New-look Auburn, Baylor teams open season in Atlanta

The Alex Golesh era at Auburn will begin in earnest on Saturday afternoon when the Tigers kick off their season against Baylor in Atlanta.

Golesh was named Auburn's head coach on Nov. 30, following its 5-7 season, replacing Hugh Freeze, who was fired on Nov. 2. Golesh spent three seasons at South Florida before becoming the fourth full-time coach to lead Auburn since the 2020 season.

"In a lot of ways, it's flown by really quickly. And in a lot of ways, it's this anticipation of you really don't know what it's going to look like until you do it," Golesh said. "And so there's an excitement level, but it has flown by really quickly. It's almost surreal. It really is."

Golesh, 42, inherited a program that has endured six consecutive seasons with six or fewer wins.

Quarterback Byrum Brown is among the many South Florida transfers who followed Golesh to Auburn. Brown passed for 3,158 yards and 28 touchdowns last season and added 1,008 yards and 14 scores on the ground.

"It's a unique challenge in a lot of ways," Golesh said of the encounter versus the Bears, who also finished 5-7 last season. "Got a ton of respect for Coach (Dave) Aranda and what he's done. ... There's a lot of new there, a lot to prepare for, a lot of challenges that are presented, simply with as much newness as you're getting ready for. They're obviously in the same boat, there's a ton of newness they're preparing for, so it should be a really good matchup."

Florida transfer quarterback DJ Lagway will be at the helm of Baylor's offense.

The former five-star recruit completed 63.2% of his passes for 2,264 yards and 16 touchdowns last season, but he was intercepted 14 times, the most among Southeastern Conference quarterbacks.

Baylor will also see a familiar face in Bryson Washington, a running back who was the Bears' leading rusher over the previous two seasons. Washington will join Jeremiah Cobb in a potent backfield at Auburn.

"I want to see him win that job," Aranda said of Washington. "But in this game, we're going to have to build it to try to stop him."

Washington rushed 14 times for 54 yards in Baylor's 38-24 home setback to Auburn in the 2025 season-opening game for both teams.

--Field Level Media