Time, Network Revealed for Auburn Football’s Opening Matchup Against Baylor

The Auburn Tigers officially have a time and date for their opening day matchup in 2026, as they will take on the Baylor Bears in the Aflac Kickoff Game on Sept. 5. On Tuesday, the university announced an official kick time at 2:30 p.m. CT and that the game will be broadcast on ABC.

Ready for the national spotlight in Atlanta 🦅

🗞️: https://t.co/ZVoHhePDpr pic.twitter.com/kJd5M47SW1
— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) May 12, 2026

The game, which will be held in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, will mark the sixth meeting of the two programs, a series in which Auburn holds a 2-2-1 record. The most recent matchup between these two teams was just last year, in which the Tigers traveled to Waco and took down the Bears, 38-24, to start the 2025 season.

In that matchup, Jackson Arnold dazzled with his legs, rushing for 137 yards and two touchdowns in what ultimately became one of the Tigers’ only wins on the season. This year, another rushing quarterback is expected to take the forefront, as USF transfer Byrum Brown will make his Auburn debut against the Bears.

Another top-level rusher is expected to make waves in this matchup, as Bryson Washington, who was a part of the Baylor squad the Tigers took down last year, transferred to Auburn this past offseason and will make his Auburn debut against his former program.

With the Bears, Washington rushed for 1,861 yards over three years and even led the Bears in rushing in their matchup last year with Hugh Freeze’s Tigers. He will look to continue the trend of lead rushing in season openers, though he will have to impress over Jeremiah Cobb, a senior Auburn returner who is expected to be the Tigers’ starter this year.

This matchup will be a great first look at what Alex Golesh has been working on over the past few months, as the new Tigers head coach has had to completely revamp his offense from the ground up. The Tigers’ offense returned just one starter, the aforementioned Cobb, and as a result, all ten other offensive starting positions will be populated by new Tigers.

There have been many questions about how Auburn will perform during the season, particularly after a lackluster spring game performance from Brown, so this game will be an opportunity for the Tigers to prove their doubters wrong and start their season on a high note.

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