Football News: 7-21-2026
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Dudley Dent
Jul 21, 2026, 7:36:36 AM (5 days ago) Jul 21
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Auburn Football News: 7-21-2026
5 questions for Auburn at SEC Media Days:
https://247sports.com/college/auburn/article/auburn-tigers-football-sec-media-days-2026-alex-golesh-288415976/
5 questions I would like Alex Golesh to answer at SEC Media Days:
https://flywareagle.com/5-questions-i-would-like-alex-golesh-to-answer-at-sec-media-days-01ky0d86fmqg
Where to watch Auburn football at SEC Media Days on Tuesday:
https://auburnwire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/auburn/football/2026/07/20/auburn-football-tv-channel-sec-media-days-tuesday/90990584007/
John Cohen's hope for Year 1 of Alex Golesh era: 'Meet our fanbase halfway':
https://247sports.com/college/auburn/article/auburn-tigers-football-john-cohen-alex-golesh-sec-media-days-288427073/
Heupel says Golesh 'has a clear plan of what he wants to accomplish':
https://247sports.com/college/auburn/article/josh-heupel-talks-about-alex-golesh-and-what-he-brings-to-auburn-as-the-new-head-coach-288423658/
Sankey on officiating: 'There are limits to transparency':
https://247sports.com/college/auburn/article/sec-commissioner-greg-sankey-talks-about-the-transparency-around-officiating-288417561/
CBS Sports Believes This Is the Biggest Question Surrounding the Auburn Tigers Ahead of SEC Media Days:
https://www.si.com/college/auburn/football/cbs-sports-biggest-question-surrounding-the-auburn-tigers-ahead-of-sec-media-days
Why This ESPN Analyst Believes Auburn Has One of the Best Schedules in Football:
https://www.si.com/college/auburn/football/why-this-espn-analyst-believes-auburn-has-one-of-the-best-schedules-in-football
Auburn Labeled a ‘Trap Game’ for This SEC Opponent:
https://www.si.com/college/auburn/football/auburn-labeled-trap-game-ole-miss
One outlet labels Auburn as the toughest opponent on this team's slate:
https://auburnwire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/auburn/football/2026/07/20/auburn-football-named-toughest-opponent-on-southern-miss-2026-schedule/90978720007/
Expert views Auburn as a potential CFP crasher (and 1 surprising transfer is a key to that goal):
https://flywareagle.com/expert-views-auburn-potential-cfp-crasher-1-surprising-transfer-key-goal
Why Eli Drinkwitz thinks Gus Malzahn isn't done coaching yet:
https://flywareagle.com/why-eli-drinkwitz-thinks-gus-malzahn-isnt-done-coaching-yet
By Nathan King
Auburn 247
The circus has arrived.
SEC Media Days week is here, with the festivities getting under way Monday in Tampa. Alex Golesh, quarterback Byrum Brown, safety Champ Anthony and kicker Alex McPherson will take the stage Tuesday to represent Auburn. Golesh will take the main podium on SEC Network at 10:35 a.m. CT.
There's certainly a lot of ground to cover as Year 1 of the Golesh era approaches quickly. Here are five topics Auburn will most likely be posed to address Tuesday.
1. IS AUBURN READY FOR ITS 'IDENTITY?'
That's been Golesh's favorite word of the offseason, and as such, he's explained his philosophy a lot. Golesh sees an "identity" as a living, breathing thing for a team over the course of several months. During his introductory press conference, he said he tailors each offseason's blueprint around the most obvious strengths of his offense and his quarterback, and that can change year to year, even if the system is the same. For an Auburn fan base that heard Hugh Freeze harp, even amid a dreadful tenure, that "my offense has worked everywhere I've been," Golesh's outlook was a breath of fresh air.
Anyone who watched Golesh's offenses at USF or Tennessee knows what he's about. It's a run-first, quick-read system that thrives with a mobile quarterback. Hendon Hooker set records while running it with the Vols in 2022 (though not in that Georgia game), and the USF iterations included more of a running threat with Brown. One thing is for certain: Golesh wants to run the ball early and often. Byrum Brown's play action numbers were stellar last season, but only because of the threat of the ground game.
Golesh said he won't truly know exactly the identity of this Auburn offense and team until the leadup to the season. He and his staff wanted to use the spring to learn about their personnel, then truly dive into a plan of attack in the summer. So what did they learn, and are the Tigers ready to create an identity in fall camp?
Golesh also said summer workouts are a tremendously important time for the team to come together, and he challenged his leaders to create that identity on their own, with their teammates, away from the coaching staff. How much progress was made there, and how confident does Golesh feel about the core principles he's tried to instill so far?
2. WHAT DID GOLESH LEARN MOST FROM HIS TIME IN TAMPA?
Exactly five miles down the road from this year's SEC Media Days venue, Golesh coached his most recent college football game at Raymond James Stadium, the home venue for USF. Golesh led the Bulls to a 9-3 record last year, after taking over a program that went 1-11 in Jeff Scott's final season.
Golesh has long since turned the page to his new chapter at Auburn, but back in Tampa, there's going to be plenty of local media interest on that decision to take a job in the SEC, his time at USF and all the former Bulls players who came with him to the Plains.
At the end of the day, Golesh is only a fourth-year head coach, and he cut his teeth in the American Athletic Conference. USF had a winning record all three of his seasons there and was a completely different program by the time he left. But he's also now taking the jump to the SEC and a more challenging gauntlet year after year.
My prediction: Any question Golesh fields about his time at USF and how he's expecting to translate that success to Auburn will center around his staff. Golesh brought over offensive coordinator Joel Gordon, receivers coach Kodi Burns, offensive line coach Tyler Hudanick and cornerbacks coach Tyler Van Dyke from USF, along with a host of others on the support staff. Golesh has been adamant that his system is a shared braintrust, and that's going to remain the case at Auburn.
3. CAN BYRUM BROWN LEAD THE WAY?
It was a no-brainer that Brown, entering his fourth season as Golesh's starting quarterback, was one of the selections to represent the Tigers. It'd be a stunner if the fifth-year senior is not voted a team captain by his peers next month, too. Since the first day he arrived on campus, Brown has not only been a gravitational force for this locker room, but someone Golesh was not shy about propping up as the one-year face of the program. Golesh has limitless trust in his QB.
How will that translate to the field, and can Brown lead Auburn's offense to a competent season for the first time in years? The Tigers haven't had an offense that finished in the top 8 in the SEC in scoring since 2019. Yuck. Brown will not be perfect against Power Four competition every week, but his ceiling is quite high as a 6-foot-3 bulldozer with a cannon for an arm. His receivers were all good at USF, and there's no reason to think they can't be good in this system again. He also has his two-year starting center from USF, plus a running back and tight end.
For now, Tuesday in Tampa will be about Brown continuing to be a shining ambassador for his head coach and his new program. Auburn has propped him up since he arrived on campus, even sending him to alumni events with Golesh and Burns. There's no one Golesh is more sure about putting in front of a microphone and letting him share his story, his confidence in Golesh and his vision for a successful 2026 season with the Tigers — Brown's last in college.
4. WHERE WILL CHAMP FIT?
Champ Anthony just hasn't been able to kick his injury troubles the past couple seasons, starting with a broken leg that ended his 2024 campaign early, then a thumb and leg injury that significantly limited him last season. We've seen Anthony on crutches or on an exercise bike much more than we've seen him on the field recently.
So his selection for SEC Media Days speaks volumes about what Anthony is still able to provide in that locker room. A team captain last season, Anthony has been determined to remain a vocal leader for the Tigers' defense, even while on the sideline. But he'll soon be able to put on the pads.
Anthony is expected to be fully available for fall camp after seeing little usage in the spring while recovering from his second leg injury. The question is where he'll play in that safety and nickel room, which is one of Auburn's most crowded on the roster. Eric Winters, Sylvester Smith-Reed and Kaleb Harris comprised the starting safety rotation in the spring, while AnQuon Fegans seems to have settled nicely at nickel.
Where will Anthony contribute most often? The truth is that he's played every spot in the secondary for this Auburn team so far, and he looked tremendous at cornerback before his injury in 2024. Could he be re-introduced at corner and add to the competition there? Anthony will likely just say he's happy to be back on the field and will go wherever Durkin tells him. That's been the attitude that earned him this opportunity, after all.
5. WHERE WILL AUBURN BE PICKED?
Preseason prognostications by the media mean very little, but it will nonetheless be interesting to see what the perception of this Auburn team is when compared to the rest of the league. Bryan Harsin was doubted by the media from the start, and Freeze was an expert in underperforming with his roster talent.
The Tigers' win total is at 6.5 games right now, but what will the media have to say about Auburn in the SEC order of finish? The Tigers have not been selected higher than No. 9 in the conference since Gus Malzahn was the coach.
