Auburn got through a tense season opener and moved to 1-0, and that same clean start held for nearly every team left on the Tigers’ schedule. Samford was the lone exception. Everyone else Auburn still has to face in 2026 opened with a win, most of them against overmatched opponents, and a few of them looked downright sharp doing it.
Southern Miss wasted no time making a statement in Blake Anderson’s debut. The Golden Eagles rolled Alcorn State 49-3, leaning on the run game for 317 yards and six touchdowns.
That came after major roster turnover and the loss of head coach Charles Huff to Memphis, but the opener still offered a strong first look at the new era. Golesh said this week that Southern Miss' tempo will be similar to Baylor's, so even if Auburn's talent is far superior, they still can get some valuable reps in that sense.
Auburn gets Southern Miss first among Power Four opponents in Week 2.
Florida’s new-look offense was even louder. Behind new OC Buster Faulkner, the Gators crushed FAU 66-21 and piled up 624 yards.
Running back Jadan Baugh was the headliner, going for 160 yards and three touchdowns as Florida’s early Heisman push got rolling. The defense was a different story, though, with FAU pushing close to 400 yards and converting 4-of-7 fourth downs, something Jon Sumrall clearly wasn’t thrilled about.
Florida gets Campbell next before coming to Auburn under the lights in Week 3.
Vanderbilt’s first game without Diego Pavia was a little messier. Clark Lea’s team beat Austin Peay 28-9, but it never really found its rhythm on offense.
Blake Berlowitz started at quarterback, Jared Curtis also got into the game, and the Commodores finished just 4-of-12 on third down with nine penalties. Lea was unhappy with the offensive execution.
The defense, though, was sturdy, holding Austin Peay under 200 total yards and to 1-of-11 on third down. Vanderbilt’s first Power Four opponent is NC State in Week 3.
Tennessee made a much cleaner first impression in a 56-9 win over Furman, though the Vols let off the gas in the fourth quarter after leading 49-3. True freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon, a 5-star prospect, accounted for five total touchdowns in his debut.
Tennessee ran for 329 yards and controlled the game physically, even while losing the ball twice. The Vols’ next step is a road trip to Georgia Tech, which comes in Week 2.
Georgia’s opener was the most one-sided SEC result of the week. The Bulldogs hammered Tennessee State 63-3 and turned Sanford Stadium into a glorified scrimmage.
Tennessee State managed only 10 first downs and 109 yards while Georgia piled up 660 yards and only had to face six third downs all game. The Bulldogs rotated four quarterbacks and could have another easy one this weekend against Western Kentucky, which lost 49-14 to Nevada in Week 1.
Georgia’s first Power Four opponent is Arkansas in Week 3.
LSU may have authored the most impressive win of the weekend. Lane Kiffin’s team - yes, the source material names Kiffin and LSU together here - blasted Clemson 51-10 and brushed aside weeks of off-field noise in the process.
Clemson was held to 145 yards, and LSU looked like it was the team facing an FCS opponent. The Bayou Bengals will see a tougher test at Ole Miss in Week 3, but right now they look like an SEC contender under Kiffin.
Ole Miss delivered drama instead of a blowout. The Rebels outlasted Louisville 41-38 in Nashville after the Cardinals erased a two-touchdown deficit in the final seven minutes and tied the game.
Ole Miss and Trinidad Chambliss then pushed into field-goal range, setting up Lucas Carneiro’s winner. Star back Kewan Lacy left with a leg injury, though head coach Pete Golding said after the game it’s "nothing serious."
Arkansas’ 31-14 win over North Alabama was more of a workmanlike start than a clean one. The Razorbacks led only 14-0 at halftime and had issues at the line of scrimmage before eventually pulling away.
They still averaged just 3.0 yards per carry and were sacked three times. Their next two weeks get real in a hurry, with a cross-country trip to Utah and then Georgia coming to town in the SEC opener.
Arkansas’ first Power Four opponent is Utah in Week 2.
Mississippi State showed the kind of offensive ceiling that jumps off the page in a Week 1 box score. Jeff Lebby’s group shredded Louisiana Monroe 62-13 and set a program record with 762 yards.
Kamario Taylor was responsible for five total touchdowns, and the Bulldogs finished with 35 first downs. The real test comes on the road against Minnesota this weekend, but the early sample says Taylor and company can be dangerous.
Samford was the only Auburn opponent to stumble out of the gate. After already opening the season 0-1 with a 22-10 loss to UNA in Week 0, the Bulldogs fell 22-18 to Southern Illinois.
The offense never found much traction, averaging only 2.6 yards per carry and taking 10 negative plays against Southern Illinois’ defensive front. Samford has now lost 16 of its last 18 games overall.
Alabama rounded out the list with a 48-10 win over East Carolina. There was some early attention on drops by Ryan Coleman-Williams, but the Tide still handled business against what had been viewed as a solid ECU team.
Keelon Russell played almost the entire game at quarterback and completed 18 of 30 passes for 256 yards. Alabama’s defense smothered East Carolina, allowing only five first downs.
Like Auburn, Alabama has offensive line questions and could move pieces around in the weeks ahead.
In Other News...
Auburn Just Lost A Former Blue-Chip Safety Before The 2026 Season
Auburns secondary took another hit ahead of the 2026 season with the departure of safety Jacoby Mathews, a former Texas A&M standout and five-star recruit whose college career never quite settled in at his new stop. Mathews had transferred to Auburn with plenty of pedigree, but he struggled to carve out meaningful playing time in a deep defensive backfield and appeared in only one game last season.
For Auburn, the loss is less about one players production and more about the depth chart it leaves behind. The Tigers had enough talent in the secondary to make snaps hard to come by, but every exit tightens the margin for error as the program heads into a new season and tries to sort out who will be ready to step into bigger roles. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Fans Should Watch This SEC Fight Very Closely
The SECs schedule may already be getting rattled before the conference season really settles in, and Auburn fans have a reason to keep an eye on the LSU-Ole Miss game set for September 19. A conference stakeholder told Yahoo Sports that the matchup could be canceled or shifted into a non-conference game, a sign of how much uncertainty is swirling around LSU and the leagues next move.
For Auburn, the intrigue is less about that one date than what comes after it. A vote by SEC presidents and chancellors would help determine whether the Tigers longtime league rival stays in the conference picture at all, while LSU has also reportedly passed on adding two former NFL players to its roster. Until the decision is made, the whole situation hangs over the SEC like a very real test case for how far the league is willing to go. [Read more 🡒]
Bryce Cain Just Gave Auburn A New Weapon To Watch
Bryce Cain did a little bit of everything in Auburns season-opening 17-16 win over Baylor, and that was exactly the point. The receiver-turned-all-purpose contributor showed up on special teams and offense, making a key punt coverage tackle before breaking free on a 25-yard reverse that helped set up a touchdown. It was the kind of opener that can quickly turn a role player into someone worth tracking every week.
Auburn coach Alex Golesh has already noticed the versatility, with Cain also spending time working at defensive back and flashing the sort of playmaking presence that can travel in different spots. For a team that needed every edge it could find in a one-point game, Cains early imprint stood out, and the bigger question now is how much more Auburn can ask him to handle as the season settles in. [Read more 🡒]