Baylor’s 2026 season opens with a familiar test and a fresh look.
The Bears are back on television for the first time since last November, and they’ll start the year against Auburn in the Aflac Kickoff. It’s the same opponent Baylor faced to begin last season, but the feel around this matchup is very different now. Dave Aranda is still in charge, yet almost everything else has been turned over as Baylor tries to rebound from a 5-7 season in 2025.
Last year’s meeting stayed tight into the second half before Auburn seized control. Jeremiah Cobb’s short touchdown run pushed the Tigers ahead 24-10, and Baylor answered to make it 24-17.
But the next kickoff turned into a disaster for the Bears, and they never got another shot at tying the game after the return. Sawyer Roertson still put up huge numbers, throwing for 419 yards and three touchdowns, but Baylor still came up short in a 38-24 loss that set the tone for a frustrating year in Waco.
Now the Bears are hoping for a cleaner start with a roster that looks almost brand new on both sides of the ball.
The biggest change is at quarterback, where DJ Lagway is set to make his debut after joining Baylor through the transfer portal this offseason. He’ll have a mostly rebuilt group of receivers around him, and the search for his top targets will be one of the first storylines to watch as the game and season develop.
There are questions up front, too. Baylor entered fall camp with only one returning starter on the offensive line, so it could take time for that group to settle in and find its rhythm with Lagway. That kind of growing pain could show up early.
Defensively, though, Baylor is counting on a much better answer. The court ruling that made defensive tackle Hosea Wheeler eligible for this season gives the Bears a potential anchor in the middle after last year’s struggles.
Wheeler, who transferred from Indiana, is expected to start at defensive tackle. Travion Barnes is also back after spending most of 2025 rehabbing a knee injury, and he should give Baylor another important presence in the center of the defense.
For Baylor, the opener is more than just a rematch. It’s the first chance to see how all the new pieces fit together against an SEC opponent right away.
In Other News...
Auburns Atlanta Opener Created A Tradeoff Fans Immediately Noticed
Moving Auburns season opener to Mercedes-Benz Stadium gave the program a different kind of stage for its Aflac Kickoff Game, and it came with a tradeoff fans noticed right away. The atmosphere was not what Jordan-Hare Stadium would have delivered, but Auburn still brought a strong contingent to Atlanta and made sure the place did not feel like a neutral site for long.
Athletics director John Cohen said the move was shaped in part by a lucrative NIL deal for players, which gave the decision a broader football-business context beyond the usual scheduling conversation. Some season ticket holders stayed home instead of making the trip, but Auburn still held the majority of fan support and carried a 10-7 halftime lead over Baylor, a sign the Tigers made the arrangement work even if the crowd size did not match a home opener. [Read more 🡒]
Former Auburn QB Is Finally Getting The Chance He Never Had
After a frustrating start to his college career, Hank Brown is finally getting the kind of opportunity that never quite came together at Auburn. The former Tigers quarterback, a 3-star recruit in the 2023 class, transferred to Iowa before the 2025 season and spent much of that first year waiting for a real opening while seeing limited action.
Brown stayed with the Hawkeyes into 2026, and the payoff arrived in Week 1 when he was named the starter against Northern Illinois. He rewarded that trust with a touchdown pass, a small but meaningful step for a quarterback whose path has been more about patience and persistence than instant results. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn's Offensive Line Battle May Be Smaller Than Fans Expected
Auburns offensive line competition has drawn plenty of attention this spring, but Alex Golesh made it sound like the picture is a little less crowded than some fans may have expected. The Tigers have eight linemen who have earned the right to play, yet Golesh said the staff is not looking to rotate bodies simply to keep people involved. If the group up front is holding up well, the starting five can stay put.
The spot still worth watching is left guard, where Auburn continues to evaluate options as camp moves along. Goleshs message was that the offensive line will be judged by performance and by the demands of each game, not by any preset plan to shuffle players in and out. For a unit trying to settle in, that leaves some room for competition, but not the kind of wholesale rotation some around the program may have been anticipating. [Read more 🡒]