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Learn more at AlabamaBlue.com/Happy Tackle every play with confidence.4 TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 ...............................................................................................2026 Schedule 6 ..........................................................................................Scouting Auburn 8.............................................................................................Scouting Baylor 10 .............................................................................................Auburn Roster 12................................................................................................Baylor Roster 14 ...................................................................Opponent Outlook: Baylor 16 ...............................................................................................Depth Charts 18 ......................................................................................Stats Comparison 20 .....................................................................................Auburn Traditions 22-24 ......................................Setting Standards: Golesh Era Begins 28-30 ..............................................................Head Coach Alex Golesh 32-36 .............................................................................Assistant Coaches 38 ..........................................................................The Auburn Experience 40 ....................................................................................Auburn University 42 .......................................................................................Board of Trustees 44 .....................................................President Christopher B. Roberts 46 .....................................................Director of Athletics John Cohen 48 ..............................................................Through the Lens: Fall Camp 50 ..............................................................................New Space for Space 52 .........................................................................On the Plains: Cole Best 54 ..................................................................Jordan-Hare Stadium Map 56-57 ....................................................................................Gameday Map 60 ......................................................................Heisman Trophy Winners 62 ..............................................................................................All-Americans 64 ............................................................Auburn Football Ladies Clinic 66 ................................................................Postseason Trophy Winners 68-69 ...............................................................................Tigers in the NFL 72 ................................................................................National Champions 74 .....................................................Auburn Football: By the Numbers 76 ............................Marching Band, Cheerleaders and Tiger Paws 78-90 .........................................................................2026 Auburn Tigers 92 .........................................................................................The Auburn App 94 ................................................................................Undefeated Seasons 96 ..............................................................................................Auburn Today 99 ............................................................................................Spirit of Giving 101 ...............................................................................2026 SEC Schedule 103-104 .........................................................Auburn Sports Properties COVER: ....................................................................................Alex Golesh TABLE OF CONTENTS AUBURNTIGERS.COM2026 AUBURN SCHEDULE 5 AUBURNTIGERS.COM 9.5 Baylor Atlanta, GA Mercedes-Benz Stadium 9.19 Florida Auburn, AL Jordan-Hare Stadium 10.31 Ole Miss Oxford, MS Vaught-Hemingway Stadium 9.12 Southern Miss Auburn, AL Jordan-Hare Stadium 10.24 LSU Auburn, AL Jordan-Hare Stadium 10.17 Georgia Athens, GA Sanford Stadium 9.26 Vanderbilt Auburn, AL Jordan-Hare Stadium 11.7 Arkansas Auburn, AL Jordan-Hare Stadium 10.3 Tennessee Knoxville, TN Neyland Stadium 11.14 Mississippi State Starkville, MS Davis Wade Stadium 11.21 Samford Auburn, AL Jordan-Hare Stadium 11.28 Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL Bryant-Denny Stadium Blue - Home | Orange - Away | Gray - Neutral 2026 AUBURN SCHEDULE6 SCOUTING AUBURN HEAD COACH Alex Golesh (Ohio State, 2006) Auburn Record ..............................................................0-0 (1st Season) Career Record ..........................................................23-15 (4th Season) vs. Baylor .....................................................................................................0-0 AUBURN (0-0, 0-0) Sept. 5 ............................vs. Baylor ..............................................2:30 p.m. Sept. 12 ..........................SOUTHERN MISS ...........................6:45 p.m. Sept. 19 ..........................FLORIDA ....................................................6 p.m. Sept. 26 .........................VANDERBILT ..................................Afternoon Oct. 3 ..............................at #20 Tennessee .......................................Flex Oct. 17 ............................at #3 Georgia ..................................Afternoon Oct. 24 ...........................