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5 questions I would like Alex Golesh to answer at SEC Media Days
By Brian Stultz
Fly War Eagle
Sure, Alex Golesh has been a part of several media days as the head coach at USF the previous three seasons, but nothing rivals what the first-year Auburn coach will face on Tuesday when he steps on the podium in Tampa during the 2026 version of SEC Media Days.
There will be a lot of questions surrounding rebuilding the Tigers’ program after five straight losing seasons, his first shot at being the head man at a Power 4 school and other issues that reporters from all over the Southeast and nation will want to know about the new figure on the Plains.
While I won’t be attending media days personally, there are some questions I would love to hear Golesh answer. Here are my top five:
1. What was the biggest problem you found in the Auburn football facility when you arrived?
With every new regime, there will be talk of a refreshing new start for players, the coaches left over and the staff who have worked in the football facility under previous head coaches. Some players have already commented on it during spring practice, but it would be nice to hear what Golesh thinks the vibe is like inside the facility; something he and only a few can fully get a grasp on.
2. What makes you so confident that Byrum Brown and the other transfers that followed you from USF can make the leap to the SEC?
It’s not new for a coach to bring players he is comfortable with to his new school, but with the addition of Brown and several wide receivers from USF who will be counted on to be productive, Golesh is putting a lot of eggs in their baskets to make the proverbial leap from the American Conference to arguably the nation’s deepest and most talented.
3. What has been the biggest lesson you’ve learned in your first six months on the job?
Taking over a program that requires a major rebuild is exhausting, and lessons will ultimately be learned by making mistakes. I wonder what Golesh’s biggest learning curve has been since he moved to the Plains.
4. How can you rebuild the confidence and swagger that Auburn’s offense has been missing the past several seasons?
If the Tigers have been missing anything the last several seasons, it has been confidence on offense, especially in SEC play. Last year, it ultimately cost Auburn some wins as Jackson Arnold and company couldn’t get the job done despite the defense keeping them in games. How fast can Brown fix that?
5. Do you realize how important it is to beat Alabama and Georgia?
Needless to say, not beating Auburn’s two biggest rivals is the ultimate sin by any head coach on the Plains, no matter what sport they are in charge of. This is extremely true in football as the Tigers have lost nine straight to the Bulldogs and six straight to the Crimson Tide. To have his name remembered in Auburn in a good way, Golesh will need to beat those two and quickly.
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Where to watch Auburn football at SEC Media Days on Tuesday
By Taylor Jones
Auburn Wire
Day two of SEC Media Days gets underway on Tuesday with the Auburn Tigers taking the podium first.
Quarterback Byrum Brown, defensive back Champ Anthony, and kicker Alex McPherson will join first-year head coach Alex Golesh at the Tampa Marriott on Tuesday, the first SEC Media Days held in the state of Florida. It will be a homecoming of sorts for Golesh, as he returns to Tampa after serving as head coach for the USF Bulls from 2023-25.
The hottest topics from the first day of SEC Media Days included the nine-game SEC schedule format, transparency in officiating, and the possibility of the SEC breaking away from the NCAA. Golesh may field questions about those topics, as well as some surrounding his return to the SEC after spending time with Josh Heupel at Tennessee.
Brown is viewed as one of the top quarterbacks in the SEC and is the first true dual-threat quarterback Auburn football has had in a few seasons. Expect Brown to field questions surrounding his transition to Auburn and how helpful it is that so many of his teammates and coaches from USF made the move with him.
Do not miss the action on Tuesday as Auburn takes the stage at SEC Media Days. Below, you will find key information for Auburn's day at SEC Media Days, including a viewing guide and interview schedule.
Where to watch Auburn at SEC Media Days
Time: 8 a.m. CT until 11:40 a.m. CT
Channel: SEC Network
Who will represent Auburn at SEC Media Days?
Head coach Alex Golesh
Quarterback Byrum Brown
Defensive back Champ Anthony
Kicker Alex McPherson
Auburn football SEC Media Days schedule
Alex Golesh
8:30-9:10 ESPN
9:35-9:50 SEC Network set
10:35-11:05 Main media
Byrum Brown
10:35-11:15 ESPN
11:20-11:40 Main media
Champ Anthony
9:40-10:20 ESPN
11:20-1140 Main media
Alex McPherson
9:10-9:50 ESPN
11:20-11:40 Main media
Who else will be at SEC Media Days on Tuesday?
Morning session:
John McDaid, SEC Coordinator of Football Officials
Georgia Bulldogs
Auburn Tigers
Afternoon session
South Carolina Gamecocks
Vanderbilt Commodores
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John Cohen's hope for Year 1 of Alex Golesh era: 'Meet our fanbase halfway'
By Nathan King
Auburn 247
Not far from where Auburn athletic director John Cohen and head coach Alex Golesh were set to host an alumni event Monday, on the eve of SEC Media Days, they were having a much different conversation seven months ago.
It was then that Cohen was vetting Golesh, who was USF's head coach just down the road in Tampa Bay, while deep in Auburn's search to replace Hugh Freeze. The process took a major turn at the end, with Tulane's Jon Sumrall pivoting to Florida after heavily reported interest in Auburn, and Golesh was the hire.
You blink, and that search feels like an enternity ago. Golesh quickly assembled his staff and USF-flavored roster, and now is almost finished with his first Auburn offseason. He'll take the stage Tuesday as an SEC head coach for the first time, and Auburn fall camp will begin just over two weeks later. Then it's football season.
As Cohen thinks back on the decision to make Golesh the next Auburn coach — and what he wants to see from the program as the new regime begins in early September — he can't help but think about those sitting in the stands first and foremost.
"We have to meet our fanbase halfway — more than halfway," Cohen said during a conversation with reporters Monday evening in Tampa. "Our fanbase has given and given and given and shown up and supported in every way imaginable. That's what I think about."
Cohen's first hire at Auburn, Hugh Freeze, came just a few weeks after he himself arrived on campus to take over as athletic director. The Tigers saw success in some areas — mainly recruiting — but not winning. As Auburn extended its streak of five straight losing seasons, Freeze was canned in early November following a fitting performance, losing 10-3 at home to Kentucky.
Auburn has won no more than three SEC games over the past five seasons. An Auburn student has not seen his or her school beat Alabama since 2019 — and Georgia since 2017.
Cohen said just a few days ago, at a sendoff party in Tuscaloosa for soon-to-be Auburn students, he felt the excitement of a new era for the football team. He wants to ensure the program delivers.
"They're genuinely excited about the future — not only their own future at Auburn University, but the future of the football program and all of our programs," Cohen said. "We owe those people there, those folks are investing in Auburn in every imaginable way. We have to meet them halfway, and almost every decision we make is directly influenced by us wanting to meet our fan base halfway."
Despite all the recent failures, there's a reason the Auburn job continues to be considered a strong one every time it comes open. The Tigers have great resources — look no further than the fact that Golesh already has a top-10 recruiting class, and the program's NIL funding has been aggressive — and to top it off, it's an objectively unflappable fanbase.
Auburn fans just keep showing up — and that's not even mentioning the existing and soon-to-come upgrades to Jordan-Hare Stadium.
"Do I think about Coach Golesh and his staff and our football team continuously? Absolutely," Cohen said. "But equally, I think about our fan base and what they deserve."
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Heupel says Golesh 'has a clear plan of what he wants to accomplish'
By Jason Caldwell
Auburn 247
There are very few people in the profession that know Alex Golesh as well as Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel. Hiring Golesh as his co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at UCF in 2021, the two worked together two seasons in Orlando before they made the move together to Tennessee.
After one season in Knoxville, Golesh made the move to Tampa to take over the South Florida program and now is back in the Southeastern Conference at Auburn. Turning around the Bulls in his three seasons at the helm, Golesh is someone that Heupel believes is ready for his opportunity because of the work he's put in and the way he's gone about his business.
"Excited for Alex, like other guys we've had on our staff who've been able to go on and be a head coach; Jeff (Lebby), inside of this league and Jerry Mack at Kennesaw," Heupel said. "Alex has done a really good job. Did a great job flipping around his previous stop. He's smart. He's got a clear plan on what he wants to accomplish and he's going to demand it from the people around him."
The connections between Heupel and Auburn don't end with Golesh. The Auburn staff is littered with guys that either coached with Heupel or played for him at either UCF or Tennessee. Tim Banks was his defensive coordinator in Knoxville and is now Auburn's safeties coach. Kodi Burns was a wide receiver coach at Tennessee for one season before moving on. Auburn OL coach Tyler Hudanick played for and coached with Heupel while assistant Parker Ball played at Tennessee.
That makes Oct. 3 game at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville one that will get plenty of attention by Heupel and his staff this year.
"It's week five I believe, so it's more towards the middle part of your season," Heupel said of the matchup. "There is a lot of familiarity with guys that are on that staff, guys that were a part of our coaching staff as young coaches, guys that played for us at a previous stop. A ton of respect for the guys that are inside of that building. It will be unique, it always is when you face somebody that has that type of familiarity and you've sat in the war room with as you're designing game plans and getting ready for battle. It will be an exciting one."
