Auburn’s bowl picture is already shifting after just two weeks of the Alex Golesh era.
The Tigers are 2-0, and after last weekend’s beatdown of Southern Miss, ESPN’s latest projections have Auburn in a better spot than before. One of the biggest changes came from Mark Schlabach, who moved the Tigers up to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl against TCU. That’s a jump from the Birmingham Bowl prediction Auburn had been sitting in previously.
Kyle Bonagura, though, hasn’t moved off his original read. He still has Auburn headed to the Kindler’s Texas Bowl for a matchup with Cincinnati.
Either way, the message is the same: Auburn is starting to look like a team with a realistic path to bowl eligibility. The Tigers need four more wins to get there for the first time since 2023, and they’ll have to do it against one of the toughest schedules in football.
The road ahead is no joke. Auburn still has to go on the road to face Ole Miss, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. But ESPN’s FPI does give the Tigers a handful of games where they’re expected to have the edge, including Samford at 99.6%, Arkansas at 77.5%, Mississippi State at 67.5% and Vanderbilt at 65.2%.
If Auburn takes care of those four, the bowl math starts to look a lot cleaner. Anything beyond that would be a bonus as far as eligibility goes. And if the Tigers can stack those wins with a bowl victory, they’d finish with a winning season for the first time this decade.
That kind of start wouldn’t exactly be a banner year on its own, but for Golesh, it would help establish the “foundation,” as he put it, for what comes next.
For now, though, Auburn has to keep its focus narrow. Florida is next, and ESPN has already projected that one as one of the tightest games on the Tigers’ schedule.
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Former Auburn WR Could Change How Dangerous Florida Looks Saturday
Eric Singleton Jr.s return to Auburn is suddenly one of the more important storylines to watch heading into Saturday. The former Tigers wideout, now at Florida, has been limited in practice after suffering a left ankle injury in the Gators season opener, and he already sat out the second week of play. For Auburn, the matchup gets a little cleaner if Singleton is unable to go, because he has been one of the more productive receivers in college football throughout his career and gives Florida a dimension the Tigers will have to account for.
Florida has enough around its passing game to keep Auburn honest, but Singletons status could shape how dangerous the Gators look if the game tightens up. Even being available in a limited role would matter, because his ability to stretch coverage and create separation changes the way defenses have to play. Auburn will keep an eye on the injury report, and Florida will be hoping one of its most dynamic targets can get close enough to full strength to make a difference. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Heads To Florida With One Big Question About Its Identity
Auburn heads into Week 3 looking like a team still trying to settle its football identity, and the trip to Florida offers a clean test of where it stands. The matchup carries plenty of similarity on paper, with both teams leaning on physical play, but ESPN analyst Cole Cubelic sees the Gators holding an edge in that department, especially on offense. Auburn, meanwhile, has had its strongest moments on defense, helped by the return of key edge rushers, even as the offense continues to search for steadier footing.
The line of scrimmage may tell the story, particularly for an Auburn rushing attack that has not yet found the consistency it needs. If the Tigers are going to leave Gainesville with a better sense of who they are, the offensive line will have to answer a lot of the questions that have followed it through the opening weeks. Against a Florida team built to make games feel uncomfortable, Auburns margin for error looks slim, and its identity may be just as dependent on how it handles the trenches as on anything else. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Suddenly Has A Breakout Star Chasing A Historic Pace
Gavin Freemans move from Oklahoma State to Baylor has already changed the look of the Bears passing game. Through two games, the senior has become a steady target in the offense, piling up catches at a pace that has him sitting atop college football in receptions and helping Baylor get off to a strong start with wins over Auburn and Prairie View A&M.
Freemans early surge has put him on a track that is hard to ignore this early in the season, especially for a Baylor team looking for reliable production through the air. If he keeps drawing that kind of volume, the conversation around his year could shift quickly from a hot start to something much bigger, with record-setting territory suddenly in view. [Read more 🡒]