Auburn opens the 2026 season on Saturday against Baylor, and ESPN’s Football Power Index has the Tigers slotted as a top-25 team heading into kickoff.
The matchup will be played at a neutral site in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium and is set for 2:30 p.m. CT.
Auburn enters the year at No. 22 in the FPI, which places the Tigers No. 11 among SEC teams. Twelve SEC programs are inside the top 25, while Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Mississippi State are the ones left out of that group.
Auburn is also one of 26 teams with a ranking of 10 or higher, checking in at 12.
The FPI’s outlook points to a team with a real path to getting back on track. Auburn is projected for 6.7 wins and has a 71% chance to reach six victories, a key benchmark for a program trying to avoid a sixth straight losing season.
If the Tigers can beat Baylor, they’ll have three straight home games before their first true road test at Tennessee. A 4-0 start would give Auburn a strong platform to try to end that losing streak.
The numbers also give the Tigers a modest but meaningful shot at bigger things. Auburn has a 1.5% chance to win the SEC and a 12.3% chance to make the College Football Playoff.
Against Baylor, the FPI likes Auburn’s chances. The Tigers have a 72.9% probability of winning that opener.
Baylor comes in at No. 37 in the FPI with a rating of 6.5, which puts the Bears sixth among Big 12 teams. ESPN projects Baylor for 6.6 wins, a significant figure in what the source describes as a pivotal year for head coach Dave Aranda.
In Other News...
LSU Just Dropped Auburn Into A Fresh SEC Eligibility Fight
A Louisiana judges ruling in favor of LSU players Zxavian Harris and DaeQuan Wright has added another layer to the SECs eligibility headaches just as the season is getting underway. The court allowed both players to regain college football eligibility despite their recent NFL roster status, and it blocked the SEC, NCAA and LSU from taking actions that would hurt their standing, putting the conference in a spot Auburn fans know well: another rules fight with real on-field consequences.
Harris and Wright have already been practicing with LSU as the Tigers prepare for their opener against Clemson, and the final decision on whether to add them to the roster now sits with LSU. For Auburn, the broader significance is hard to miss. Anything that shifts the SECs eligibility landscape can ripple through the league, and this latest ruling only deepens the uncertainty around how schools and conference officials will handle similar cases moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Suddenly Has Another SEC Problem To Watch Closely
Auburns attention may be split between the usual late-summer roster questions and the broader SEC chessboard, because a new court ruling has suddenly opened the door for more than 40 athletes to remain eligible under NCAA and league rules. Among the players affected are former NFL players Zxavian Harris and DaeQuan Wright, both expected to land on LSUs football roster, a development that could ripple beyond Baton Rouge as conference programs monitor how the eligibility landscape is being handled.
The SEC is planning to appeal the injunction, and it has also filed a separate lawsuit aimed at enforcing new punishments against teams that add ex-professional players. For Auburn and the rest of the league, the practical issue is less about one roster move than the possibility of a longer fight over who can play, who can be added, and what penalties might follow while the legal process continues to work itself out. [Read more 🡒]
Auburns First Captains Under Alex Golesh Just Sent A Clear Message
Auburn named five captains for its upcoming game against Baylor, giving Alex Golesh a first look at which players the team is leaning on as his tenure begins. Quarterback Byrum Brown, safety Champ Anthony, offensive lineman Cole Best, safety Cade Carlson and linebacker Elijah Melendez will wear the honors when the Tigers open at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta as part of the Aflac Kickoff.
The list says plenty about how Auburn wants to frame this matchup: leadership on both sides of the ball, from the quarterback to the trenches to the back end of the defense. For Golesh, it is also an early snapshot of the voices in the room as he gets ready for a spotlight game that will serve as his debut on the Auburn sideline. [Read more 🡒]