In the 2020s, the Auburn Tigers remain burdened by modest expectations that they just can’t seem to shake. Even after bringing in Alex Golesh as head coach, along with several of his former offensive assistants and players from South Florida, while also preserving key components of a defense that showed promise most notably defensive coordinator DJ Durkin there is still a widespread belief that Auburn will stay stuck in the SEC’s perpetual second tier.
Paul Myerberg of USA Today placed the Tigers among familiar company: Mississippi State, Kentucky, and Arkansas, in that order, in the bottom quarter of the conference heading into the 2026 college football season.
That said, Myerberg is optimistic about the SEC as a whole and foresees a winning campaign for Auburn. As he puts it, “Auburn’s offense could hit the ground running. New coach Alex Golesh brought along former South Florida quarterback Byrum Brown and four of the Bulls’ top five receivers from last season. Immediate dividends could lift the Tigers to their first winning season since 2020.”
A 7-5 finish would mark a successful debut season for Alex Golesh. Under Hugh Freeze in 2023, many fans convinced themselves that a down year was acceptable. But Golesh is bringing in a number of experienced upperclassmen who are expected to contribute right away. Auburn is now projected to be a winning team, similar to the early vibes of Bryan Harsin’s first season in 2021.
Of course, when Harsin took over in 2021, he inherited a roster still rich with holdovers from the Gus Malzahn era, and that team was expected to bounce back quickly. Golesh, by contrast, is integrating many first-year SEC players, so an adjustment period is inevitable.
Still, that adjustment shouldn’t drag on for an entire season or multiple seasons, as Golesh’s predecessor seemed to anticipate. Golesh can’t afford to settle for being “close” for long, and he certainly can’t use that word after the previous coach appeared to mock Auburn fans with it.
The goal is to move past Mississippi State, Kentucky, and Arkansas as peer programs, and eventually trade places with Georgia and Texas. For now, though, a winning record will do just fine.
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