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Sankey on officiating: 'There are limits to transparency'
By Jason Caldwell
There is no question that one of the talking points heading into the 2026 athletic year surrounds officiating. After numerous missed or questionable calls last season in football and basketball, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and the league has some explaining to do on the subject. With the Atlantic Coast Conference becoming more transparent about how the officiating process works with cameras and mics picking up the conversations between the on-field officials and replay officials, is the SEC ready to make that move as well?
The answer from Sankey was a long one, but in the end that's a no.
"Every week officials go on a football field or a basketball court or a softball field, baseball field, and everything they do is transparent," Sankey said. "You can't hide if you put on an officiating uniform. We've been innovators in replay with the motivation to get it right. That provides transparency as well.
"In fact, we're the conference that implemented in our conference tournament the Automated Balls and Strikes (ABS) format. You can't be any more transparent than that reality. We pushed that to seek the opportunity to allow that in the regular season. We'll continue to do that.
"There are limits to transparency. When an error is made in a game, scholarships are not pulled for a player for one incident. They don't lose their starting job. Every week we provide feedback to officials. We don't publish that. I also have a great deal of respect for people that are willing to put themselves in the venues of the Southeastern Conference to conduct that activity. I think we have found a reasonable balance. Reasonable people can disagree with that.
"The elements we've added and the steps we've taken to try to get it right are evidence of our motivation and willingness, quite candidly, to be transparent."
Auburn was on the wrong end of several of those very questionable calls last season. The most obvious came in a loss to Oklahoma when the Sooners walked a player off the sidelines and threw him the ball for a touchdown, illegally. Then you had the call on the goal line vs. Georgia when Jackson Arnold was ruled to have fumbled the ball.
In basketball, KeShawn Murphy's buzzer beater to knock off Texas A&M was overturned in what wound up being a huge game for the Tigers a season ago.
The calls might not have been different, but there's no question that the frustration felt by fans, coaches and players was real. Sankey said they continue to have those discussions with their programs, but some of those aren't things that the average fans will know.
"Our coaches have the opportunity to submit all plays for review," Sankey said. "That information is evaluated and communicated back to our campuses. The expectation is that information, the back and forth be communicated in a confidential manner. That's not transparent and I'm being transparent about that by the way.
"That's the deal. When I talked about transparency, there are no editors in officiating unless you consider replay to be editors. You're in real time with between 12 and 48 cameras in football evaluating your performance. Is everyone happy all the time? No.
"But I saw that yesterday during the World Cup. I saw it last week and the week before during the World Cup. I saw it during the NBA Playoffs. I have watched it with ABS in Major League Baseball. We have humans making instant decisions in a dynamic situation. I think our officials do a remarkably effective job in managing those situations, imperfect though it may be."
Sankey said all that to say, nothing has changed. You'll get the reviews and the decisions made and that's all you'll get.
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CBS Sports Believes This Is the Biggest Question Surrounding the Auburn Tigers Ahead of SEC Media Days
By Brooks Crew
Auburn Tigers on SI
After a long offseason of recruiting, spring practice and a host of other tasks for new Auburn Tigers head coach Alex Golesh, the time has finally come for him and the Tigers to make the trip to Tampa for SEC Media Days. Of course, with so many changes occurring on the Plains over the past few months, there will be a host of questions for the Tigers’ new skipper, but one question may stand above them all, according to CBS Sports.
The question itself is simple: ‘Are the dark days over?’ However, as is the nature of the sport, Tiger fans will, unfortunately, not have an answer to that question until the season kicks off and they see their team in action.
After all, the Tigers have not turned in a winning season since 2020, the year Gus Malzahn was fired, and have not beaten Alabama, their bitterest rival, in the same time. The program is now on its third head coach since then, as neither Bryan Harsin nor Hugh Freeze worked out, and Tiger fans are growing weary of watching their team consistently disappoint.
There is a host of evidence that the program is trending in the right direction, though. Byrum Brown, a Golesh piece from USF, is the first starting quarterback with no major issues that the Tigers have had in some time, as Payton Thorne struggled with interceptions while Jackson Arnold was sacked more than any quarterback in the SEC while he was active.
In fact, he is expected to be a massive difference-maker on the Plains this year, something Tiger fans have not been able to anticipate for quite a few years now. Additionally, the Tigers’ rushing core seems stronger than ever with the additions of Bryson Washington, Nykahi Davenport and others, and Golesh has been clear that he is looking to utilize each to the best of their abilities.
The passing game is still largely a question mark at this point in the season, especially since most of the Tigers’ receivers are transplants from USF, which may prove to be a double-edged sword for Golesh. Sure, the familiarity with Brown should make offensive installation much easier and more consistent, but the question still remains as to whether or not they will be able to compete against SEC defenses.
Defensively, the Tigers are poised for another dominant season, despite the losses of Keldric Faulk and Keyron Crawford to the NFL Draft, as well as a few other notable losses to the transfer portal. Golesh and returning defensive coordinator DJ Durkin have worked tirelessly to get the Tigers’ defense back where it needs to be, and it will certainly be interesting to see how they perform when SEC play kicks off in mid-September.
So, though Tiger fans may not have an answer to their most burning question in the near future, the evidence shows that, at the very least, the program is trending in the right direction. All Golesh has to do now is keep them on that path.
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Why This ESPN Analyst Believes Auburn Has One of the Best Schedules in Football
By Brooks Crew
Auburn Tigers on SI
The Auburn Tigers are set for an interesting season under first-year head coach Alex Golesh, especially given their schedule.
Some believe that the Tigers have one of the more difficult schedules in football–ESPN’s FPI ranked it as the 13th-toughest in the nation–but ESPN analyst Greg McElroy sees a significant opportunity for the Tigers.
“This one’s a bit of a fascinating exercise,” he said. “A first-year coach’s honeymoon does not usually come with a schedule that is this forgiving… according to the math, they are the second-most gettable schedule in the league.”
This almost directly competes with ESPN FPI’s perception of the Tigers’ schedule, so who is right? In my opinion, both and neither. The Football Power Index is a measure of how teams would be expected to perform on a neutral field, so there is certainly a gap there, but I also don’t think Auburn’s schedule is as easy by any stretch.
After all, the Tigers are set to play a brutal in-conference stretch of Tennessee, Georgia, LSU and Ole Miss, all in a row, while also tacking on matchups with Alabama and Florida in more isolated events. McElroy speculates that the Tigers’ new-look roster could find an advantage in their home games, but the only team on that four-game stretch that is set to visit the Plains is LSU.
However, the Tigers do have a schedule that should set them up for improvement over last year’s 5-7 record, as if they are able to take down Baylor, Southern Miss, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Samford, which are all games that the Tigers are expected to win, they will already be at the level they were at last season. Add on a win over Vanderbilt or Florida, and the Tigers are already at .500, better than any Tiger record since 2020.
However, if the Tigers want to rise above expectations and make the most of this schedule, a few key road wins will be crucial, and they are unlikely to come easily, especially given the caliber of teams the Tigers are set to play. There really isn’t an ‘easy’ matchup in the Tigers’ four-game stretch in October, but if they can steal one on their visits to Ole Miss or Tennessee, or in their lone October home matchup against LSU, they could be poised for a much deeper run than many expected from Golesh.
Of course, rivalry games can go in just about any direction, but the fact that the Tigers will play both Georgia and Alabama in their respective homes makes the odds that much slimmer for Golesh in his first year.
So, though the Tigers’ schedule certainly is not the most difficult in the country, it is also definitely not the easiest, at least as far as optics are concerned. Odds and predictions, as they always do, will change as we begin to see all of these teams hit the field in September, which is likely the first real time we will fully understand the depth of Auburn’s schedule.
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Auburn Labeled a ‘Trap Game’ for This SEC Opponent
By Brooks Crew
Auburn Tigers on SI
Admittedly, the Auburn Tigers have struggled immensely over the past few years, but that doesn’t mean they have been, are or will be a write-off, especially in SEC play.
ESPN’s Greg McElroy seems to concur with that idea, as recently, he labeled Auburn’s Halloween night matchup with Ole Miss as a trap game for the Rebels.
For those who are not familiar with the idea of a ‘trap game,’ it typically refers to a game against a weaker opponent that typically precedes a later matchup with a very strong opponent, in which a team can get so focused on the big opponent that they can slack off in their preparation for what they consider to be a lesser opponent.
The Tigers have consistently proven to be a problem for higher-ranked teams, even in years where it seems nothing can go their way. Take last year’s matchup against Georgia, for example; Kirby Smart had to right the ship at halftime, as his Bulldogs were struggling against an abysmal Auburn team, likely due, at least in part, to their looming matchup with (ironically) then-No. 6 Ole Miss.
