88,000 people making communication miserable before the snap, and DJ Durkin’s defense bringing pressure, the test gets much harder.
Xavier Atkins may have a tougher time getting through Florida’s interior line, but Auburn still has ways to force problems. Jared Smith, Da’Shawn Womack, and the rest of the Buck linebackers and defensive ends can attack the edges and make life uncomfortable for Philo.
That first SEC game at Florida could tell Auburn plenty about Philo, too. The Tigers have recently been burned by quarterbacks who can hit the explosive play. Philo looks more like a Buster Faulkner system fit than a transformative star, and the real question is what happens when the system runs into an opposing system that can disrupt it.
For Auburn, Week 3 already looks like the kind of game that should have Tigers fans licking their chops.
In Other News...
Auburns Injury Picture Up Front Just Got A Lot More Interesting
Auburns injury outlook up front is starting to clear after the season-opening bruising against Baylor. Head coach Alex Golesh said three of the four trench players banged up in that game are expected to be available for the matchup with Southern Mississippi, with offensive linemen Cole Skinner and Jacob Strand both on track to play and edge rusher Chris Murray confirmed healthy.
The one lingering question is DaShawn Womack, who remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Golesh said Womack could return to practice later in the week, leaving Auburn with at least some much-needed stability in the trenches as it tries to get through the early part of the season without losing more depth up front. [Read more 🡒]
Auburns Pass Rush Concern Isnt As Simple As It Looked
Auburns pass rush number looked thin on the surface after the Tigers got to Baylor quarterback DJ Lagway 18 times and came away with only one sack, an early first-quarter takedown by Xavier Atkins. But the fuller picture was more complicated, because the defense was built to handle the run first, with a light box and a willingness to play underneath pass windows instead of selling out for sacks.
Golesh said that approach was intentional, and the results backed it up in other ways. Auburn held Baylor to 2.3 yards per carry and still managed to make life uncomfortable for Lagway by condensing the pocket and dropping rushers into coverage, which is why the pressure count may tell a better story than the sack total alone. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Escaped Baylor But This New-Look Team Has Real Issues
Auburn got out of Waco with a win in its season opener, but the 17-16 result against Baylor did not hide how much work still sits in front of this new-look team. The Tigers showed issues across several areas, from protecting the quarterback to cleaning up mistakes in the passing game and holding up against throws into the middle of the field, and head coach Alex Golesh was direct afterward about the need for improvement as a staff and as a roster still getting used to one another.
The next chance to sort through those problems comes against Southern Miss, a game that should offer a little more breathing room and a clearer look at what Auburn can fix quickly. Even after escaping with a win, the opener raised real questions about how stable the offense can be and how far along this team is in adjusting to a new coaching staff and a lot of new faces. [Read more 🡒]