Five Important Things Alex Golesh Said After Auburn's Loss to Ole Miss

Here's what the Tigers' head coach had to say after being routed by the No. 12 Rebels in Oxford.

Oct 31, 2026; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Auburn Tigers head coach Alex Golesh talks with referees during the third quarter against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Auburn Tigers suffered their worst loss all season on Saturday afternoon, falling to No. 12 Ole Miss 45-15 in Oxford. 

Despite being only down five points at halftime, the Tigers were outscored 31-6 in the second half to end up with the lopsided affair. After the game, head coach Alex Golesh had plenty to say regarding his team’s performance and what’s next. 

Here are the five most important things that he mentioned in the loss. 

“I thought, through the first half, through the beginning part of that third quarter, I thought there was an intent, like you wanted it.”

Similar to above, Auburn had multiple chances to take the lead in this game and grab a hold of the Rebels, making it a similar game to the one that the Tigers had against the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs. 

The Tigers were able to get a turnover too, picking off Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss in the second quarter to gain a little bit of momentum. Auburn was also able to respond after its opponent’s first touchdown of the game with a score of its own to wideout Chas Nimrod. Quarterback Byrum Brown also ran in on a seven-yard score with 6:24 left in the third quarter and it was a two-point game. 

However, as the story goes, it would only go downhill from there. 

“Didn’t give ourselves a chance between just us shooting ourselves in the foot, not executing, and then we give up 28 straight without an answer, so that was disappointing.”

After Chambliss would waltz into the end zone a drive later after the last Auburn touchdown, things only went south from there. 

The Tigers allowed their only two turnovers of the game, to end up losing the turnover margin. Then, a three-and-out, sacks and sputtered-out drives would give the Rebels the ball back, who would score on every single drive following that. 

Golesh said it plainly: Auburn beat itself up, and good teams will end up making you pay. There’s a reason many of those players stayed in Mississippi after making the College Football Playoff semifinals.

“That’s the part that’s making me sick is the lack of finish. Obviously, the plan is to win. The goal is to win. The lack of finish, and I thought play to play, lack of finish.”

Similar to the previous point, head coaches take pride in finishing strong. Golesh didn’t see that in Oxford on Halloween. 

In the stretch that Ole Miss scored 21 points to finish out the game, Auburn would only record six plays for negative two yards. Unlike some other instances over the course fo this season, the Tigers simply didn’t respond at all. 

Although October is over, where Auburn had to play a ranked team every week in the SEC, the schedule opens up and is a bit easier for the Tigers going forward. Golesh will look to see his team finish in all of those games. 

“I think we’ve got to figure out a way to make sure, especially when you’re playing a quarterback like this, that you can affect him. At the end of the day, as good as he is, we’re in position to affect him, and we don’t.”

Golesh is talking about Chambliss, who extended plays with his legs and even did work on the ground to add a different element against Auburn’s defense. He would finish with eight carries for 63 yards, averaging almost eight yards per carry on Saturday. 

That includes a 26-yard scamper in the third quarter, which would put the Rebels up two scores and it would only be more of a blowout from there. However, the pocket collapsed on multiple occasions and Auburn could’ve gotten to the quarterback, but it couldn’t bring Chambliss down all game. 

The Tigers couldn’t create third-and-long and beyond, and it made things simple for the Rebels. 

“It’s got to come every single day of the week in terms of how you work. I just challenge them, if you think you’ve worked hard, you got to work harder.”

Golesh is talking about the team’s work ethic, challenging them for more as the team enters November. 

Auburn still has a bowl game to play for, needing two wins in the four games remaining to end up playing in a postseason game to close out year one of the Golesh era on the Plains. That features Arkansas, Mississippi State, Samford and Alabama, and a strong finish will give the group momentum going into the offseason to make more moves. 

The Tigers will return home next weekend, hosting the Razorbacks at 11:45 central, with the game being broadcast on the SEC Network. 

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