The Auburn Tigers got a slew of early-window kickoff times during the 2026 season, something that was announced by ESPN on Wednesday night, along with the rest of the SEC. From the LSU Tigers game on October 24 to the Mississippi State Bulldogs game on November 14, every matchup will start during the 11-12 CT window. The Ole Miss Rebels and Arkansas Razorbacks are the other opponents during that stretch.
Of course, the Iron Bowl will have either a late-afternoon or early-evening start time. That's a rare tradition that hasn't been broken. Throwing that game at 11 am would be sacrilege. The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry game with the Georgia Bulldogs will also be appropriately played in the afternoon. Still, all of the early games make up a noticeable trend.
ESPN is content to put AU up against FOX's Big Noon Kickoff offerings repeatedly. Is that a sign that they don't believe the program will be competitive by then? It sure seems to be. After how the program has been portrayed during the Bryan Harsin and Hugh Freeze years, TV execs aren't banking on the Tigers making November games against Mississippi State and Arkansas meaningful. They're just crunching numbers.
Doubt is exactly what Auburn just got with this announcement. And you know what? That may be exactly where Alex Golesh wants his program to be.
Alex Golesh will probably appreciate the underdog billing
Golesh joined a Tennessee Volunteers program that was down and left the offense in a far better place than he found it. He repeated that script from a program-wide perspective with the USF Bulls. You won't hear that sentiment from Bulls Nation because Golesh took so much of it with him.
You won't hear any complaints from Golesh about the lack of primetime billing, either. Nothing Golesh has done this offseason has lent credence to the idea that he wants to be involved in any off-field drama. His focus has been solely on football. If anything, the slightest hint at drama has caused him to set the record straight.
With the focus solely on football, there's been plenty of positive buzz about the team growing together at the Woltosz Football Performance Center. The defense is ahead of the offense, with much more continuity coming into the spring, and the offensive line is struggling early. Perhaps that was to be expected. Still, the lack of any distractions, and a lack of an outward personality from Golesh being shown besides respect, X's, and O's, bodes well for the group coming together in fall camp.
Even if the product is improved, the scheduling is difficult. LSU really might be as good as advertised. Pete Golding could have one more year left of high-level football in Oxford. Perhaps by November, Auburn will be a program deserving of 11 am CT games against Mississippi State and Arkansas.
Losses will happen, and growing pains will be had. Even if the Tigers shock the world, Golesh may still have the team as under-the-radar as possible as an uncontroversial figure.
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