Many remnants of the Hugh Freeze era, who all scattered across the SEC, will return to Auburn Tiger fans' television sets this fall, with a particularly nostalgic stretch coming from mid-September to late-October.
Over that seven-week span from September 19 to October 31, Auburn will play five teams that will feature key players and the biggest-name recruits of the Hugh Freeze era, against the Florida Gators, Tennessee Volunteers, Georgia Bulldogs, LSU Tigers, and Ole Miss Rebels.
As Auburn Tigers On SI's Micah Farmer relays, "The most pivotal stretch for Golesh’s squad will be the six games from Sept. 19 vs Florida to the Halloween game at Ole Miss, in which Auburn will see not just familiar opponents, but familiar faces. First up is former receiver Eric Singleton Jr., who left in the portal to join the Florida Gators and former Auburn receivers coach Marcus Davis. The Tennessee game will mean a reunion with Kayin Lee, who was a three-year starter at corner on The Plains. Auburn will see former five-star edge rusher Amaris Williams in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry in Athens against Georgia, as well as defensive line transfer Malik Blocton against LSU on Oct. 24."
"However, the real reunion party will be on Halloween in Oxford as Auburn takes on Ole Miss. If quarterback Trinidad Chambliss is not eligible to play for the Rebels in 2026, the starter for Ole Miss will likely be former Auburn quarterback Deuce Knight, and one of Knight’s targets will be receiver transfer Horatio Fields. Ole Miss will also be starting two former Tigers on the outside at corner in Jay Crawford and Antonio Kite," Farmer added.
Auburn can see whether less is more during nostalgic stretch
Auburn will be facing its former excesses this fall, with Deuce Knight perhaps serving as the most extreme example of it. With the Tigers, Knight played in two games and was paid seven figures to go to Skybar and play in a system he'd end up leaving in short order anyway. Oh, and the staff he played under was either dismissed or, in Derrick Nix's case, took a job with the Alabama Crimson Tide.
With Alex Golesh at the helm, it's not about the star ratings or the price tag. It's about buying in and overcompensating for a talent disadvantage by doing the right things. He proved that with the USF Bulls in 2025, and he often schemed great gameplans for Hendon Hooker and Joe Milton in 2021 and 2022 despite facing stacked SEC defenses with physical advantages over the Vols from the likes of Alabama, LSU, and Florida.
We'll see how the tough-spirited underdogs fare against the ghosts of their NIL/rev-share payments' past in 2026.