Coach Alex Golesh has Auburn at 4-4 on the season after limping through the end of October at 1-3 for the month. Still, the Tigers are right on track in the grand scheme.
What happens over the next two weeks can change that in the most nightmarish of ways, though.
Following a brutal 45-15 loss to Ole Miss, Auburn now faces Arkansas at Jordan-Hare Stadium and Mississippi State in Starkville. The Tigers are expected to be the favorite in both of those games as things stand.
Ryan Silverfield's Razorbacks are predictably mediocre during his first season in Fayetteville. The Bulldogs are neutered without starting quarterback Kamario Taylor, who's out for the year with a severe turf toe-related injury.
Losing to either of those two teams would be a disaster and may well be able to undo the goodwill from the Georgia upset.
Auburn fans cannot afford any more patience. Not when it comes to two programs that should clearly be behind the Tigers in the standings based on their NIL budget.
AU was a big spender during Golesh's first recruiting cycle, remember. As much as this season was expected to be a transition year, there's still supposed to be wins over the bottom of the conference.
If Auburn can't beat both Arkansas and Mississippi State, the Tigers would become ingrained as part of the conference's bottom tier. Both of those programs have at least had winning seasons since COVID-19.
Golesh won't be fired after one year, but a bad November heats his seat
Golesh isn't at risk of being fired even if he loses to both the Hogs and the Bulldogs. Samford is a guaranteed win, and losing in the Iron Bowl is hardly the worst result, given how efficient Keelon Russell has been for Alabama at the quarterback position.
Still, if John Cohen is canned as the athletic director, and Golesh falls apart in a familiar fashion during the month of November like his two infamous predecessors, you can expect many calling for immediate improvement in 2027...or else.
It's imperative Auburn gets the job done over the next two weekends. Most expected 4-4 by this point, with the UGA and Florida results flipped. The Tigers are on track, but losing these games and putting bowl eligibility at risk would give the next AD plenty of ammunition to choose his own football coach if the results don't improve in 2027.
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