First-year Auburn football head coach Alex Golesh is off to a good start. The Tigers have won their first two games of the season, getting a tough win over the Baylor Bears in Atlanta and then dominating Southern Miss for the home opener.
But this weekend's game will be the true test of where Golesh's first-year squad stands. The Tigers will open SEC play against Florida, hosting the Gators in Jordan-Hare Stadium for the first time since 2011.
The two programs have drawn a lot of comparison this season, seeing as they both fired their coaches and hired guys from lower-level conferences. Both Auburn and Florida went after Jon Sumrall, who has multiple ties to the Plains. He previously coached at Troy and his wife graduated from Auburn, and Sumrall himself is an Alabama native.
However, none of that matters to Sumrall heading into this weekend's game against Auburn.
"Yeah, there's ties. But Florida pays my mortgage," Sumrall said, per Florida Gators on SI. "So, any family that is pulling against us, they ain't my family. I mean, I don't care what their last name is. You know what I mean?
"I got a lot of respect for Auburn. Great place, good people. I got a lot of friends; my wife went to school there, so a lot of crossover. But I'm a Florida Gator, and everybody affiliated with me closely as a Florida Gator, or they're not affiliated with me closely."
Golesh and Sumrall share some history together, too, having both coached in the American Conference. Their former schools played each other in 2024. But Golesh matched Sumrall's intensity and focus when it comes to winning the upcoming football game.
"He said we were friends? Not this week we're not," Golesh said on Monday. "I've got a ton of respect for Jon. We were both assistants in this league at the same time, and he did a great job at Troy, high-end job at Troy. Did a high-end job at Tulane. I've got a ton of respect for how he works, ton of respect for who he is. I think he does it the right way, competes like crazy. I've got a lot of respect for him. This week, don't care."
While there was definite improvement for the Auburn Tigers from week one to week two, Golesh still walked away from the win unhappy with his team and expecting much more progress heading into week three. How the team performs against Florida on their home turf will be telling for how the rest of the season could go.
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