Auburn Football Has a Top-15 Most Difficult Schedule in the Country, Per ESPN

If Alex Golesh wanted an easy season in his first year with a new program, he probably should not have signed up to coach the Auburn Tigers, as the SEC has long been revered as a gauntlet of top-level teams, and Auburn’s 2026 schedule is certainly proof of that fact.

On Friday, ESPN released its rankings for the top-20 most difficult schedules in the country, per its FPI, or Football Power Index, and the Tigers ranked with the 13th-toughest schedule in the country. Frankly, taking a look at Auburn’s schedule, it is not hard to see why they are ranked so high.

The Tigers open the season with Baylor, which is not necessarily a powerhouse (in fact, head coach Matt Aranda’s seat is getting pretty toasty), but it is certainly not the early-season tune-up that one would hope for, especially in a first season under a new head coach. The Bears are led by Florida transfer DJ Lagway, who struggled last year but appears to be making strides with the Bears.

Then, the Tigers get a tune-up game with Southern Mississippi before the bulk of the schedule in SEC play begins. This is where it gets difficult for the Tigers, provided they are undefeated at this point, as they are set to play six teams ranked in ESPN FPI’s top-25, four of which will be played in a row.

The first of these matchups is Golesh’s SEC opener against Florida, which will certainly be an interesting matchup, as new Gator head coach Jon Sumrall was a popular pick to land on the Plains before he ultimately decided to land in Gainesville. His Gators are ranked as the 18th-best team in the country, per ESPN’s FPI, four spots up from where Golesh’s squad currently sits.

Then, the Tigers host Vanderbilt, who have fallen off the FPI rankings amidst the absence of some key pieces of their 2025 team, but they have certainly found a great quarterback replacement in five-star true freshman Jared Curtis, who may need some time to find his footing but has exceptional talent.

Believe it or not, after the Vanderbilt game is when the true grind begins for the Tigers, as they are set to travel to Knoxville to take on the 16th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers, then, after a bye week, they head to Athens to take on the fifth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs, then they head home to take on the ninth-ranked LSU Tigers before wrapping up the gauntlet with a trip to Oxford to take on Pete Golding’s 14th-ranked Rebels.

With that, the month of October ends for the Tigers (because, yes, it really is that tough of a month), but the grind does not stop, as they will then host Arkansas and travel to Starkville to take on Mississippi State before rounding out their season with a tune-up against Samford and, of course, the Iron Bowl.

With all of this on paper, it is easy to see why the Tigers’ strength of schedule is ranked so high, as well as the monumental task that faces Golesh and his program in 2026. If the Tigers’ new skipper can start getting up that mountain, though, the Tigers could be poised for immense success in the future.

Sign up for our free Auburn Tigers newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news!

Add us as a preferred source on Google