In that matchup, Auburn’s awful offense continued to be awful, but the Bulldogs were only able to put up 20 points on the Tigers’ defense, a stark contrast from their typical scoring habits throughout the season. This is the nature of a trap game: if Auburn had been anywhere near alive on offense in that matchup, they could have very well stolen the win from Georgia.
So, what makes Auburn a trap game for Ole Miss? Exactly one week after their Halloween matchup, the Rebels will head to Athens to take on the (ironically, again!) Georgia Bulldogs, who are expected to be one of the premier teams in the country this year. Pete Golding will need to make sure he keeps his players in the moment and not focused on the Bulldogs if he wants a treat and not a trick that evening.
Additionally, this year’s Ole Miss team will likely not have the luxury of sitting back and watching a flailing Auburn offense struggle while they look ahead to next week, as Byrum Brown and the Tigers’ rushing core are looking to be among the best pieces in the SEC. Defensively, the Tigers appear prepped for yet another dominant season, which could spell trouble for the Rebels if they are not prepared for the Tigers’ typical onslaught.
Of course, by the time this game rolls around, the Tigers could be undefeated and a clear threat, winless and a clear win or anything in between, and the same goes for the Rebels. However, if the season plays out as many expect it to, with Auburn improving over last season, the Rebels will need to be on their guard during a game that could make the spookiest night of the year even scarier.
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One outlet labels Auburn as the toughest opponent on this team's slate
By Taylor Jones
Auburn Wire
The expectation for Auburn football in 2026 is not very high, according to the national media. Still, the Tigers will provide a quality challenge for most opponents on their schedule.
Davis Wilson, who covers the Southern Miss Golden Eagles for the Hattiesburg American, recently broke down Southern Miss' 2026 slate and ranked each opponent from easiest to hardest. Southern Miss plays only one Power Conference foe, the Auburn Tigers, on Saturday, Sept. 12. Because of this, it is no surprise that Auburn takes the No. 1 slot in Wilson's ranking as the toughest opponent the Golden Eagles will face this season.
Wilson believes that Auburn's talent will give Southern Miss fits. It also does not benefit the visitors from the Pine Belt that the game will be played at night inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.
"Not much needs to be said about this matchup. Auburn finished 5-7 overall and 1-7 in the SEC last season, but it is by far the most talented team the Golden Eagles will see this season. This being a road game makes it that much more difficult," writes Wilson.
The 2026 season, at least early on, will be hard to predict for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. Southern Miss enters the season with a new head coach in Blake Anderson, who takes over for Charles Huff after he bolted for Memphis just one season into his tenure with the black and gold.
After 17 Southern Miss players followed Huff to Memphis, Anderson is left with three returning starters from last year's squad. However, there are several incoming Power Four transfers looking to break out, and could do so with Southern Miss. Auburn head coach Alex Golesh experienced a similar result as Huff after he left USF for Auburn, as several of his key playmakers followed him to the Plains.
Auburn's Sept. 12 game against Southern Miss will be the second game of the season, and the first home game of the Alex Golesh era. Early forecasts from ESPN's Football Power Index show that Auburn will emerge victorious over the Golden Eagles with a 91.4% chance of victory, the second-highest probability outside of Auburn's November matchup with Samford, where Auburn has a 99.0% chance of victory.
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Expert views Auburn as a potential CFP crasher (and 1 surprising transfer is a key to that goal)
By Andrew Hughes
Fly War Eagle
The Auburn Tigers have had a quiet offseason by and large. Some are expecting more of the same from AU during the 2026 season, that is, losing a lot of football games, with first-year head coach Alex Golesh needing to restock the cupboards after a mass transfer portal exodus.
CBS Sports' Brad Crawford is not among the pessimists. In fact, Crawford listed the Tigers as one of several potential CFP crashers among a group of programs that had a heavy overhaul in the transfer portal.
Crawford shouted out the usual suspects -- USF Bulls transfer quarterback Byrum Brown, returning All-SEC linebacker Xavier Atkins, returning RB1 Jeremiah Cobb -- but also listed a curious transfer who hasn't gotten much hype this offseason, Arkansas State Red Wolves transfer defensive tackle Cody Sigler, to make his case.
"Tailback Jeremiah Cobb is Auburn's only returning starter offensively as the Alex Golesh era begins on The Plains. After winning big at South Florida following his tenure as Tennessee's offensive mastermind, Golesh brings with him several of his top players from the Bulls, including Brown -- his dual-threat quarterback -- and a bevy of pass-catchers. There are fewer unknowns on D.J. Durkin's side of the football, which should be the Tigers' team strength this fall. Xavier Atkins is a returning All-SEC linebacker and one of Auburn's defensive MVPs during the spring. Sigler adds noticeable power in the middle of the defense," Crawford wrote.
Cody Sigler brings raw power to the DT spot
Sigler was a three-tech at Arkansas State, using a relentless motor to power his way into the backfield. At over 300 pounds, Sigler has the size to be a one-tech, though he is at his best bum-rushing the quarterback and stopping running backs behind the line of scrimmage.
There are questions about Sigler's ability to adapt to SEC defenders, which is a legitimate worry. After all, there's no greater difference in stepping up competitively in college football than in the trenches. Still, that means Sigler gets to benefit from playing next to nose tackle monsters like Dallas Walker IV, Jourdin Crawford, and Malik Autry.
Vontrell King-Williams will play a major role
For years, Auburn has been a problem for opposing offenses. Particularly, the run-stopping on the Plains has been elite. DJ Durkin's specialty is the linebacker position, but Vontrell King-Williams has been slowly rising through the ranks to become one of the coaching staff's most valuable pieces.
VKW started as a DT coach with the Tigers but has since taken over the entire DL. Run-stopping has been the team's strength during that time. Auburn had 79 total TFLs during the 2025 season, which was a strong mark, but one that can be improved upon.
Bringing on an athlete like Sigler can help, but only if he has counters to well-executed blocking schemes that limit his initial rush. That's where VKW's development comes in handy.
We'll see if VKW can take another step forward in his climb up the coaching ladder this fall. Sigler's development could help launch VKW onto the map if everything breaks right.
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Why Eli Drinkwitz thinks Gus Malzahn isn't done coaching yet
By Andrew Hughes
Fly War Eagle
Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz got his career started on the Plains working with then-offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn as a quality control assistant for the Auburn Tigers. Drinkwitz and Malzahn have maintained a close relationship since their championship season together. Maybe, then, Drinkwitz knows something about Malzahn's future moves after Gus retired this past February, following a year with the Florida State Seminoles as lead play-caller under Mike Norvell, and subsequently joined the CFP committee.
Drinkwitz commented on Malzahn at 2026 SEC Football Media Days, saying, "He's gonna watch all these teams and want one more shot at it." Malzahn was appointed to the CFP committee for a three-year stint in March.
Will Malzahn finish those three years? Can Gus make a return to college football?
Arkansas continues to be an alluring job to Gus Malzahn, but it's unlikely
Ryan Silverfield took over the Arkansas Razorbacks' job after Sam Pittman's firing, and to say the buzz is muted in Fayetteville about it would be an understatement. Could Malzahn be a potential option to replace Silverfield if the Hogs fail to improve over the next year or two?
Probably not. While Malzahn has strong ties to the state after coaching at three different high schools in Arkansas, play-calling for the Razorbacks for a year, and serving as the Arkansas State Red Wolves' head coach before arriving at AU, he probably doesn't want to join a situation that may be less than ideal indefinitely because of the financial investment in John Calipari's basketball program.
Could Eli Drinkwitz hire Gus Malzahn to eventually replace Chip Lindsey?
Maybe Drink could hire Gus directly. Chip Lindsey was brought on as Mizzou's lead play-caller for the 2026 season, but the Madison, Alabama, native hasn't stayed at a collegiate coaching job for longer than three years. The one job Lindsey did stay at was the Troy Trojans' head coaching job. Odds are, Lindsey is trying to coach his way back into head coaching consideration, and the Tigers are his springboard.
The student becoming the teacher is an interesting concept, though Malzahn would likely be given full autonomy over the offense. Still, Malzahn making his way to Missouri almost certainly isn't what Drink was hinting at. A head coaching job probably is, but that doesn't even feel all that likely. If Gus wanted to be a head coach, he probably could've gotten one of the many jobs that became available in the last hiring cycle.
Could Gus Malzahn return to Auburn in some capacity?
Truthfully, the likeliest scenario for Gus, based on his social media activity, his decision to move back to East Central Alabama after retiring, and his proximity to Alex Golesh's program, is a return to Auburn in some form.
If the university can find a similar role for Malzahn that Bruce Pearl had, all parties would likely be happy. Given how bad things have been for the football program since he left, having Malzahn back in any capacity could be a feel-good move that'd help bring the feeling back.
