Auburn didn’t exactly stroll out of Mercedes-Benz Stadium feeling good about itself. Yes, the Tigers opened Alex Golesh’s era with a win over Baylor, but a one-point escape as more than a touchdown favorite left plenty of room for doubt.
CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli thinks this weekend offers the kind of response Auburn needs, and then some. He pegged the Tigers as a strong candidate for his “Rebound of the Week” honor, predicting a cleaner showing against Southern Miss.
“Auburn won the first game of the Alex Golesh Era, but it didn't feel like much of a victory,” he wrote. “It should be a much cleaner operation this week against Southern Miss... The combination of Southern's inability to stop Auburn and Auburn wanting to reassure the home crowd after last week has me believing we'll see the Tigers light it up this weekend.”
Fornelli went a step further, saying he expects Auburn to put up at least 45 points. That would be a sharp turn from an offense that looked stuck in neutral against Baylor.
The Tigers have a few obvious areas to clean up if that kind of breakout is going to happen. The interior blocking was uneven last week, in part because Golesh kept rotating different players at the guard spots while trying to sort out the best fit.
That rotation is expected to continue against Southern Miss. Even so, Auburn now has a better feel for its personnel, and the matchup should be friendlier in the trenches. The Golden Eagles’ defensive line is not expected to present the same kind of challenge Baylor did, which should give the Tigers a chance to settle in.
The other major issue is turnover control. Byrum Brown threw three interceptions against Baylor, a huge jump from the seven he threw all throughout the 2025 season. Along with the offensive playcalling, that has to tighten up fast.
Golesh and co-offensive coordinator Joel Gordon have taken responsibility for two of those three picks, but Auburn still needs to show real week-to-week growth in decision-making if it wants people to buy in.
The Tigers enter Week 2 as more than 30-point favorites against the Golden Eagles, and this is the kind of game they’ll want to handle cleanly before SEC play arrives.
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