Alex Golesh has already seen enough from Auburn to know what kind of team he’s dealing with.
Through two games, the Tigers have shown they’ll keep swinging. That mattered in the 17-16 win over Baylor, a game Auburn didn’t exactly control but still found a way to finish.
“The biggest thing I figured out is these dudes will answer the bell every time. These dudes will fight, and they'll continue to keep fighting,” Golesh said during an appearance on SEC Nation.
That edge will matter again Saturday night when Florida walks into Jordan-Hare Stadium, but Golesh made it clear that effort alone won’t be enough. Auburn’s path to winning its SEC opener runs through execution, and the Tigers’ identity on offense has started to take shape around the run game.
After a sluggish showing against Baylor, Auburn turned around and rushed for 343 yards against Southern Miss. Golesh said the goal is to create favorable situations for the offense’s best weapons, especially Byrum Brown and Jeremiah Cobb.
“You're continuously trying to find an advantage to get plus one in the box, and you're trying to find ways to get your best playmakers, in this case, the running back in space, one-on-one,” Golesh said.
Florida’s front is a different problem entirely, and Golesh pointed to the challenge facing Auburn’s interior offensive line as one of the key issues in the matchup. He said the Tigers have to deal with movement up front, hold up against the run and stay disciplined when the Gators start shifting and motioning before the snap.
“You've got to stop the run game. You got to be able to adjust to a lot of shifting, a lot of motion,” Golesh said.
He also said Auburn has to set the edge, tackle well in space and make Florida’s quarterback uncomfortable.
On the other side, DJ Durkin’s defense will have a major role in trying to slow down Florida running back Jadan Baugh, who has been piling up yards after contact. Golesh praised Durkin and his staff for attacking matchups with purpose instead of just sending extra rushers for the sake of pressure.
That kind of approach could be important against a Florida offense that asks a lot of a defense. And after what Auburn has shown through its first two games, there’s reason to think that side of the ball is ready for the challenge.
Jordan-Hare Stadium will bring its own edge, too. Golesh got his first look at that atmosphere against Southern Miss, and he expects the crowd to be even louder for the SEC opener.
Still, the noise won’t make the plays. Auburn has to do that part itself.
Asked what it will take to beat Florida, Golesh kept the answer simple.
“It's not going to take an extraordinary effort. It's going to take us just being at our best tonight.”
In Other News...
Auburns SEC Opener Exposed A Problem Tigers Cant Ignore
Auburns SEC opener against Florida offered an early look at where the Tigers stand, and it was not a flattering one. The 44-39 loss left Auburn 2-1 overall and 0-1 in league play, with the defense repeatedly struggling to get off the field and Florida finding answers in the kind of situations that usually decide close conference games.
The late rally kept the Tigers in it, but the offense was too uneven to fully cover for the problems on the other side of the ball. For head coach Alex Golesh, this was the first major SEC test, and Auburn came away with a clear reminder that competing in this league demands more consistency, especially when the margin for error is already so thin. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn's Comeback Chances Hinge On Fixing Two Costly Problems
Auburn heads into halftime trailing Florida 20-17 at home, and the margin reflects a first half that left the Tigers with too much to clean up on both sides of the ball. The game has already pointed to two areas that need attention quickly: keeping quarterback Byrum Brown in rhythm and tightening a run defense that has already had to deal with Florida backs Jaden Baugh and Duke Clark.
The secondary also has to do a better job of limiting explosive plays, because Florida has shown enough to keep Auburn under pressure even with the crowd behind it. If the Tigers are going to turn this into a comeback, they will need a more consistent defensive stretch in the second half, not just a few stops here and there. [Read more 🡒]
Auburns Florida Captains Reveal Who Alex Golesh Trusts Most
Auburns SEC opener against Florida comes with a familiar leadership group at the front of the huddle. The Tigers have announced five captains for the game, and Byrum Brown and Elijah Melendez will serve in that role for the third straight week, joined by Jake Johnson, Cody Sigler and Alex McPherson. It is another clear sign of which players Alex Golesh is leaning on as the pressure rises.
The captaincy list also says plenty about how this team is being organized going into one of the seasons most important early tests. Repeating Brown and Melendez suggests continuity, while the addition of Johnson, Sigler and McPherson broadens the leadership base in a matchup where details tend to matter. For Auburn, the bigger question is whether that trust shows up on the field once the opener gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]