Expectations are beginning to rise for Auburn under Alex Golesh. National projections now see the Tigers returning to a winning season in Year 1, but if Auburn lives up to its potential, an 8-4 finish and a winning SEC record may be a more realistic ceiling than many are giving them credit for.
The Auburn Tigers are already projecting in the right direction with their new coaching staff.
After multiple years of underperforming, missing bowl games, and staying out of the national picture as a contender, the national media has begun to change its view of the Auburn Tigers with new head coach Alex Golesh at the helm. After arriving from a successful stint at South Florida, Golesh has hit the ground running with a strong transfer portal class for the upcoming season.
A winning season in year one would do wonders for the fanbase's confidence in him, and that's exactly what many believe will happen. Earlier this week, CBS Sports predicted that the Tigers would be better than .500 in year one of the new regime. Writer Brad Crawford actually predicted Auburn to finish 7-5 on the year, going undefeated in non conference play and 4-5 against SEC opponents.
"This would qualify as meaningful progress on The Plains for a program that's spent the last several years searching for stability," Crawford said. "The Tigers aren't devoid of talent, but expectations should be tempered given the roster turnover, coaching transition, and the weekly grind of the SEC. A seven-win campaign would likely mean Auburn held serve against the teams it should beat and won a game or two against a couple of more established opponents."
Although this would certainly be an improvement and would place Auburn back in more of a contender position for future seasons, especially with Golesh currently working on a top-ten class for the 2027 recruiting cycle, this prediction actually seems low.
In Crawford's projection, He has Auburn winning all 3 non conference games against Baylor, Southern Miss, and Samford, all of which seem very doable based on last year's rosters and future trends. However, when looking at the Tigers SEC schedule, they missed one game I believe will go in favor of Golesh and Auburn.
In this prediction, Florida, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and Arkansas are the 4 teams he believes will fall at the hands of Auburn this season inside the conference. I find it hard to think they will drop the game on the road against Mississippi State, and that's where we differ in predictions.
Would 7-5 be a massive improvement? Yes, of course. Being able to battle for a bowl game inside the first year of a coach that has no 'proof of concept' inside the SEC would do wonders for years to come, but 8-4 seems more likely, as well as a winning record inside the toughest conference in college football.
