Why CBS Sports Believes Auburn’s Upcoming Game has ‘Rebound of the Week’ Potential

The Auburn Tigers limped out of Mercedes-Benz Stadium last week with a one-point win over the Baylor Bears in a matchup where the Tigers were favored by more than a touchdown. Early in the season, any win is a good one, but last week’s showing was not exactly confidence-inspiring for many Tiger fans.

However, CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli believes that the Tigers will not only rebound well this weekend, but that they will rebound well enough to earn the title of ‘Rebound of the Week.’

“Auburn won the first game of the Alex Golesh Era, but it didn't feel like much of a victory,” he wrote. “It should be a much cleaner operation this week against Southern Miss... The combination of Southern's inability to stop Auburn and Auburn wanting to reassure the home crowd after last week has me believing we'll see the Tigers light it up this weekend.”

Fornelli added that he expects the Tigers to score at least 45 points in this matchup, which would be a great sign of life from a Tiger offense that looked ineffective against Baylor just last week.

For that to happen, though, a few key things will need to improve this weekend. For starters, the Tigers’ interior blocking was inconsistent at best against Baylor, largely due to the rotation of different players at the guard spots as head coach Alex Golesh looks to find the best men for the job.

That rotation is expected to persist into the Southern Miss game, though not only do the Tigers now know more about their players, but they also know that the Golden Eagles’ defensive line will likely not be as challenging as Baylor’s, which should build some confidence in the Tiger trenches ahead of Saturday’s kick.

Additionally, Byrum Brown, along with the offensive playcalling, will need to avoid turnovers as diligently as possible, as the Tigers’ newest quarterback threw three interceptions against Baylor, a far cry from the seven he threw all throughout the 2025 season.

Alex Golesh and co-offensive coordinator Joel Gordon have accepted responsibility for two of the three interceptions, but all parties involved will need to prove that the decision-making has improved week over week if the Tigers are to be believed in this season.

The Tigers are over 30-point favorites in their Week 2 matchup with the Golden Eagles, and they’ll certainly want to make the most of this matchup as they prepare for SEC play.

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