Auburn football opens its season Saturday against Baylor at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, and the first snap will tell a lot about how quickly Alex Golesh’s team can look like it has been playing together for years. Byrum Brown is back in live action at quarterback after spending eight months in an orange non-contact jersey, and he said the wait has made this one feel even better.
“I can’t wait to go out there and play ball,” Brown said. “It’s a long time coming, it feels like, and I’m excited.” Auburn kicks off at 2:30 p.m. CT with Brown leading the offense and Golesh making his first game as head coach, a pairing that gives the opener more weight than a normal September Saturday. Brown is also coming in with a run of eight straight games in which he has thrown and rushed for a touchdown, a stretch that is twice as long as any other returning FBS quarterback has managed.
That matters because Auburn is trying to build speed into an offense that Golesh says will move fast, run the ball and take what the defense gives it. Brown said the biggest change from spring to now is knowing what to expect in the game itself, especially in the red zone and on quarterback sprint outs, where the details can make the difference between a play that stalls and one that keeps the defense chasing. His history with Golesh helps too. Golesh coached him at South Florida for three seasons, so the quarterback is not learning the head coach’s style from scratch.
The other side of the ball gives Auburn a different kind of edge. DJ Durkin is back for his third season as defensive coordinator, and he said there is a good nucleus of players returning, especially at linebacker and safety where communication matters most. That continuity is part of why Auburn enters the season with a real chance to keep its season-opening streak alive and extend it to 10 straight wins in the opener. But continuity is only part of the picture. This is still Golesh’s debut, and the question is whether a team with a veteran defense and a fast offense can look sharp immediately in a game that counts.
Baylor adds another layer to the start. Auburn and Baylor have met only five times since 1954, and last year’s 38-24 Auburn win in Waco was their first meeting since 1976. The series is tied 2-2-1, with Auburn’s only other neutral-site win coming in the 1954 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida. Andy Burcham, Jason Campbell and Ronnie Brown will call the game on the Auburn Sports Network, as Auburn tries to make the first Saturday in Atlanta feel less like a debut and more like the start of something already in motion.