#11 LSU ........................................................11 a.m. Oct. 31 ............................at #9 Ole Miss ............................................Early Nov. 7 ..............................ARKANSAS .................................................Early Nov. 14 ............................at Mississippi State ...................................Early Nov. 21 ............................SAMFORD ..........................................2:30 p.m. Nov. 28 ...........................at #13 Alabama ............................................Flex STORY LINES n Head coach Alex Golesh enters his first season at the helm of the program and his fourth season as a head coach overall. His teams are 2-1 in the previous three season openers. n The matchup at Mercedes-Benz Stadium marks Auburn’s first neutral site game to begin a season since opening the 2019 season against Oregon in Arlington, Texas. n Auburn is 4-1 in season openers in Atlanta with Saturday’s matchup marking the first time the Tigers have opened in Atlanta since defeating No. 6 Washington 21-16 in the 2018 Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game. n The Tigers are 49-48-8 all-time in Atlanta, including 1-2 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. n Saturday’s game is a rematch of Byrum Brown (USF) and DJ Lagway (Florida) from 2025, a game Brown’s team won 18-16 in Gainesville. n Auburn is 104-27-2 (.789) all-time in season openers, trailing only Alabama (105) and tied with Arkansas (104) for the most season-opening wins among current SEC schools. n Auburn is also 30-14 (.682) in openers at neutral-site locations. n Auburn is opening the season in consecutive years against P4 opponents for the first time since scoring wins over Washington and Oregon to open the 2018 and 2019 seasons. n The Tigers have won 18 of their past 20 season openers dating back to the 2006 season, including nine straight season- opening wins since 2017. The nine straight season- opening wins is the third longest streak in program history. n Alex Golesh is 2-1 in season openers in three seasons as an FBS head coach, including back-to- back victories. n Auburn is 20-12-1 with a head coach making their Auburn debut, including 11-4 in the last 15. The Tigers are 12-1 when a head coach debuts at home, 3-5-1 on the road and 5-6 at neutral sites. n With a season-opening victory in Waco last season, Auburn and Baylor are tied 2-2-1 in the all-time series that dates to 1954. The Tigers do hold a neutral site win over Baylor 33-13 in the 1954 Gator Bowl. n Auburn is 25-8-1 all-time against the current members of the Big 12 with its now six games against Baylor the second most against any opponent in the league behind only Houston (7 meetings). n Byrum Brown will be Auburn’s 25th starting QB since 2000. The previous 24 are 18-6 in their Auburn debuts. n Auburn’s projected offensive line has combined for 130 career games played, including 68 starts. Senior center Cole Best leads the way with 39 games played and 23 starts. n Auburn’s 2026 campaign marks its 134th season of college football. The Tigers have 809 all-time wins, the 14th most among FBS programs. n Thirty-two former Auburn letterwinners enter the 2026 season on NFL rosters. n Auburn is 4-1 on September 5 all-time with the most recent game a 31-24 win over Louisville in Atlanta back in 2015. n Auburn is 12-10-1 all-time in domed stadiums, including a mark of 1-2 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Tigers’ lone victory in the facility was 21-16 over Washington in 2018. n Auburn has at least one defensive touchdown in 24 straight seasons, and in eight of the last nine years has at least one interception return for a touchdown. n Auburn’s four regular season wins over teams ranked No. 1 in AP/BCS/CFP are most in FBS since 2000. n In the games in which senior defensive back Champ Anthony plays at least 20 defensive snaps, Auburn is 6-3. SCOUTING AUBURN AUBURNTIGERS.COM Champ AnthonyRookie move: Not checking the propane tank gauge first before the tailgate. Pro move: Checking Allstate first so you could save hundreds. PROUD PARTNER Potential savings vary. Subject to terms, conditions, & availability. Allstate Ins. Co. & affiliates: Northbrook, IL8 SCOUTING BAYLOR BEARS HEAD COACH Dave Aranda (Cal Lutheran, 1999) Career Record ..........................................................36-37 (7th Season) Baylor Record............................................................36-37 (7th Season) vs. Auburn ....................................................................................................0-1 BAYLOR (0-0, 0-0 BIG 12) Sept. 5 ..............................vs. Auburn .............................................2:30 p.m. Sept. 12 ............................PRAIRIE VIEW A&M ...............................7 p.m. Sept. 19 ............................LOUISIANA TECH ..................................3 p.m. Sept. 26 ...........................COLORADO ..................................................TBA Oct. 3 ................................at Arizona State .............................................TBA Oct. 17 ..............................TCU .....................................................................TBA Oct. 24 .............................at Kansas ..........................................................TBA Oct. 30 ............................at UCF ....................................................6:30 p.m. Nov. 7 ................................IOWA STATE ..................................................TBA Nov. 14 .............................at #14 BYU .......................................................TBA Nov. 21 ..............................