Three Takeaways From Auburn’s Gritty Win Over Baylor

Though it was probably not exactly the way Alex Golesh had hoped to start his tenure as the head coach of the Auburn Tigers, his team fought hard on Saturday night to eventually take a last-second win over Baylor, 17-16.

The Tigers showed quite a bit of promise in this matchup, but there is no doubt that this team still has quite a ways to go if they want to be a contender in the near future.

So, now that it’s over, what can Tiger fans take away from this matchup? Auburn Tigers on SI shares three major takeaways and analyzes the impact that each could have on the Tigers throughout their 2026 season.

Auburn’s Defense Is Still Legit

With the losses of Keldric Faulk, Keyron Crawford and a host of others, many believed the Tigers’ defense would take a step back this season, but Saturday showed us that the Tigers’ defense is still very much to be feared. Elijah Melendez is every bit the threat that many projected him to be, as he led Saturday’s scoring sheet with a whopping 12 tackles while tacking on 1.5 tackles for loss and defending two passes.

Any mention of the Tigers’ defense would be incomplete without a mention of Eric Winters, who made the game-winning tackle on Baylor tight end Matthew Klopfenstein during the Bears’ two-point conversion attempt in the final seconds of the game. He also turned in 11 tackles, nine solo tackles and a team-high two tackles for loss.

DJ Durkin’s unit showed some signs of weakness throughout the matchup–notably, they did not seem to have any answers for 5-foot-9 Baylor receiver Gavin Freeman, but these are issues that will almost certainly be rectified over the next two weeks as the Tigers prep for the Florida game.

Byrum Brown May Not Be The Sole Savior

Don’t get me wrong: Brown was a massive part of how the Tigers won that game, as he orchestrated a masterful 10-play, 75-yard drive to make the score 17-10 late in the fourth quarter. However, many initially believed that Brown would simply take over games for the Tigers this season, and Saturday taught us that it will almost certainly be a full effort from the offense, not just one star player.

Brown threw seven total interceptions last season at USF, and against Baylor, he threw three interceptions in one game. Performances like this are clearly anomalies for Brown, but the Tigers will need to be able to pick up his slack the next time he has a game like this.

The Offensive Line is Still In Development

We all saw it coming from the moment Golesh said he needed prayers for his unit, but the Tigers’ offensive line struggled throughout their season opener. Brown was sacked five times throughout the matchup and averaged just 1.3 yards per carry as the Tigers only managed 130 yards of total rushing offense throughout the game.

As the season progresses, I expect this unit to improve, though it will be a race against the clock to see if this unit will be ready for SEC play in just two weeks.

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