Baylor’s Week One meeting with Auburn comes with a long list of moving parts, and the quarterback battle sits right at the center of it.
Dave Aranda and the Bears spent the offseason making major changes after a disappointing 5-7 season in 2025. The offense has a fresh look, the defense has been rebuilt under new coordinator Joe Klanderman, and Aranda is trying to get the program pointed back in the right direction.
Auburn has turned the page as well. The Tigers are now under new head coach Alex Golesh, and they enter the matchup hoping those changes can help put the program back on track. With both teams reshaping themselves in a big way, this opener feels loaded with uncertainty.
The biggest spotlight, though, belongs to DJ Lagway. After two seasons at Florida, the former five-star quarterback is set to make his Baylor debut against Auburn.
He never found steady footing with the Gators, but this is a chance to reset, take control of the offense and show what he can do in a system that looks more familiar to him. The fact that he’s back in a style of offense he thrived in during high school only adds to the intrigue.
How quickly Lagway settles in with a new receiver group will be one of the first things to watch. Jake Spavital recently said that when he sees Lagway playing confidently, he is one of the best quarterbacks that he has ever seen.
That kind of upside is obvious. So is the need for cleaner decision-making after Lagway threw 14 interceptions in 2025.
Auburn has its own quarterback who can tilt the game. Byrum Brown arrives from South Florida and comes to Auburn with Alex Golesh, continuing a partnership that already produced impressive offensive numbers in 2025. Brown’s experience gives the Tigers stability, and his legs make him especially dangerous.
That running ability is going to test Baylor’s defense in a real way. Brown can create explosive plays on the ground, and that adds another layer of stress for a Baylor defense that has been retooled up front after struggling badly against the run last season.
Klanderman’s arrival brought a wave of reinforcements through the transfer portal, with Hosea Wheeler, Jamaal Whyce, Ryan Davis, Kamren Washington, Jordan Mack, and Garrick Ponder all joining the line rotation. Baylor needed more depth and experience there, and that group gives the Bears a much fuller front than they had a year ago.
Still, Auburn won’t make life easy. Jeremiah Cobb is back for his senior season after putting up solid numbers in 2025, and Bryson Washington gives the Tigers another familiar name in the backfield. Washington, a Baylor transfer, was the Bears’ leading rusher in both 2024 and 2025, so he’ll also be facing his former team.
That makes physicality at the line of scrimmage a major theme for Baylor. The Bears have to hold up against Cobb, Washington and Brown, or the game could tilt fast in Auburn’s favor.
Baylor’s offensive line is another major question mark. Only one starter returns, and that lack of continuity is a real concern heading into a matchup like this. Nate Kibble, Logan Moore and Asher Hale are in line to start alongside the Sieracki brothers, but this group has limited experience working together.
Auburn did lose some key defensive line talent to the NFL and the transfer portal, but this still looks like one of the better fronts Baylor will see all season. The Bears don’t need the line to dominate. They just need it to be dependable enough for the offense to function.
For Lagway and Baylor, that means enough time to throw and enough room to get the run game moving. In a game with so many new faces and so many unknowns, that could be where the night gets decided.
In Other News...
Auburn Fans Have One New Reason To Worry About Alex Golesh
Alex Goleshs first summer at Auburn is already producing the kind of attention that can make a fan base uneasy. He recently put on a Victory Day celebration with participants from the Auburn EAGLES program and Lee County Special Olympics, an event that drew praise for the way it connected the program to the community. It also got noticed well beyond the Plains, including in Columbus, Ohio, where Goleshs background has kept him on the radar for years.
For Auburn fans, the bigger concern is less about one feel-good event than the profile Golesh is building around the country. His name is starting to surface in conversations about rising coaching candidates, and the idea of future opportunities at Ohio State is the kind of thing that naturally makes people in Auburn pay closer attention. Nothing official is in play right now, but the interest around Golesh is only growing, and that is usually how these stories start to take on a life of their own. [Read more 🡒]
Memphis Is Mourning A Tigers Trailblazer Who Shaped Program History
Charles Henry Kippy Brown, who became the first Black quarterback at Memphis State and later built a long coaching resume in college and the NFL, has died at 71. For Auburn fans, his name still carries a familiar sting from 1975, when he helped lead Memphis to an upset over the Tigers in a game that became part of his lasting legacy, one that stretched far beyond his playing days.
Brown went on to coach at multiple college stops and with several NFL teams, finishing his career with a Super Bowl title in Seattle. He was honored along the way with induction into the Memphis M Club Hall of Fame and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, recognition that reflected both his place in Memphis history and the broader impact he had on the sport. [Read more 🡒]
Auburns Alex Golesh Era Starts With One Immediate Test
Alex Goleshs first year at Auburn comes with almost no easing-in period, because his debut as head coach arrives right away against Baylor in the season opener. Auburn hired Golesh on Nov. 30 after a 5-7 finish and moved on from Hugh Freeze, setting up a new era that will be judged from the first kickoff. The matchup also carries plenty of roster intrigue, with key transfers reshaping both sides as the Tigers and Bears adjust to new faces in prominent spots.
For Auburn, the opener is more than a clean start on the schedule. Quarterback Byrum Brown is in the mix for the Tigers after transferring in, while Baylor brings in DJ Lagway at quarterback and Bryson Washington has gone the other direction to Auburn at running back. Those connections add another layer to an already revealing first game for Golesh, one that will offer an early look at how quickly Auburns new staff and transfer-driven roster can come together. [Read more 🡒]