Auburn Football Enters ESPN FPI Top 25 Preseason Rankings Under Coach Golesh

July 9–10, 2026 — Auburn, Alabama

Auburn football cracked the ESPN FPI (Football Power Index) preseason Top 25, coming in at No. 22 — a notable milestone for a program in its first year under new head coach Alex Golesh. Auburn is also rated as having a top-15 most difficult schedule in the country per ESPN.

Athlon Sports named linebacker Xavier Atkins and safety Rayshawn Pleasant as All-SEC Preseason First-Teamers. USA Today’s preseason poll projects Auburn for 6.6 wins. Marquee 2026 matchups include Baylor (Sept. 5 at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium), Georgia, LSU, and the Iron Bowl at Alabama (Nov. 28).

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Golesh brings quarterback Byrum Brown and five receivers from USF, aiming to build an up-tempo offensive identity in his first season leading the Tigers.

Source: SI.com / ESPN / Saturday Down South

From the Opelika Weekly News Digest — July 7–13, 2026 | Compiled by Viktor AI for Opelika Daily News

Author: Jerry Katz

Jerry Katz is the creator of Opelika Daily News. A former broadcaster, he has been writing about Opelika for more than twenty years — first as a blogger, now as the one-person newsroom behind this site. He curates the region's local news daily, writes the Katz Ramblings column and the weekly From the Archives look-back, and maintains an archive of more than 3,200 posts reaching back to 2002. He lives in Opelika. Reach him at jerry@opelikadailynews.com. View all posts by Jerry Katz