Auburn heads into Saturday’s matchup with LSU looking at a familiar kind of break.
The Tigers are dealing with the same sort of injury situation that helped Auburn spring the 27-24 upset over Georgia last weekend in Athens, and that matters again with No. 18 LSU coming to Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Lane Kiffin’s team will be without tight end Trey'Dez Green, linebacker Whit Weeks and nickelback Dashawn Spears. EDGE Princewill Umanmielen and receiver Jackson Harris are listed as question marks.
Auburn was on the other side of that sort of roster hit against Georgia, when the Bulldogs were missing safety KJ Bolden, running back Chauncey Bowens, receiver Isaiah Canion, receiver Thomas Blackshear and safety Tyriq Green. Former Auburn EDGE Amaris Williams was already ruled out for the year in the offseason after an ACL tear.
That has people wondering whether lightning can strike twice, with another preseason favorite in the league walking into Auburn and running into the same kind of bad luck.
For Alex Golesh’s team, the setup is about as good as it gets. Auburn is back home after a bye week and after an ugly loss to Tennessee on Rocky Top, and now it gets to walk into an 88,000-fan Jordan-Hare environment with momentum and emotion on its side.
Golesh leaned into that angle when he talked about returning home.
"The excitement to get back home, the excitement to play at Jordan-Hare, the excitement to play in front of our fans," Golesh prefaced before saying, "I can't tell you how geeked our guys are to get right back out on the field.
"We're going to need our crowd. We're going to need it to be juicy, rocking as it always is, and we need a huge week of prep. Like I said, right back to the fundamentals, right back to making sure schematically we're right, and go and compete at a high, high level on Saturday."
The emotional hangover from a shock like last week’s Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry result is hard to shake. Auburn gets to try to catch LSU before it does.
There’s also the simple matter of motivation. Auburn has every reason to want to send Lane back to Louisiana after LSU’s third loss of the season, especially after Kiffin turned Auburn down to stay at Ole Miss in 2022 and has been trolling ever since.
2026 could just be one of those years.
In Other News...
Auburn Suddenly Has A Staff Question Fans Can't Ignore
Marylands decision to fire Mike Locksley has a ripple effect that Auburn fans cannot really ignore, even if the move happened far from the Plains. The two programs are connected in a way that matters for recruiting, and Auburns staff already has a Maryland link in defensive coordinator DJ Durkin, who previously coached there. When a coaching search opens up, especially at a place tied to current Auburn personnel, the conversation around who stays, who leaves and who follows a coach can start immediately.
Durkin could draw interest for Marylands head coaching job, and that possibility alone creates uncertainty for Auburn as it tries to hold together its recruiting board. The situation also cuts the other way, since Locksleys background includes Alabama ties and real recruiting experience, which could make him a candidate for Auburns coaching staff. For Auburn, the timing is awkward, because any movement at Maryland could affect commitments and relationships the Tigers are trying to protect. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Fans Will Want To See Why Alex Golesh Is In Focus
College GameDay is heading to the University of Utah this Saturday, and ESPN is rolling out a familiar mix of marquee voices for the broadcast ahead of the Utes game against Houston. Rece Davis will anchor the show alongside Kirk Herbstreit and Nick Saban, while Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid is set to serve as the guest picker as the pregame show settles in for another full morning of college football coverage.
The broadcast will also include live appearances from Utah and Miami head coaches, plus special reports on a range of college football topics, which gives the show plenty of ways to keep attention moving before kickoff. For Auburn fans, the reason to keep an eye on this one is how often GameDay can put coaches and programs under the spotlight in ways that linger beyond one Saturday, and Alex Golesh has found himself in that kind of conversation before. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Suddenly Has A Real Shot At A Five-Star Pass Rusher
Marylands decision to move on from Mike Locksley has quickly put one of the nations top defensive prospects back on the radar, and Auburn is a school worth watching. Zion Elee, the five-star edge rusher currently at Maryland, was recruited heavily by the Tigers and has existing ties to the program through his former high school, giving Auburn a familiar lane if he decides to explore a transfer.
For Auburn, the appeal is obvious. Adding a player with Elees pass-rushing upside would be a major boost for a defense that can always use more disruption off the edge, and the timing could work in the Tigers favor ahead of the 2027 season. Nothing is official yet, but the coaching change at Maryland has opened the door for speculation, and Auburn now looks like a real destination to monitor closely. [Read more 🡒]