Golesh reveres the Tigers' history. Malzahn is an indelible part of Auburn football's lore. Who says no?
5 questions for Auburn at SEC Media Days:
https://247sports.com/college/auburn/article/auburn-tigers-football-sec-media-days-2026-alex-golesh-288415976/
5 questions I would like Alex Golesh to answer at SEC Media Days:
https://flywareagle.com/5-questions-i-would-like-alex-golesh-to-answer-at-sec-media-days-01ky0d86fmqg
Where to watch Auburn football at SEC Media Days on Tuesday:
https://auburnwire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/auburn/football/2026/07/20/auburn-football-tv-channel-sec-media-days-tuesday/90990584007/
John Cohen's hope for Year 1 of Alex Golesh era: 'Meet our fanbase halfway':
https://247sports.com/college/auburn/article/auburn-tigers-football-john-cohen-alex-golesh-sec-media-days-288427073/
Heupel says Golesh 'has a clear plan of what he wants to accomplish':
https://247sports.com/college/auburn/article/josh-heupel-talks-about-alex-golesh-and-what-he-brings-to-auburn-as-the-new-head-coach-288423658/
Sankey on officiating: 'There are limits to transparency':
https://247sports.com/college/auburn/article/sec-commissioner-greg-sankey-talks-about-the-transparency-around-officiating-288417561/
CBS Sports Believes This Is the Biggest Question Surrounding the Auburn Tigers Ahead of SEC Media Days:
https://www.si.com/college/auburn/football/cbs-sports-biggest-question-surrounding-the-auburn-tigers-ahead-of-sec-media-days
Why This ESPN Analyst Believes Auburn Has One of the Best Schedules in Football:
https://www.si.com/college/auburn/football/why-this-espn-analyst-believes-auburn-has-one-of-the-best-schedules-in-football
Auburn Labeled a ‘Trap Game’ for This SEC Opponent:
https://www.si.com/college/auburn/football/auburn-labeled-trap-game-ole-miss
One outlet labels Auburn as the toughest opponent on this team's slate:
https://auburnwire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/auburn/football/2026/07/20/auburn-football-named-toughest-opponent-on-southern-miss-2026-schedule/90978720007/
Expert views Auburn as a potential CFP crasher (and 1 surprising transfer is a key to that goal):
https://flywareagle.com/expert-views-auburn-potential-cfp-crasher-1-surprising-transfer-key-goal
Why Eli Drinkwitz thinks Gus Malzahn isn't done coaching yet:
https://flywareagle.com/why-eli-drinkwitz-thinks-gus-malzahn-isnt-done-coaching-yet
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5 questions for Auburn at SEC Media Days
By Nathan King
Auburn 247
The circus has arrived.
SEC Media Days week is here, with the festivities getting under way Monday in Tampa. Alex Golesh, quarterback Byrum Brown, safety Champ Anthony and kicker Alex McPherson will take the stage Tuesday to represent Auburn. Golesh will take the main podium on SEC Network at 10:35 a.m. CT.
There's certainly a lot of ground to cover as Year 1 of the Golesh era approaches quickly. Here are five topics Auburn will most likely be posed to address Tuesday.
1. IS AUBURN READY FOR ITS 'IDENTITY?'
That's been Golesh's favorite word of the offseason, and as such, he's explained his philosophy a lot. Golesh sees an "identity" as a living, breathing thing for a team over the course of several months. During his introductory press conference, he said he tailors each offseason's blueprint around the most obvious strengths of his offense and his quarterback, and that can change year to year, even if the system is the same. For an Auburn fan base that heard Hugh Freeze harp, even amid a dreadful tenure, that "my offense has worked everywhere I've been," Golesh's outlook was a breath of fresh air.
Anyone who watched Golesh's offenses at USF or Tennessee knows what he's about. It's a run-first, quick-read system that thrives with a mobile quarterback. Hendon Hooker set records while running it with the Vols in 2022 (though not in that Georgia game), and the USF iterations included more of a running threat with Brown. One thing is for certain: Golesh wants to run the ball early and often. Byrum Brown's play action numbers were stellar last season, but only because of the threat of the ground game.
Golesh said he won't truly know exactly the identity of this Auburn offense and team until the leadup to the season. He and his staff wanted to use the spring to learn about their personnel, then truly dive into a plan of attack in the summer. So what did they learn, and are the Tigers ready to create an identity in fall camp?
Golesh also said summer workouts are a tremendously important time for the team to come together, and he challenged his leaders to create that identity on their own, with their teammates, away from the coaching staff. How much progress was made there, and how confident does Golesh feel about the core principles he's tried to instill so far?
2. WHAT DID GOLESH LEARN MOST FROM HIS TIME IN TAMPA?
Exactly five miles down the road from this year's SEC Media Days venue, Golesh coached his most recent college football game at Raymond James Stadium, the home venue for USF. Golesh led the Bulls to a 9-3 record last year, after taking over a program that went 1-11 in Jeff Scott's final season.
Golesh has long since turned the page to his new chapter at Auburn, but back in Tampa, there's going to be plenty of local media interest on that decision to take a job in the SEC, his time at USF and all the former Bulls players who came with him to the Plains.
At the end of the day, Golesh is only a fourth-year head coach, and he cut his teeth in the American Athletic Conference. USF had a winning record all three of his seasons there and was a completely different program by the time he left. But he's also now taking the jump to the SEC and a more challenging gauntlet year after year.
My prediction: Any question Golesh fields about his time at USF and how he's expecting to translate that success to Auburn will center around his staff. Golesh brought over offensive coordinator Joel Gordon, receivers coach Kodi Burns, offensive line coach Tyler Hudanick and cornerbacks coach Tyler Van Dyke from USF, along with a host of others on the support staff. Golesh has been adamant that his system is a shared braintrust, and that's going to remain the case at Auburn.
3. CAN BYRUM BROWN LEAD THE WAY?
It was a no-brainer that Brown, entering his fourth season as Golesh's starting quarterback, was one of the selections to represent the Tigers. It'd be a stunner if the fifth-year senior is not voted a team captain by his peers next month, too. Since the first day he arrived on campus, Brown has not only been a gravitational force for this locker room, but someone Golesh was not shy about propping up as the one-year face of the program. Golesh has limitless trust in his QB.
How will that translate to the field, and can Brown lead Auburn's offense to a competent season for the first time in years? The Tigers haven't had an offense that finished in the top 8 in the SEC in scoring since 2019. Yuck. Brown will not be perfect against Power Four competition every week, but his ceiling is quite high as a 6-foot-3 bulldozer with a cannon for an arm. His receivers were all good at USF, and there's no reason to think they can't be good in this system again. He also has his two-year starting center from USF, plus a running back and tight end.
For now, Tuesday in Tampa will be about Brown continuing to be a shining ambassador for his head coach and his new program. Auburn has propped him up since he arrived on campus, even sending him to alumni events with Golesh and Burns. There's no one Golesh is more sure about putting in front of a microphone and letting him share his story, his confidence in Golesh and his vision for a successful 2026 season with the Tigers — Brown's last in college.
4. WHERE WILL CHAMP FIT?
Champ Anthony just hasn't been able to kick his injury troubles the past couple seasons, starting with a broken leg that ended his 2024 campaign early, then a thumb and leg injury that significantly limited him last season. We've seen Anthony on crutches or on an exercise bike much more than we've seen him on the field recently.
So his selection for SEC Media Days speaks volumes about what Anthony is still able to provide in that locker room. A team captain last season, Anthony has been determined to remain a vocal leader for the Tigers' defense, even while on the sideline. But he'll soon be able to put on the pads.
Anthony is expected to be fully available for fall camp after seeing little usage in the spring while recovering from his second leg injury. The question is where he'll play in that safety and nickel room, which is one of Auburn's most crowded on the roster. Eric Winters, Sylvester Smith-Reed and Kaleb Harris comprised the starting safety rotation in the spring, while AnQuon Fegans seems to have settled nicely at nickel.
Where will Anthony contribute most often? The truth is that he's played every spot in the secondary for this Auburn team so far, and he looked tremendous at cornerback before his injury in 2024. Could he be re-introduced at corner and add to the competition there? Anthony will likely just say he's happy to be back on the field and will go wherever Durkin tells him. That's been the attitude that earned him this opportunity, after all.
5. WHERE WILL AUBURN BE PICKED?
Preseason prognostications by the media mean very little, but it will nonetheless be interesting to see what the perception of this Auburn team is when compared to the rest of the league. Bryan Harsin was doubted by the media from the start, and Freeze was an expert in underperforming with his roster talent.
The Tigers' win total is at 6.5 games right now, but what will the media have to say about Auburn in the SEC order of finish? The Tigers have not been selected higher than No. 9 in the conference since Gus Malzahn was the coach.
