Eric Winters’ game-saving tackle last Saturday didn’t just preserve Auburn’s 17-16 win over Baylor in Atlanta. It also fit the tone new head coach Alex Golesh wants around the Tigers: know your job, trust the coaching, and finish the play.
That was on full display when Winters stopped Baylor tight end Matthew Klopfenstein on a two-point conversion try that would have won it for the Bears. The safety finished with 11 tackles, including nine solo, but the last one was the one that mattered most.
"We made a point in both positive and negative ways, of how you practice is how you play," said Auburn defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin of Winters, a 6-foot, 215-pound Enterprise, Ala., product.
"Eric has had tremendous training. You saw it in how he played.
"He was against a big-bodied guy, the tight end. If he did not do all of that the way you're supposed to, that ball has to go six more inches and it's a whole different story."
Auburn still has plenty to clean up after opening the season 1-0. The Tigers turned it over three times, missed their only fourth-down try, kicked away a field-goal attempt and piled up six penalties for 47 yards. Golesh made it clear the standard has to rise quickly.
"The old cliche of you get better from Week 1 to Week 2 if you stress the right things, we have to," Golesh said. "We don't have a choice."
Now Auburn turns its attention to Southern Miss, which arrives at 1-0 after a 49-3 rout of Alcorn State. Steven Robinson led the way with 23 carries for 123 yards and three touchdowns in Blake Anderson’s debut as head coach.
Southern Miss also got a breakout performance from defensive back Kobi Albert, who picked off three passes in his first game with the Golden Eagles and was named Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week. The Southern Miss defense held Alcorn State to 223 yards.
"Obviously, Kobi Albert had a great game, and that's honestly not a surprise," said Anderson. "He's been a great leader.
He's one of the guys that stood up and just does everything right. ... He is one of those guys that is leading by both his work ethic, his actions on and off the field."
In Other News...
Baylors QB Situation Just Changed How Auburns Week 1 Win Feels
Baylors quarterback picture looked unsettled almost as soon as Auburns Week 1 win was in the books, and now the ripple effect is hard to ignore. DJ Lagway suffered a high-ankle sprain in the game against the Tigers and was described earlier in the week by Dave Aranda as day-to-day, but the latest reporting has him doubtful for Baylors upcoming game against Prairie View A&M.
If Lagway cannot go, backup Nate Bennett would be lined up to start, which only adds another layer to what Auburn already took away from that opener. For the Tigers, it is the kind of early-season twist that can make a win feel a little different in retrospect, especially when the opposing quarterback situation is still very much in flux. [Read more 🡒]
Auburns Long-Awaited Jordan-Hare Change Is Finally Starting
After plenty of talk around Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn finally put a shovel in the ground for the North End Zone Project, with university athletics leadership, campus officials and members of the Board of Trustees on hand for the ceremonial start. The gathering at the stadium had the feel of a milestone for a program that has been pointing to this moment for some time, and the event included remarks from Auburn University Director of Athletics John Cohen and Board of Trustees President Pro Tempore Jimmy Sanford.
A model of the project was displayed during the ceremony, giving those in attendance a look at what is coming next for the home of the Tigers. The groundbreaking marks the beginning of a long-awaited change at Jordan-Hare, and while the project now has a visible start, the real story for Auburn will be how quickly the work begins to reshape the north end of the stadium. [Read more 🡒]
Saban Reignited The SEC-Big Ten Fight Ahead Of A Huge Showdown
The SEC-Big Ten debate never really goes away, but Nick Saban helped fan it back to life this week with a familiar argument about depth and rankings on The Pat McAfee Show. He pointed to the SEC having more teams in the top 25 and, in the same conversation, gave Mississippi State quarterback KaMario Taylor a notable endorsement by calling him the real deal, a kind of aside that tends to travel fast in a league where every compliment and critique gets filed away for later.
For Auburn and the rest of the SEC, the timing matters because this conversation always seems to intensify when the leagues are headed toward another high-profile matchup. Recent results have kept the discussion alive, and the long history of SEC-Big Ten games has only made both sides more stubborn about their case. Sabans comments did what they usually do: they sharpened the argument, added a little more heat, and left the larger question hanging until the next big showdown settles it on the field. [Read more 🡒]