Auburn’s new chapter starts Saturday in Atlanta, and the first test for Alex Golesh comes with plenty of familiar faces on the other sideline.
The Tigers open their season against Baylor, giving Golesh his debut as Auburn’s head coach after he was hired on Nov. 30 following a 5-7 finish. He replaced Hugh Freeze, who was fired on Nov.
- Golesh arrives after three seasons at South Florida and becomes the fourth full-time coach to guide Auburn since the 2020 season.
“In a lot of ways, it's flown by really quickly. And in a lot of ways, it's this anticipation of you really don't know what it's going to look like until you do it," Golesh said.
"And so there's an excitement level, but it has flown by really quickly. It's almost surreal.
It really is."
He takes over a program that has gone through six straight seasons with six or fewer wins, and Saturday’s matchup immediately puts him in a game loaded with new pieces on both sides.
One of the biggest is Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown, who followed Golesh from South Florida as part of a wave of transfers. Brown threw for 3,158 yards and 28 touchdowns last season, and he added 1,008 rushing yards and 14 scores on the ground.
Golesh called Baylor “a unique challenge in a lot of ways,” while also making it clear he has respect for Dave Aranda’s group.
“Got a ton of respect for Coach (Dave) Aranda and what he's done. ... There's a lot of new there, a lot to prepare for, a lot of challenges that are presented, simply with as much newness as you're getting ready for. They're obviously in the same boat, there's a ton of newness they're preparing for, so it should be a really good matchup.”
Baylor’s offense will be led by Florida transfer quarterback DJ Lagway, a former five-star recruit who completed 63.2% of his passes for 2,264 yards and 16 touchdowns last season. He also threw 14 interceptions, the most among Southeastern Conference quarterbacks.
The Bears will also line up against another familiar name in Bryson Washington, who was Baylor’s leading rusher over the last two seasons before joining Auburn. Washington will pair with Jeremiah Cobb to give the Tigers a dangerous backfield.
Aranda said of Washington, “I want to see him win that job. But in this game, we're going to have to build it to try to stop him.”
Washington rushed 14 times for 54 yards in Baylor’s 38-24 home loss to Auburn in the 2025 season-opening game for both teams.
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