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5 questions I would like Alex Golesh to answer at SEC Media Days
By Brian Stultz
Fly War Eagle
Sure, Alex Golesh has been a part of several media days as the head coach at USF the previous three seasons, but nothing rivals what the first-year Auburn coach will face on Tuesday when he steps on the podium in Tampa during the 2026 version of SEC Media Days.
There will be a lot of questions surrounding rebuilding the Tigers’ program after five straight losing seasons, his first shot at being the head man at a Power 4 school and other issues that reporters from all over the Southeast and nation will want to know about the new figure on the Plains.
While I won’t be attending media days personally, there are some questions I would love to hear Golesh answer. Here are my top five:
1. What was the biggest problem you found in the Auburn football facility when you arrived?
With every new regime, there will be talk of a refreshing new start for players, the coaches left over and the staff who have worked in the football facility under previous head coaches. Some players have already commented on it during spring practice, but it would be nice to hear what Golesh thinks the vibe is like inside the facility; something he and only a few can fully get a grasp on.
2. What makes you so confident that Byrum Brown and the other transfers that followed you from USF can make the leap to the SEC?
It’s not new for a coach to bring players he is comfortable with to his new school, but with the addition of Brown and several wide receivers from USF who will be counted on to be productive, Golesh is putting a lot of eggs in their baskets to make the proverbial leap from the American Conference to arguably the nation’s deepest and most talented.
3. What has been the biggest lesson you’ve learned in your first six months on the job?
Taking over a program that requires a major rebuild is exhausting, and lessons will ultimately be learned by making mistakes. I wonder what Golesh’s biggest learning curve has been since he moved to the Plains.
4. How can you rebuild the confidence and swagger that Auburn’s offense has been missing the past several seasons?
If the Tigers have been missing anything the last several seasons, it has been confidence on offense, especially in SEC play. Last year, it ultimately cost Auburn some wins as Jackson Arnold and company couldn’t get the job done despite the defense keeping them in games. How fast can Brown fix that?
5. Do you realize how important it is to beat Alabama and Georgia?
Needless to say, not beating Auburn’s two biggest rivals is the ultimate sin by any head coach on the Plains, no matter what sport they are in charge of. This is extremely true in football as the Tigers have lost nine straight to the Bulldogs and six straight to the Crimson Tide. To have his name remembered in Auburn in a good way, Golesh will need to beat those two and quickly.
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Where to watch Auburn football at SEC Media Days on Tuesday
By Taylor Jones
Auburn Wire
Day two of SEC Media Days gets underway on Tuesday with the Auburn Tigers taking the podium first.
Quarterback Byrum Brown, defensive back Champ Anthony, and kicker Alex McPherson will join first-year head coach Alex Golesh at the Tampa Marriott on Tuesday, the first SEC Media Days held in the state of Florida. It will be a homecoming of sorts for Golesh, as he returns to Tampa after serving as head coach for the USF Bulls from 2023-25.
The hottest topics from the first day of SEC Media Days included the nine-game SEC schedule format, transparency in officiating, and the possibility of the SEC breaking away from the NCAA. Golesh may field questions about those topics, as well as some surrounding his return to the SEC after spending time with Josh Heupel at Tennessee.
Brown is viewed as one of the top quarterbacks in the SEC and is the first true dual-threat quarterback Auburn football has had in a few seasons. Expect Brown to field questions surrounding his transition to Auburn and how helpful it is that so many of his teammates and coaches from USF made the move with him.
Do not miss the action on Tuesday as Auburn takes the stage at SEC Media Days. Below, you will find key information for Auburn's day at SEC Media Days, including a viewing guide and interview schedule.
Where to watch Auburn at SEC Media Days
Time: 8 a.m. CT until 11:40 a.m. CT
Channel: SEC Network
Who will represent Auburn at SEC Media Days?
Head coach Alex Golesh
Quarterback Byrum Brown
Defensive back Champ Anthony
Kicker Alex McPherson
Auburn football SEC Media Days schedule
Alex Golesh
8:30-9:10 ESPN
9:35-9:50 SEC Network set
10:35-11:05 Main media
Byrum Brown
10:35-11:15 ESPN
11:20-11:40 Main media
Champ Anthony
9:40-10:20 ESPN
11:20-1140 Main media
Alex McPherson
9:10-9:50 ESPN
11:20-11:40 Main media
Who else will be at SEC Media Days on Tuesday?
Morning session:
John McDaid, SEC Coordinator of Football Officials
Georgia Bulldogs
Auburn Tigers
Afternoon session
South Carolina Gamecocks
Vanderbilt Commodores
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John Cohen's hope for Year 1 of Alex Golesh era: 'Meet our fanbase halfway'
By Nathan King
Auburn 247
Not far from where Auburn athletic director John Cohen and head coach Alex Golesh were set to host an alumni event Monday, on the eve of SEC Media Days, they were having a much different conversation seven months ago.
It was then that Cohen was vetting Golesh, who was USF's head coach just down the road in Tampa Bay, while deep in Auburn's search to replace Hugh Freeze. The process took a major turn at the end, with Tulane's Jon Sumrall pivoting to Florida after heavily reported interest in Auburn, and Golesh was the hire.
You blink, and that search feels like an enternity ago. Golesh quickly assembled his staff and USF-flavored roster, and now is almost finished with his first Auburn offseason. He'll take the stage Tuesday as an SEC head coach for the first time, and Auburn fall camp will begin just over two weeks later. Then it's football season.
As Cohen thinks back on the decision to make Golesh the next Auburn coach — and what he wants to see from the program as the new regime begins in early September — he can't help but think about those sitting in the stands first and foremost.
"We have to meet our fanbase halfway — more than halfway," Cohen said during a conversation with reporters Monday evening in Tampa. "Our fanbase has given and given and given and shown up and supported in every way imaginable. That's what I think about."
Cohen's first hire at Auburn, Hugh Freeze, came just a few weeks after he himself arrived on campus to take over as athletic director. The Tigers saw success in some areas — mainly recruiting — but not winning. As Auburn extended its streak of five straight losing seasons, Freeze was canned in early November following a fitting performance, losing 10-3 at home to Kentucky.
Auburn has won no more than three SEC games over the past five seasons. An Auburn student has not seen his or her school beat Alabama since 2019 — and Georgia since 2017.
Cohen said just a few days ago, at a sendoff party in Tuscaloosa for soon-to-be Auburn students, he felt the excitement of a new era for the football team. He wants to ensure the program delivers.
"They're genuinely excited about the future — not only their own future at Auburn University, but the future of the football program and all of our programs," Cohen said. "We owe those people there, those folks are investing in Auburn in every imaginable way. We have to meet them halfway, and almost every decision we make is directly influenced by us wanting to meet our fan base halfway."
Despite all the recent failures, there's a reason the Auburn job continues to be considered a strong one every time it comes open. The Tigers have great resources — look no further than the fact that Golesh already has a top-10 recruiting class, and the program's NIL funding has been aggressive — and to top it off, it's an objectively unflappable fanbase.
Auburn fans just keep showing up — and that's not even mentioning the existing and soon-to-come upgrades to Jordan-Hare Stadium.
"Do I think about Coach Golesh and his staff and our football team continuously? Absolutely," Cohen said. "But equally, I think about our fan base and what they deserve."
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Heupel says Golesh 'has a clear plan of what he wants to accomplish'
By Jason Caldwell
Auburn 247
There are very few people in the profession that know Alex Golesh as well as Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel. Hiring Golesh as his co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at UCF in 2021, the two worked together two seasons in Orlando before they made the move together to Tennessee.
After one season in Knoxville, Golesh made the move to Tampa to take over the South Florida program and now is back in the Southeastern Conference at Auburn. Turning around the Bulls in his three seasons at the helm, Golesh is someone that Heupel believes is ready for his opportunity because of the work he's put in and the way he's gone about his business.
"Excited for Alex, like other guys we've had on our staff who've been able to go on and be a head coach; Jeff (Lebby), inside of this league and Jerry Mack at Kennesaw," Heupel said. "Alex has done a really good job. Did a great job flipping around his previous stop. He's smart. He's got a clear plan on what he wants to accomplish and he's going to demand it from the people around him."
The connections between Heupel and Auburn don't end with Golesh. The Auburn staff is littered with guys that either coached with Heupel or played for him at either UCF or Tennessee. Tim Banks was his defensive coordinator in Knoxville and is now Auburn's safeties coach. Kodi Burns was a wide receiver coach at Tennessee for one season before moving on. Auburn OL coach Tyler Hudanick played for and coached with Heupel while assistant Parker Ball played at Tennessee.
That makes Oct. 3 game at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville one that will get plenty of attention by Heupel and his staff this year.
"It's week five I believe, so it's more towards the middle part of your season," Heupel said of the matchup. "There is a lot of familiarity with guys that are on that staff, guys that were a part of our coaching staff as young coaches, guys that played for us at a previous stop. A ton of respect for the guys that are inside of that building. It will be unique, it always is when you face somebody that has that type of familiarity and you've sat in the war room with as you're designing game plans and getting ready for battle. It will be an exciting one."
