The silver lining of Auburn's comeback attempt falling short against Florida in Week 3 during a 44-39 loss at Jordan-Hare Stadium was that Alex Golesh at least had the right attitude afterwards.
Golesh took responsibility once again for the underwhelming effort. This time, it was the defense's fault, whereas against Baylor it was an underwhelming offensive effort.
In particular, Golesh honed in on Gators running back Jadan Baugh's dominance. Baugh had 162 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
Golesh believes the defense did a good job of limiting him. At first, at least. Golesh owned up to the defensive mistakes made by the coaching staff and the players that enabled Baugh's massive day.
“I thought the short yardages were disappointing early. I thought, for the most part, up until the big, explosive run -- the key to the game was controlling Jadan Baugh,” Golesh said postgame. “As special as he is, I thought for the most part, we did a decent job.
“There were a lot of missed tackles, misalignments. They did a good job with some unbalanced stuff that we didn’t adjust as well as we needed to. Some of the look-look stuff, we didn’t adjust as well as we needed to.”
Auburn never stood a chance against Florida
It was truthfully foolish to think the Tigers ever truly had a shot in Week 3. That's on me. Texas A&M's Le'Veon Moss went for 139 yards and a touchdown last year during a 16-10 Aggies win. Auburn was always susceptible to a great running back like Baugh.
Florida quarterback Aaron Philo proved against SEC competition that he's the real deal in Buster Faulkner's offense, too.
Sadly, DJ Durkin's defense may have a reputation that could overhype what's actually delivered at times. The defense kept the team in games for so many years without offensive help, but there were always cracks in the foundation.
That certainly showed in Week 3.
Auburn faces several more great running backs in 2026
Buckle up, Auburn fans. It doesn't get much easier in 2026 when it comes to opposing running backs.
Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy may be banged up after the team's emotional win over LSU, but he should be closer to 100% come Halloween. What the Rebels' top backfield weapon could do to the Tigers' defense in late October is certainly scary to think about.
Georgia running back Nate Frazier also had some injury issues in Week 3, but Kirby Smart is optimistic that he'll be fine. The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry will also feature a steep running back challenge.
Auburn's defense is supposed to be carrying more weight. With Baugh out of the way, hopefully there's an urgency to fix the team's weaknesses against elite running backs.
Golesh at least understood the problem in Week 3, even if the defense didn't execute proper opposition.
That's got to count for something, right?
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