As the 2026 college football season approaches, the Auburn Tigers are set to see a fair share of unfamiliar faces make their debuts on the Plains, including new head coach Alex Golesh and transfer quarterback Byrum Brown, both of whom the Tigers brought over from USF last fall.
One familiar face Auburn will see this season, however, is its Week 1 opponent: the Baylor Bears.
This will be the second straight season in which the Tigers will begin the year with a matchup against the Bears after facing them for the first time in 49 years last August. Throughout their history, Auburn and Baylor have met only five times, with the series tied at 2-2-1. The Tigers won the first meeting in 1954 and the most recent matchup in 2025.
Auburn will be looking to replicate its dominant offensive performance in Waco, Texas, from a year ago as the Bears travel to Mercedes-Benz Stadium this time around. Despite being the visiting team in a sold-out McLane Stadium last season, Auburn cruised to a 38-24 victory over the Bears, scoring a touchdown in every quarter.
Baylor was unable to slow down the Tigers' relentless rushing attack, with Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold finishing the night with 137 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Running backs Damari Alston and Jeremiah Cobb also posted solid performances, each rushing for more than 70 yards and scoring a touchdown.
While Auburn's offense enjoyed an impressive outing in Waco, the Tigers' secondary struggled heavily against Baylor's pass-heavy offense. Bears quarterback Sawyer Robertson threw for more than 400 yards and three touchdowns, and Auburn was unable to contain Baylor's receiving duo of Kole Wilson and Michael Trigg throughout the game. The pair combined for 15 receptions, 233 receiving yards and one touchdown, scored by Wilson.
Although Auburn opened the 2025 season with a victory over Baylor, both teams finished the year with disappointing 5-7 records after running into major roadblocks in conference play.
Despite only a year passing since the Tigers' last meeting with the Bears, both teams enter the 2026 season with completely restructured offenses. The only returning skill-position players from last year's matchup are Auburn's Jeremiah Cobb and Baylor's Caden Knighten and Louis Brown IV.
One intriguing storyline entering the 2026 matchup is Auburn running back Bryson Washington, who transferred to the Tigers from Baylor last winter. Washington emerged as a standout runner for the Bears as a redshirt freshman in 2024, rushing for more than 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns.
However, the Franklin, Texas, native was unable to find much success against the Tigers last season, totaling just 54 yards on 14 carries. Now wearing the orange and blue, Washington will not only be looking to impress in his SEC debut but also to make a statement against his former team.
The Golesh era at Auburn is set to begin on Sept. 5 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta as the Tigers face Baylor in the Aflac Kickoff Game.
Stay tuned for more coverage over the next few weeks, as The Auburn Plainsman will be previewing every opponent on Auburn's 2026 football schedule as the season approaches.
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Jonathan is a freshman majoring in industrial and systems engineering. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2025.
