CBS Sports projects Auburn football to finish 7-5 in Alex Golesh's first season, but the Tigers may have significant dark-horse potential. With Byrum Brown leading a familiar offense, Auburn could quickly exceed expectations in 2026.
Many have a difficult time deciding how the Auburn Tigers will finish the 2026 season. With Alex Golesh taking over the helm as the head coach of the Tigers, a new optimism has been built on the Plains. However, after failing to make a bowl game last season and firing head coach Hugh Freeze, the team's expectations are not as high as a program with Auburn's pedigree should have.
In a recent article, CBS Sports writer Brad Crawford projects Alex Golesh will take the Auburn Tigers to a 7-5 record once the season is concluded. Crawford believes that Auburn will have a losing record inside the SEC, going 4-5 on the year.
"An aggressive portal haul addressed several weaknesses, added proven playmakers -- many from USF -- and gave this staff enough depth to challenge ranked opponents deep into the fourth quarter," said Crawford.
One of the main similarities that a majority of national writers have made regarding this Auburn roster is the underestimation of the players following Alex Golesh from South Florida. Players such as Byrum Brown, Cole Best, Chas Nimrod, and others should provide enough familiarity to slow the growing pains of a new head coach inside a new program.
Following a 3,000-yard passing and 1,000-yard rushing season by Byrum Brown, a stat that only 13 quarterbacks have done in the history of college football, the new Auburn quarterback is hungry for a chance at success. He is not allowing the narrative of Auburn using this season to find an identity as an excuse.
"Golesh's offensive creativity should make Auburn a tough out, particularly if Byrum Brown stabilizes the quarterback position and the revamped offensive line holds up," continued Crawford. "The Tigers have dark-horse potential if everything clicks, but a more realistic identity may be that of a weekly nuisance nobody wants to face."
That dark horse potential will all rely on how October goes for the Tigers. The team has an opportunity to have a strong September, but the middle month of the season will truly dictate if Auburn is a contender or still a rebuilder inside the conference. Golesh potentially could find a way to steal wins at home against LSU or even Ole Miss in Oxford, and then the narrative would certainly change much quicker. It would immediately give the former South Florida coach proof of concept inside the toughest conference in college football.
Crawford also believes that Golesh's Year 1 goal should be "Flex progress with a mid-tier SEC move up."
Thankfully, Golesh doesn't set goals, and there will certainly be more that comes out of this season than that.
