ESPN Analyst Predicts Repeat of Auburn Football’s 2025 Opener in Saturday Matchup

Last season, the Hugh Freeze-led Auburn Tigers took down the Baylor Bears, 38-24, to open up their season and what many believed to be a new chapter for the program. According to ESPN’s Greg McElroy, the same score will be the difference this year.

“I'm taking Auburn 38, Baylor 24 in this game,” McElroy said. “Give me the group that already knows the offense, that already knows how to collectively put it together, and 40,000 people that just drove two hours from Auburn to Atlanta. Two coaches walked into this game wanting to start their season off on a high note, and only one of them brought their entire offense with them. So, give me Auburn by 14.”

The Tigers won their matchup with the Bears last season by effectively rushing quarterback Jackson Arnold throughout the game, to the point where he ended up as the team’s leading rusher. Now, the Tigers’ offense, as well as the Bears’ defense, looks completely different, as both units boast new coordinators and new players, so the strategy will almost certainly be different for both camps.

New Auburn head coach Alex Golesh has been clear that the Tigers will, in fact, lean heavily on the rush this season, though his philosophy relies much more heavily on his running backs and not as much on (ironically) his quarterback, Byrum Brown, though Brown is almost sure to get a few significant touchdowns throughout the matchup.

“Now, Byrum Brown ran for over 1,000 yards last year, [Jeremiah] Cobb went for 969 on 5.5 a carry,” McElroy said. “And [Bryson] Washington used to be Baylor's best weapon at the running back spot. And they're running against a defense that finished 123rd in the country and could not stop a quarterback keeper all year. So, if Auburn just hands it off until someone proves they can tackle, this does not stay competitive necessarily.”

However, there is one player that could completely change the pace of the game in either direction: junior Baylor quarterback DJ Lagway, who was once a highly-touted prospect but has become the butt of many jokes in the SEC due to his interception troubles.

“Which DJ Lagway shows up?” McElroy asked. “He was the number one quarterback in his recruiting class, and he threw more interceptions than anyone in the SEC last year. Meanwhile, two years ago, he was pretty good. And a neutral-site opener against an SEC front is a tough place to find out whether or not Baylor's fixed him.”

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

Add us as a preferred source on Google