Auburn Holds Off Baylor 17-16 on Late Two-Point Stop

September 6, 2026 — Auburn, AL

Auburn opened the season with a 17-16 win over Baylor in the Aflac Kickoff Game on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, and it came down to one play. With nine seconds left, Baylor scored on fourth-and-goal from the 5 to pull within a point and went for two; quarterback DJ Lagway found tight end Matthew Klopfenstein in the flat, and Auburn safety Eric Winters stopped him inches short of the goal line.

Auburn led 10-7 at the half on a 43-yard Alex McPherson field goal and a 15-yard Jeremiah Cobb run. Baylor tied it at 10 with a fourth-quarter field goal before Byrum Brown ran 11 yards for the go-ahead score with 3:21 left. It is the first win for head coach Alex Golesh.

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Auburn is 1-0 and hosts Southern Miss at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, at 6:45 p.m.

Sources: AP via CBS Sports, official box score.

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