#12 TEXAS TECH .........................................TBA Nov. 28 ............................at #23 Houston .............................................TBA STORY LINES n Baylor will meet Auburn for the second consecutive year, matching up with the Tigers Saturday in Atlanta, Ga., at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium as part of the Kickoff Game. The game will kickoff at 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC. n The Bears faced off with Auburn last year in Waco in a two-year, home-and-home series, with the Tigers topping BU 38-24 behind a furious rushing attack. Auburn elected to move its game to Atlanta as part of the Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. n BU enters the seventh year under Coach Dave Aranda, a former national champion defensive coordinator for LSU’s 2019 15-0 season, and long considered one of the top defensive minds in college football. Aranda led the Bears to the best season in program history in his second year, 2021, a school-record 12-2 year that culminated in the Big 12 Championship and the Sugar Bowl, and he was named the national coach of the year. n The Bears are coming off a 5-7 season that saw BU narrowly miss its fourth bowl bid in the first six years under Aranda, Baylor was led by the Big 12’s top passing offense under the curation of coordinator Jake Spavital. n Spavital returns for year three directing the offensive attack. After Aranda called the defensive plays and was the inside linebackers coach for the last two years he has turned the keys of the defense over to first-year coordinator Joe Klanderman, who built steady and elite defenses at Kansas State since 2019. Klanderman joined the BU staff after leading K-State to top-30 defensive efficiency ratings in each of his five seasons leading the unit, including top 20 in 2022-23. He previously helped North Dakota State to four straight national titles. n Among the newcomers is QB DJ Lagway, a transfer from Florida, whose father starred at running back for the Bears in the 1990s. Lagway made 19 starts over two years in Gainesville. LEGACY LAGWAY n Baylor’s new signal caller is a Baylor legacy, as junior DJ Lagway follows in the footsteps of his father, Derek Lagway Sr., a bruising running back for the Bears from 1997- 2001. n Derek played in 40 games over his BU career, rushing 185 times for 711 yards with six touchdowns, while also catching 57 balls for 479 yards. During the 1999 season, Derek had 215 rushing yards and 102 receiving, a year after going for 335 rushing yards and 266 receiving. n A 6-foot-3, 237-pound QB, DJ was the No. 1-ranked recruit coming out of Willis High School. He chose Florida and started 19 games over his last two years for the Gators, despite battling injuries each season. DJ threw for 4,179 yards with 28 touchdowns over two years in Gainesville, Fla., and rushed for 237 yards with a touchdown. While leading UF to a 6-1 record as a starter as a true freshman, DJ threw for 1,915 yards in 12 games, with 12 touchdowns, and rushing for 101 yards. He started all 12 games in 2025, tossing 16 touchdowns with 2,264 yards and 136 rushing yards with a touchdown. n Lagway, who grew up loving Baylor football, admiring Robert Griffin III, and dreaming of playing for the Bears in the footsteps of his father, has embraced the role of returning to his roots. WR OPTIONS n Baylor must replace its five top pass catchers from the Big 12’s leading passing offense in 2026. The departure of Josh Cameron and All-America TE Michael Trigg to the NFL, and the graduate/professional development of Ashtyn Hawkins, Kole Wilson and Kobe Prentice opens a massive void for pass catchers. n Leading the way for the WR unit has been Louis Brown IV, who was a story of fall camp last year as a summer enrollee. Brown was a star of the preseason and found himself behind the quintet of receiving options early in the year. Baylor elected to redshirt Brown to preserve his eligibility for one more season. Brown has 103 career catches, over Colorado State and San Diego State, for 1,278 yards and nine touchdowns. He had six grabs for 79 yards and a touchdown in his four games for the Bears in 2025. He has again emerged as a major weapon for the offense in 2026. KLANDERMAN TO LEAD DEFENSE n The major coaching change in the Baylor program came with a shift in defensive coordinator following the 2025 season. Coach Dave Aranda pulled back after serving as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach and made the decision to hire Joe Klanderman from Kansas State, a proven DC in the unique offensively geared Big 12 and a coach that Aranda could completely turn the keys of the defense over too. SCOUTING BAYLOR BEARS AUBURNTIGERS.COM Louis Brown IVNext >