Analyst Describes Importance of Auburn’s Matchup with Baylor: ‘One Chance’

After quite a tumultuous offseason that included the firing of Hugh Freeze, a mass exodus of players, the hiring of Alex Golesh and an over-40-player transfer portal class, the Auburn Tigers are finally ready to kick off their first game of the 2026 season against the Baylor Bears.

This matchup, which is scheduled for Saturday, Sep. 5 at 2:30 p.m. CT, will be the second time the two teams have met in two seasons, with the Tigers taking last year’s matchup by a final score of 38-24. However, much is new for both teams this season, and On3’s J.D. PicKell believes this matchup has special importance to new head coach Alex Golesh.

“You get to make a first impression one time,” he said. “Alex Golesh, at Auburn, you get one first impression. You get one chance to have that first handshake with your girlfriend’s dad. This does not define Auburn, but optics matter in this sport. Optics matter for Auburn.”

Both Bryan Harsin and Hugh Freeze, the Tigers’ prior coaches in the 2020s, were, admittedly, abject failures for the program, and many Auburn fans seem to be at their wits’ end with the team, so any hope Golesh can generate in the future of the Tigers could go quite a long way for his reputation on the Plains.

For those optics to look as good as possible, though, Auburn will need to answer a few key questions that have been plaguing them this offseason. For starters, Auburn will need to uphold the rushing identity that Golesh has promised at his very first press conference.

Golesh has built a running back room to match his run-first philosophy, too; Jeremiah Cobb, a senior Auburn returner, Omar Mabson, a sophomore returner looking for a breakout year and Bryson Washington, a junior Baylor transfer, will all look to make their impact known quickly, and they can set the foundation for that dominance in their first game of the season.

Additionally, the offensive line will need to hold up well against Baylor’s defense, as many Tiger fans have been concerned about the unit from the very start of the offseason, when six of the seven offensive linemen to record a start in 2025 departed from the program. The line will need to effectively create strong rushing lanes for the aforementioned rushing attack while also creating time for Byrum Brown to find his USF transfer buddies downfield.

On the topic of Byrum Brown, he’ll need to show the Auburn faithful that he is, in fact, just as good as advertised, which could be difficult with the level of expectation he is facing ahead of his first Auburn season. Any performance that illustrates strong rushing and passing abilities should do fine for a start, but if Brown goes off against Baylor, Alex Golesh’s program will be looking quite strong ahead of their home opener.

Enjoy our content? Make AuburnOnSI a preferred source to see more stories from us on Google by clicking here.

Add us as a preferred source on Google