On Wednesday night, the SEC released additional details about the 2026 season, including kickoff time windows for the majority of conference matchups.
Following the announcement, ESPN’s SEC Now team reviewed the updated 2026 schedules and offered one key observation for each team. Paul Finebaum focused on a particularly crucial game for the Tigers as they enter the Alex Golesh era.
“Beat Baylor. That’s a game Hugh Freeze won last year, and it didn’t end up helping him,” Finebaum said. “But you really don’t want to lose that one, especially with Florida coming to town two weeks later, followed by back-to-back road trips to Tennessee and Georgia.”
Indeed, Freeze led Auburn to a significant road victory over Baylor early in the 2025 season, but the team failed to carry that momentum into SEC play.
For Golesh and his squad, defeating Baylor will be vital given the challenging conference schedule ahead, as Finebaum pointed out. Auburn will face Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, LSU, and Ole Miss within its first six SEC games this fall, with three of those contests on the road.
According to the latest college football odds, Auburn’s regular-season win total is set at 6.5. The Tigers haven’t won seven or more games since 2019, when Gus Malzahn was head coach.
Auburn is set to face Baylor in Atlanta on September 5, with kickoff scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET.
Leave a Reply