Auburn football is 1-0 in the Alex Golesh era.
That is the good news.
The Tigers found a way to beat Baylor, but it was not exactly the kind of opener that should leave Auburn fans feeling comfortable about where the offense stands. The defense came up big over and over again, while the offense looked like it was fighting itself for most of the afternoon.
Even though Auburn did enough to get the win, they also showed that there is a lot of work waiting for Golesh and his staff before next week's proper opening home game.
Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from Auburn’s win over Baylor.
The good: The defense is ready and deserves most of the credit for the win
Baylor quarterback DJ Lagway got hurt early after twisting his ankle, and it looked for a moment like he might not be able to continue. He did come back, though, and he still made some throws that showed why Baylor brought him in.
Auburn did not panic when Lagway returned. The Tigers kept playing hard, kept making tackles, and kept forcing Baylor to work for everything it got.
Rayshawn Pleasant came up with a turnover earlier in the game, while Eric Winters made a huge play when he knocked the ball loose from Lagway on a third-down scramble. Kaleb Harris recovered the fumble, giving Auburn one of the biggest momentum plays of the day.
But the defense had a problem to deal with when Da’Shawn Womack went down with an apparent knee injury. That could have put Auburn in a bad spot moving forward if it were to linger, but Jared Smith and Elijah Melendez stepped up when the Tigers needed them.
That is what should encourage Auburn fans the most. The defense did not depend on just Xavier Atkins to make every play. Different guys stepped up throughout the day, and Auburn looked stout on almost every possession.
The defense is the biggest reason they walked away with the win. Even with Lagway finishing 27-of-54 for 333 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception, Auburn still made the Bears work all day and did not let the game slip away.
The bad: Auburn’s offense never got comfortable
The offense was the complete opposite.
Auburn could not consistently run the football and could not stop putting itself behind the chains. There was a point where the Tigers had run 55 plays, and 10 of them had resulted in tackles for a loss.
That is a real problem.
It is hard for any offense to get into a rhythm when so many plays are getting blown up before they have a chance to develop. That in itself puts more pressure on Byrum Brown. And it makes every drive feel like it has to be perfect just to get points.
Brown was under pressure too often, and that pressure played a big role in Auburn’s offensive struggles. Three interceptions aren't a good way to start off the campaign, but Golesh said he blamed himself more than Brown. The offensive line had a rough day against Baylor’s defensive front, and the run game never looked like the violent foundation Golesh has talked about since arriving at Auburn.
Jeremiah Cobb did find the end zone on a 15-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, but Auburn could not build enough consistency around that moment. Cobb’s score put the Tigers ahead 10–0 before Baylor answered with a touchdown late in the first half.
Auburn cannot keep asking Brown to survive pressure and create something out of broken plays. That is not a sustainable way to operate an offense.
The ugly: Auburn was inches away from being in a full-blown panic
Auburn’s defense did enough for the Tigers to win this game more comfortably than they did.
Instead, Auburn allowed Baylor to hang around all afternoon. The Tigers had chances to put the Bears away, but the offense could not create enough consistent drives to build a lead that felt safe.
That made the final minutes way more stressful than they should have been.
Auburn finally took the lead late when Brown scored on an 11-yard touchdown run with 3:26 remaining. But Baylor still had a chance to win or tie the game on its last possession. The Bears scored with 23 seconds remaining, then went for two instead of kicking the extra point. Auburn stopped the two-point conversion attempt to hold on for a 17–16 win.
That ending is exciting for fans, but it is also a reminder that Auburn cannot keep leaving the door open.
The Tigers played well enough on defense to control Baylor. The offense just did not do enough to let everyone breathe in response.
Auburn got the win, but it nearly turned a game it had in the bag into a Week 1 disaster.
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