Auburn’s Alex Golesh Previews Baylor Matchup: ‘A Unique Challenge’

The time has finally come for the Auburn Tigers to truly get set for their first game of the season, a week one matchup with the Baylor Bears. The two teams faced off last year, when Auburn was still under Hugh Freeze, and though Auburn emerged victorious in that matchup, the Bears are looking to take the second half of the home-and-home series.

On Monday, Alex Golesh previewed his first opponent as the head coach of the Tigers, and he had quite a bit to say about Aranda’s squad.

“It’s a unique challenge in a lot of ways,” Golesh said. “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.”

The Bears, led by head coach Dave Aranda, will lean on a new quarterback in Florida transfer DJ Lagway, who struggled immensely with interceptions last year but was still a serviceable option for the Gators, while also replacing four wideouts and their top rusher, Bryson Washington, who will suit up for the Tigers on Saturday.

Like the Tigers, Baylor is a new-look team in 2026, despite the fact that the face at the top has not changed year over year. Much of the Bears' offense will be completely different from their 2025 unit, so anyone who believes the Tigers will win simply because they did last year may have a surprise in store on Saturday, especially with Lagway in the saddle on offense.

“He’s had two years at the University of Florida, where he obviously played as a young guy, got better and better and better as it went, and now a fully healthy version of D.J. Lagway, I would imagine, is the best version of him,” Golesh said. “Presents a ton of challenges – one, with what he can do with his arm, but two, certainly what he can do with his legs. In all honesty, if this is the best version of him, he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the entire country.”

The Bears’ defense, on the other hand, allowed Auburn to run all over it last year, and with this year’s Tigers looking to implement a rush-heavy attack and Baylor’s defense looking quite a bit different, Golesh and his staff have been pouring over film in an effort to have their offense as ready as possible come Saturday.

“Defensively, same deal, a lot of new,” Golesh said. You’re preparing for a lot of different things. You’re watching a lot of different film and trying to get a really good feel. You’re kind of prepared for the unknown, and that’s always week one. But certainly when you get a new staff, and they do return four starters defensively, bringing over four guys from Kansas State, an influx on both sides of the ball of talent in terms of through the portal.”

As it stands, the Tigers have a 68.3% chance of winning their lid-lifter, according to ESPN’s FPI, though, as Golesh said, week one is always an unknown, and we will not know the full extent of either team’s abilities until we, at least, have an idea of how they perform in real game scenarios.

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