Auburn football is on a tough stretch, having lost seven games in four straight seasons. Despite the recent rough stretch, Auburn has been one or two different results away from being on a completely different trajectory.
ESPN’s Bill Connelly feels Auburn’s rebuilding efforts are near completion and the Tigers are “on the brink of a breakthrough.” Results have rarely gone the way of the Tigers lately. Still, Auburn has been strong on the recruiting trail, and several of those players, including linebacker Elijah Melendez and running back Jeremiah Cobb, are developing at a steady rate and are ready to lead the team to success.
Beyond recruiting success, Connelly feels that Auburn’s hiring of Alex Golesh to lead the program was a smart move, as Golesh has a proven track record of turning programs around quickly.
“(Golesh) immediately turned South Florida around in his first head coaching gig, improving the Bulls from 114th to 85th in SP+ in his debut season and bringing them up to a stellar 30th in his third. Offense was the driving force in USF’s improvement, and he brought 11 former Bulls with him to the Plains in an attempt to assure a swift transition this time around. Meanwhile, he’s trying to keep a good thing going by keeping incumbent defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin in place after Durkin fielded back-to-back top-20 defenses (per SP+),” Connelly wrote.
Ahead of the season, ESPN’s Football Power Index shows that Auburn will find success early. The Tigers open the season ranked No. 26 in the ESPN SP+ rankings, and are projected to win 6.5 games with the nation’s No. 15 strength of schedule and the nation’s No. 18 defense.
ESPN also gives Auburn a 73.9% chance to win at least six games this season. If the forecast is correct, Auburn will earn a bowl bid for the first time in three seasons. Auburn is one of 13 SEC teams expected to win at least six games this season under the SEC’s new nine-game format, and every SEC team has a top-25 strength of schedule ranking.
Auburn will face plenty of talented teams this season, including Alabama, Georgia, and Ole Miss, all of which participated in the College Football Playoff in 2025. Their tough stretch begins on Saturday, Sept. 5, in Atlanta against the Baylor Bears at the Aflac Kickoff Game.
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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: ESPN analyst projects Auburn to reach a ‘breakthrough’ in 2026