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Sankey on officiating: 'There are limits to transparency'
By Jason Caldwell
There is no question that one of the talking points heading into the 2026 athletic year surrounds officiating. After numerous missed or questionable calls last season in football and basketball, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and the league has some explaining to do on the subject. With the Atlantic Coast Conference becoming more transparent about how the officiating process works with cameras and mics picking up the conversations between the on-field officials and replay officials, is the SEC ready to make that move as well?
The answer from Sankey was a long one, but in the end that's a no.
"Every week officials go on a football field or a basketball court or a softball field, baseball field, and everything they do is transparent," Sankey said. "You can't hide if you put on an officiating uniform. We've been innovators in replay with the motivation to get it right. That provides transparency as well.
"In fact, we're the conference that implemented in our conference tournament the Automated Balls and Strikes (ABS) format. You can't be any more transparent than that reality. We pushed that to seek the opportunity to allow that in the regular season. We'll continue to do that.
"There are limits to transparency. When an error is made in a game, scholarships are not pulled for a player for one incident. They don't lose their starting job. Every week we provide feedback to officials. We don't publish that. I also have a great deal of respect for people that are willing to put themselves in the venues of the Southeastern Conference to conduct that activity. I think we have found a reasonable balance. Reasonable people can disagree with that.
"The elements we've added and the steps we've taken to try to get it right are evidence of our motivation and willingness, quite candidly, to be transparent."
Auburn was on the wrong end of several of those very questionable calls last season. The most obvious came in a loss to Oklahoma when the Sooners walked a player off the sidelines and threw him the ball for a touchdown, illegally. Then you had the call on the goal line vs. Georgia when Jackson Arnold was ruled to have fumbled the ball.
In basketball, KeShawn Murphy's buzzer beater to knock off Texas A&M was overturned in what wound up being a huge game for the Tigers a season ago.
The calls might not have been different, but there's no question that the frustration felt by fans, coaches and players was real. Sankey said they continue to have those discussions with their programs, but some of those aren't things that the average fans will know.
"Our coaches have the opportunity to submit all plays for review," Sankey said. "That information is evaluated and communicated back to our campuses. The expectation is that information, the back and forth be communicated in a confidential manner. That's not transparent and I'm being transparent about that by the way.
"That's the deal. When I talked about transparency, there are no editors in officiating unless you consider replay to be editors. You're in real time with between 12 and 48 cameras in football evaluating your performance. Is everyone happy all the time? No.
"But I saw that yesterday during the World Cup. I saw it last week and the week before during the World Cup. I saw it during the NBA Playoffs. I have watched it with ABS in Major League Baseball. We have humans making instant decisions in a dynamic situation. I think our officials do a remarkably effective job in managing those situations, imperfect though it may be."
Sankey said all that to say, nothing has changed. You'll get the reviews and the decisions made and that's all you'll get.
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CBS Sports Believes This Is the Biggest Question Surrounding the Auburn Tigers Ahead of SEC Media Days
By Brooks Crew
Auburn Tigers on SI
After a long offseason of recruiting, spring practice and a host of other tasks for new Auburn Tigers head coach Alex Golesh, the time has finally come for him and the Tigers to make the trip to Tampa for SEC Media Days. Of course, with so many changes occurring on the Plains over the past few months, there will be a host of questions for the Tigers’ new skipper, but one question may stand above them all, according to CBS Sports.
The question itself is simple: ‘Are the dark days over?’ However, as is the nature of the sport, Tiger fans will, unfortunately, not have an answer to that question until the season kicks off and they see their team in action.
After all, the Tigers have not turned in a winning season since 2020, the year Gus Malzahn was fired, and have not beaten Alabama, their bitterest rival, in the same time. The program is now on its third head coach since then, as neither Bryan Harsin nor Hugh Freeze worked out, and Tiger fans are growing weary of watching their team consistently disappoint.
There is a host of evidence that the program is trending in the right direction, though. Byrum Brown, a Golesh piece from USF, is the first starting quarterback with no major issues that the Tigers have had in some time, as Payton Thorne struggled with interceptions while Jackson Arnold was sacked more than any quarterback in the SEC while he was active.
In fact, he is expected to be a massive difference-maker on the Plains this year, something Tiger fans have not been able to anticipate for quite a few years now. Additionally, the Tigers’ rushing core seems stronger than ever with the additions of Bryson Washington, Nykahi Davenport and others, and Golesh has been clear that he is looking to utilize each to the best of their abilities.
The passing game is still largely a question mark at this point in the season, especially since most of the Tigers’ receivers are transplants from USF, which may prove to be a double-edged sword for Golesh. Sure, the familiarity with Brown should make offensive installation much easier and more consistent, but the question still remains as to whether or not they will be able to compete against SEC defenses.
Defensively, the Tigers are poised for another dominant season, despite the losses of Keldric Faulk and Keyron Crawford to the NFL Draft, as well as a few other notable losses to the transfer portal. Golesh and returning defensive coordinator DJ Durkin have worked tirelessly to get the Tigers’ defense back where it needs to be, and it will certainly be interesting to see how they perform when SEC play kicks off in mid-September.
So, though Tiger fans may not have an answer to their most burning question in the near future, the evidence shows that, at the very least, the program is trending in the right direction. All Golesh has to do now is keep them on that path.
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Why This ESPN Analyst Believes Auburn Has One of the Best Schedules in Football
By Brooks Crew
Auburn Tigers on SI
The Auburn Tigers are set for an interesting season under first-year head coach Alex Golesh, especially given their schedule.
Some believe that the Tigers have one of the more difficult schedules in football–ESPN’s FPI ranked it as the 13th-toughest in the nation–but ESPN analyst Greg McElroy sees a significant opportunity for the Tigers.
“This one’s a bit of a fascinating exercise,” he said. “A first-year coach’s honeymoon does not usually come with a schedule that is this forgiving… according to the math, they are the second-most gettable schedule in the league.”
This almost directly competes with ESPN FPI’s perception of the Tigers’ schedule, so who is right? In my opinion, both and neither. The Football Power Index is a measure of how teams would be expected to perform on a neutral field, so there is certainly a gap there, but I also don’t think Auburn’s schedule is as easy by any stretch.
After all, the Tigers are set to play a brutal in-conference stretch of Tennessee, Georgia, LSU and Ole Miss, all in a row, while also tacking on matchups with Alabama and Florida in more isolated events. McElroy speculates that the Tigers’ new-look roster could find an advantage in their home games, but the only team on that four-game stretch that is set to visit the Plains is LSU.
However, the Tigers do have a schedule that should set them up for improvement over last year’s 5-7 record, as if they are able to take down Baylor, Southern Miss, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Samford, which are all games that the Tigers are expected to win, they will already be at the level they were at last season. Add on a win over Vanderbilt or Florida, and the Tigers are already at .500, better than any Tiger record since 2020.
However, if the Tigers want to rise above expectations and make the most of this schedule, a few key road wins will be crucial, and they are unlikely to come easily, especially given the caliber of teams the Tigers are set to play. There really isn’t an ‘easy’ matchup in the Tigers’ four-game stretch in October, but if they can steal one on their visits to Ole Miss or Tennessee, or in their lone October home matchup against LSU, they could be poised for a much deeper run than many expected from Golesh.
Of course, rivalry games can go in just about any direction, but the fact that the Tigers will play both Georgia and Alabama in their respective homes makes the odds that much slimmer for Golesh in his first year.
So, though the Tigers’ schedule certainly is not the most difficult in the country, it is also definitely not the easiest, at least as far as optics are concerned. Odds and predictions, as they always do, will change as we begin to see all of these teams hit the field in September, which is likely the first real time we will fully understand the depth of Auburn’s schedule.
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Auburn Labeled a ‘Trap Game’ for This SEC Opponent
By Brooks Crew
Auburn Tigers on SI
Admittedly, the Auburn Tigers have struggled immensely over the past few years, but that doesn’t mean they have been, are or will be a write-off, especially in SEC play.
ESPN’s Greg McElroy seems to concur with that idea, as recently, he labeled Auburn’s Halloween night matchup with Ole Miss as a trap game for the Rebels.
For those who are not familiar with the idea of a ‘trap game,’ it typically refers to a game against a weaker opponent that typically precedes a later matchup with a very strong opponent, in which a team can get so focused on the big opponent that they can slack off in their preparation for what they consider to be a lesser opponent.
The Tigers have consistently proven to be a problem for higher-ranked teams, even in years where it seems nothing can go their way. Take last year’s matchup against Georgia, for example; Kirby Smart had to right the ship at halftime, as his Bulldogs were struggling against an abysmal Auburn team, likely due, at least in part, to their looming matchup with (ironically) then-No. 6 Ole Miss.
