Byrum Brown’s name finally showed up on CBS Sports’ quarterback rankings, and Auburn’s latest breakthrough win had plenty to do with it.
On Wednesday, David Cobb placed the Tigers quarterback at No. 43 after several weeks in which Brown had been left out of the list entirely. The move came on the heels of Brown’s big performance in Auburn’s upset of Georgia, a game that gave the senior his first real surge up the national quarterback conversation.
Brown was at the center of everything in the 27-24 win over the Bulldogs. He logged 26 carries and 26 pass attempts, finishing with 115 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground while also throwing for 150 yards and a score through the air. Auburn’s offense leaned into Brown in a way it hadn’t earlier in the season, and the shift paid off in a major way.
The opening stretch of the year had looked much different. Brown, who had been working through what amounted to an adjustment period, was used far more sparingly as Auburn’s offense searched for rhythm. Against Georgia, though, the Tigers built the game plan around his legs, and the result was the kind of win that can reshape how a quarterback is viewed nationally.
That said, one game won’t erase the uneven start. Brown will need to keep producing at that level if he wants to keep climbing CBS Sports’ rankings over the rest of the season.
The upside is clear. As a graduate transfer from USF, Brown was the only quarterback in football last year to pass for more than 3,000 yards and rush for more than 1,000 yards in the same season. He also finished second among all FBS quarterbacks in touchdowns, trailing only 2025 Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza.
Auburn fans have been waiting for that kind of version of Brown to show up in orange and blue, and the Georgia game offered the first real glimpse of what that could look like inside SEC play.
Now comes the next challenge. Auburn turns right around to face Lane Kiffin’s LSU Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium, with the visitors looking for their first in-conference win away from home. Kiffin has already said Auburn’s upset of Georgia makes it harder to prepare for the Tigers, and Brown will have to stay locked in through the week if Auburn wants another ranked scalp.
The Tigers are 7.5-point underdogs to the Bayou Bengals, but Brown has already shown he can take over a game when the moment calls for it. He gets another chance to do exactly that Saturday at 11:00 a.m. CT.
In Other News...
LSU Faces A Dangerous Road Test Auburn Is Built To Exploit
LSU heads to Auburn for an SEC matchup that already has the feel of a stress test for both sides. The Tigers are still carrying the energy from Auburns upset over Georgia, and both coaching staffs have acknowledged how hard it can be to keep that emotional edge once the next week arrives. For LSU, the setting matters almost as much as the opponent, because recent SEC road trips have been a problem and this one lands in a place where Auburn should have a crowd fully behind it.
The numbers point to LSU as the steadier team on paper, with advantages in several offensive and defensive categories, but the trip to Jordan-Hare has a way of shrinking those edges. Auburn does not need to be perfect at home to make life uncomfortable, especially when the atmosphere is already primed after a signature win. For LSU, the challenge is turning statistical superiority into a road performance, and for Auburn, it is about using the home-field surge before the emotional letdown has a chance to settle in. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Still Waiting On Key Signee As Eligibility Fight Drags On
Auburns exhibition matchup with Alabama in Birmingham is already feeling the effects of a legal fight that has pushed back the arrival of international signee Mantas Rubtaviius. The delay in the lawsuit between Rubtaviius and the NCAA means he remains unavailable for the game, leaving Auburn to move forward without one of the newcomers it was counting on this fall.
Rubtaviius situation has become a reminder that roster building does not always move on a clean timetable, especially when eligibility questions are still tied up in court. For Auburn, the bigger concern is simple: a player expected to be part of the mix is still stuck in limbo, and there is no clear resolution yet as the Tigers prepare for the next step of their preseason schedule. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Is Giving Jordan-Hare An Extra Edge For LSU
Jordan-Hare Stadium is set to sound a little different for Auburns next home test. The university plans to amplify the crowd atmosphere for Saturdays matchup with No. 18 LSU by using microphones for the marching band and field-level speakers, a move aimed at turning an already charged setting into something even more difficult for the visitors to navigate.
It comes on the heels of Auburns upset of No. 1 Georgia, which only sharpened the anticipation around another major home stage. The LSU game is set for 11 a.m. Central on ABC, and with kickoff coming early in the day, Auburn is clearly looking for every possible edge to make Jordan-Hare feel as loud as it can from the start. [Read more 🡒]