It's very difficult to see the positives in Auburn's 2026 football season right now, with the team coming off its second loss to Tennessee.
With that said, Tigers center Cole Best was able to describe exactly why this program could be due to improve over the next two months.
As Best shared after the bowling shoe ugly 24-14 loss on Rocky Top, this team didn't give up on each other or point the finger when things got tough against the Vols.
“One thing I was proud of, just really the whole game, was that no one wavered. I thought that everyone in all three phases of the ball just continued playing, sticking together. There was no finger-pointing. And that's one thing that I never doubt on this team or in this entire program, is that guys are gonna keep swinging, keep fighting," Best said.
Best explained how the Tigers' run game was able to come together once the interior and left tackle Jo Simmons started executing mid-zone schemes together in the second half.
"And I thought one of the positives, I guess, in this game was that we finally got some run game in the mid zone going. I thought there was some really, really good there," Best said.
Alex Golesh hasn't lost the locker room despite tough losses
In losses to Tennessee and Florida, the offense was flat in the first half but came alive in the second half. The defense was the opposite.
You don't love how the on-field product looks against legitimate SEC competition.
You do absolutely love the attitude this team has in the face of its adversity.
As we've seen across college football, like when South Carolina EDGE Dylan Stewart yelled at his coaches during a blowout loss to Alabama, tempers flare when things get tough.
There hasn't been a hint of anyone revolting in Alex Golesh's locker room. After each loss, Golesh is owning up to what his coaching staff did wrong and not pointing fingers.
While the losses are starting to aesthetically resemble the Hugh Freeze era, the attitude during those losses is not. This locker room is competing together, but the learning curve is proving to be too steep in such a short amount of time.
Most pundits are starting to suspect that the talent Golesh and Co. brought in from the Group of Six ranks wasn't ready for the step up in competition.
The only way to overcome a talent discrepancy is playing together. Auburn has cultural unity, if not much else yet.
Heading into the bye week, there's at least a source of hope. Best just described it perfectly.
Fans have suffered for far too long for that to be enough. With no games in Week 6, that's all there is to cling to on the Plains for now, though.
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