In that matchup, Auburn’s awful offense continued to be awful, but the Bulldogs were only able to put up 20 points on the Tigers’ defense, a stark contrast from their typical scoring habits throughout the season. This is the nature of a trap game: if Auburn had been anywhere near alive on offense in that matchup, they could have very well stolen the win from Georgia.
So, what makes Auburn a trap game for Ole Miss? Exactly one week after their Halloween matchup, the Rebels will head to Athens to take on the (ironically, again!) Georgia Bulldogs, who are expected to be one of the premier teams in the country this year. Pete Golding will need to make sure he keeps his players in the moment and not focused on the Bulldogs if he wants a treat and not a trick that evening.
Additionally, this year’s Ole Miss team will likely not have the luxury of sitting back and watching a flailing Auburn offense struggle while they look ahead to next week, as Byrum Brown and the Tigers’ rushing core are looking to be among the best pieces in the SEC. Defensively, the Tigers appear prepped for yet another dominant season, which could spell trouble for the Rebels if they are not prepared for the Tigers’ typical onslaught.
Of course, by the time this game rolls around, the Tigers could be undefeated and a clear threat, winless and a clear win or anything in between, and the same goes for the Rebels. However, if the season plays out as many expect it to, with Auburn improving over last season, the Rebels will need to be on their guard during a game that could make the spookiest night of the year even scarier.
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One outlet labels Auburn as the toughest opponent on this team's slate
By Taylor Jones
Auburn Wire
The expectation for Auburn football in 2026 is not very high, according to the national media. Still, the Tigers will provide a quality challenge for most opponents on their schedule.
Davis Wilson, who covers the Southern Miss Golden Eagles for the Hattiesburg American, recently broke down Southern Miss' 2026 slate and ranked each opponent from easiest to hardest. Southern Miss plays only one Power Conference foe, the Auburn Tigers, on Saturday, Sept. 12. Because of this, it is no surprise that Auburn takes the No. 1 slot in Wilson's ranking as the toughest opponent the Golden Eagles will face this season.
Wilson believes that Auburn's talent will give Southern Miss fits. It also does not benefit the visitors from the Pine Belt that the game will be played at night inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.
"Not much needs to be said about this matchup. Auburn finished 5-7 overall and 1-7 in the SEC last season, but it is by far the most talented team the Golden Eagles will see this season. This being a road game makes it that much more difficult," writes Wilson.
The 2026 season, at least early on, will be hard to predict for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. Southern Miss enters the season with a new head coach in Blake Anderson, who takes over for Charles Huff after he bolted for Memphis just one season into his tenure with the black and gold.
After 17 Southern Miss players followed Huff to Memphis, Anderson is left with three returning starters from last year's squad. However, there are several incoming Power Four transfers looking to break out, and could do so with Southern Miss. Auburn head coach Alex Golesh experienced a similar result as Huff after he left USF for Auburn, as several of his key playmakers followed him to the Plains.
Auburn's Sept. 12 game against Southern Miss will be the second game of the season, and the first home game of the Alex Golesh era. Early forecasts from ESPN's Football Power Index show that Auburn will emerge victorious over the Golden Eagles with a 91.4% chance of victory, the second-highest probability outside of Auburn's November matchup with Samford, where Auburn has a 99.0% chance of victory.
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Expert views Auburn as a potential CFP crasher (and 1 surprising transfer is a key to that goal)
By Andrew Hughes
Fly War Eagle
The Auburn Tigers have had a quiet offseason by and large. Some are expecting more of the same from AU during the 2026 season, that is, losing a lot of football games, with first-year head coach Alex Golesh needing to restock the cupboards after a mass transfer portal exodus.
CBS Sports' Brad Crawford is not among the pessimists. In fact, Crawford listed the Tigers as one of several potential CFP crashers among a group of programs that had a heavy overhaul in the transfer portal.
Crawford shouted out the usual suspects -- USF Bulls transfer quarterback Byrum Brown, returning All-SEC linebacker Xavier Atkins, returning RB1 Jeremiah Cobb -- but also listed a curious transfer who hasn't gotten much hype this offseason, Arkansas State Red Wolves transfer defensive tackle Cody Sigler, to make his case.
"Tailback Jeremiah Cobb is Auburn's only returning starter offensively as the Alex Golesh era begins on The Plains. After winning big at South Florida following his tenure as Tennessee's offensive mastermind, Golesh brings with him several of his top players from the Bulls, including Brown -- his dual-threat quarterback -- and a bevy of pass-catchers. There are fewer unknowns on D.J. Durkin's side of the football, which should be the Tigers' team strength this fall. Xavier Atkins is a returning All-SEC linebacker and one of Auburn's defensive MVPs during the spring. Sigler adds noticeable power in the middle of the defense," Crawford wrote.
Cody Sigler brings raw power to the DT spot
Sigler was a three-tech at Arkansas State, using a relentless motor to power his way into the backfield. At over 300 pounds, Sigler has the size to be a one-tech, though he is at his best bum-rushing the quarterback and stopping running backs behind the line of scrimmage.
There are questions about Sigler's ability to adapt to SEC defenders, which is a legitimate worry. After all, there's no greater difference in stepping up competitively in college football than in the trenches. Still, that means Sigler gets to benefit from playing next to nose tackle monsters like Dallas Walker IV, Jourdin Crawford, and Malik Autry.
Vontrell King-Williams will play a major role
For years, Auburn has been a problem for opposing offenses. Particularly, the run-stopping on the Plains has been elite. DJ Durkin's specialty is the linebacker position, but Vontrell King-Williams has been slowly rising through the ranks to become one of the coaching staff's most valuable pieces.
VKW started as a DT coach with the Tigers but has since taken over the entire DL. Run-stopping has been the team's strength during that time. Auburn had 79 total TFLs during the 2025 season, which was a strong mark, but one that can be improved upon.
Bringing on an athlete like Sigler can help, but only if he has counters to well-executed blocking schemes that limit his initial rush. That's where VKW's development comes in handy.
We'll see if VKW can take another step forward in his climb up the coaching ladder this fall. Sigler's development could help launch VKW onto the map if everything breaks right.
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Why Eli Drinkwitz thinks Gus Malzahn isn't done coaching yet
By Andrew Hughes
Fly War Eagle
Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz got his career started on the Plains working with then-offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn as a quality control assistant for the Auburn Tigers. Drinkwitz and Malzahn have maintained a close relationship since their championship season together. Maybe, then, Drinkwitz knows something about Malzahn's future moves after Gus retired this past February, following a year with the Florida State Seminoles as lead play-caller under Mike Norvell, and subsequently joined the CFP committee.
Drinkwitz commented on Malzahn at 2026 SEC Football Media Days, saying, "He's gonna watch all these teams and want one more shot at it." Malzahn was appointed to the CFP committee for a three-year stint in March.
Will Malzahn finish those three years? Can Gus make a return to college football?
Arkansas continues to be an alluring job to Gus Malzahn, but it's unlikely
Ryan Silverfield took over the Arkansas Razorbacks' job after Sam Pittman's firing, and to say the buzz is muted in Fayetteville about it would be an understatement. Could Malzahn be a potential option to replace Silverfield if the Hogs fail to improve over the next year or two?
Probably not. While Malzahn has strong ties to the state after coaching at three different high schools in Arkansas, play-calling for the Razorbacks for a year, and serving as the Arkansas State Red Wolves' head coach before arriving at AU, he probably doesn't want to join a situation that may be less than ideal indefinitely because of the financial investment in John Calipari's basketball program.
Could Eli Drinkwitz hire Gus Malzahn to eventually replace Chip Lindsey?
Maybe Drink could hire Gus directly. Chip Lindsey was brought on as Mizzou's lead play-caller for the 2026 season, but the Madison, Alabama, native hasn't stayed at a collegiate coaching job for longer than three years. The one job Lindsey did stay at was the Troy Trojans' head coaching job. Odds are, Lindsey is trying to coach his way back into head coaching consideration, and the Tigers are his springboard.
The student becoming the teacher is an interesting concept, though Malzahn would likely be given full autonomy over the offense. Still, Malzahn making his way to Missouri almost certainly isn't what Drink was hinting at. A head coaching job probably is, but that doesn't even feel all that likely. If Gus wanted to be a head coach, he probably could've gotten one of the many jobs that became available in the last hiring cycle.
Could Gus Malzahn return to Auburn in some capacity?
Truthfully, the likeliest scenario for Gus, based on his social media activity, his decision to move back to East Central Alabama after retiring, and his proximity to Alex Golesh's program, is a return to Auburn in some form.
If the university can find a similar role for Malzahn that Bruce Pearl had, all parties would likely be happy. Given how bad things have been for the football program since he left, having Malzahn back in any capacity could be a feel-good move that'd help bring the feeling back.
Golesh reveres the Tigers' history. Malzahn is an indelible part of Auburn football's lore. Who says no?
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