Auburn is about to step into the Alex Golesh era, and the opener brings a neutral-site test against Baylor on Saturday in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Auburn Daily crew didn’t exactly play it safe when asked to handicap Week 1. The predictions lean hard into a physical Auburn offense, a defense hunting turnovers, and a debut that could get out of hand if the Tigers control the line of scrimmage.
The loudest theme in the bunch is Auburn’s ground game. Brad Law said he expects the Tigers to make the run game the centerpiece right away, projecting 45 rushing attempts and roughly 75 total plays.
He pointed to Golesh’s history at USF, where the Bulls had 40 or more carries in 20 of 38 games under him, and noted that over the last three years they reached 40 rushing attempts or more. Law also tied that approach to Auburn’s recent profile, saying the Tigers had 10 games of 40 yards or more over the last three years, compared with double that number for South Florida in the same 40-plus rushing attempts category.
His bottom line: “You give me 45 rushes for Byrum Brown and the Auburn running backs against Baylor.”
Daryll Dapprich took the run-game idea and pushed it even further, saying he’s heard Baylor may line up in a 3-3-5 look defensively, which would put six in the box. If Dave Aranda stays with that and doesn’t adjust from last season, Dapprich believes Auburn could pile up more than 400 yards of offense, with 250 of those coming on the ground between Byron Brown and the running backs. He didn’t soften the take either: “If that happens, it could be a bloodbath.”
On the other side of the ball, Zac Blackerby went with a turnover-heavy night for Auburn’s defense. He predicted three forced turnovers, saying he’d backed off an earlier pick-heavy stance only slightly. Blackerby said there could be “a pick or two,” especially if Auburn gets to Lagway early, and added that a forced fumble would be another way to get there.
Kyle Rush looked ahead to the late stages and predicted Tristan Ti’a will throw a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. In his view, Auburn will have the game well in hand by the end of the third quarter, and Golesh won’t ease up. Rush expects the staff to keep pressing and get Ti’a real game reps, with the result being a touchdown in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The boldest offensive call came with three rushing touchdowns from three different Auburn backs. The prediction named Jeremiah Cobb, Omar Mabson, and Bryson Washington as the ones to get into the end zone on the ground.
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 🡒]