Auburn’s offense has shown enough in three weeks to suggest there’s something real taking shape under Alex Golesh and Joel Gordon. The Tigers are creating chunk plays again, they’re throwing the ball down the field more effectively than they did a year ago, and for the first time since 1997 they’ve opened a season with three straight games of 200-plus passing yards.
But that progress comes with a glaring problem that’s swallowing the whole operation: Auburn has been sacked 13 times, the most in the FBS through three weeks.
That number stands out even before you dig into the details. Auburn is tied for No. 19 nationally in plays of 10 or more yards and tied for No. 14 in plays of 20 or more yards.
Last season, those numbers were nowhere close - No. 102 and No. 119, respectively. The offense is producing more explosive moments, and the 39 points Auburn scored in its Week 3 loss to Florida was its highest regulation total against a power-conference opponent since 2023.
It was also the only time under the previous staff that Auburn reached that mark in regulation against a power-conference team.
Still, the sacks are impossible to ignore. Florida got to Auburn’s quarterback seven times, more than doubling the Tigers’ sack total from the first two games and leaving Auburn with 12 sacks allowed in its two power-conference games. Even if the lone sack in the Week 2 win over Southern Miss is viewed as more of a scramble that ended behind the line of scrimmage, Auburn would still be leading the sport in sacks allowed.
That’s the kind of problem that doesn’t have a simple answer. The line is part of it.
The quarterback is part of it. The play-calling is part of it.
Golesh said Monday it’s all connected.
“It’s a combination of a lot,” Golesh said.
That matches what Auburn has already shown under this staff at USF. Golesh and Gordon oversaw a Byrum Brown-led offense that allowed 21 sacks in 13 games last season, good for No. 45 nationally. Their earlier offenses at USF, and Golesh’s Tennessee offenses, had higher sack rates than that 2025 group, but none have been hit as hard as Auburn has been so far.
In Other News...
Jon Sumrall Just Reignited An Auburn Debate Fans Never Dropped
Florida coach Jon Sumrall has already found a way to put Jordan-Hare Stadium back at the center of an old Auburn conversation. As his team gets ready for a daunting road trip to No. 4 Ole Miss, Sumrall talked up the challenge of playing in a loud environment and compared the crowd energy from a recent game to what Auburn fans can do on their best nights, the kind of comment that always lands around here because people know exactly what he means.
Sumrall also said he never interviewed for the Auburn coaching job last year, which only adds another layer to the chatter whenever his name comes up in relation to the Tigers. With Ole Miss coming off a rise to No. 4 after beating LSU and quarterback Trinidad Chambliss earning SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors, the spotlight is already bright, and any Auburn-related aside from Sumrall is bound to keep the debate humming a little longer. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Fans Just Got Pulled Into A Brutal Jordan-Hare Debate
Jordan-Hare Stadium has long sold itself as one of college footballs loudest, most unforgiving places to play, but Floridas 44-39 win over Auburn turned the conversation back toward whether the home environment matched the reputation on this particular night. Auburns defense gave up 495 yards and 44 points, while Florida running back Jadan Baugh helped fuel the Gators big offensive performance, and the result left the Tigers dealing with more than just a loss.
The bigger debate now is about the crowd and how engaged the stadium felt as the game unfolded. Florida coach Jon Sumrall offered his take on the atmosphere afterward, and his comments only sharpened the questions Auburn fans are already asking about what Jordan-Hare sounded and looked like when the game was on the line. For a program that leans so heavily on home-field edge, its the kind of conversation that tends to linger. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Fans Have Every Reason To Fear This Scheduling Trend
Auburn fans who like circling road trips on the calendar just lost another appealing option when the Georgia-Clemson home-and-home series was canceled, cutting down one of the more attractive upcoming travel games in the region. It is the kind of change that lands well beyond those two schools, because it speaks to a bigger pattern college football fans have been watching for a while now: more and more programs are trimming back on challenging non-conference matchups.
For Auburn, the issue matters because the Tigers have already lined up some of the kind of games supporters want to see, with Notre Dame on the schedule in 2027 and 2028 and Miami set for 2029 and 2030. Those are the sorts of opponents that add juice to a season and give fans a destination worth planning around, but they also stand out in a sport where too many teams seem to be leaning toward easier paths. If that trend keeps spreading, Auburns future non-conference slate may look stronger than most, but it could also become the exception rather than the rule. [Read more 🡒]