Golesh Era Begins Saturday: Auburn Meets Baylor in the Aflac Kickoff

ATLANTA — Alex Golesh coaches his first game as Auburn’s head coach on Saturday, Sept. 5, when the Tigers face Baylor in the Aflac Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Kickoff is 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC.

Both teams open with a transfer quarterback under center: South Florida transfer Byrum Brown for Auburn, who followed Golesh from Tampa, and Florida transfer DJ Lagway for Baylor, making his debut under head coach Dave Aranda.

Baylor is replacing four wide receivers and its top rusher from last season. Auburn beat the Bears in last year’s meeting under previous coach Hugh Freeze, and enters this one thinned at receiver after losses during camp.

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Golesh called Baylor “a unique challenge” during Monday’s press conference, nine months after his hiring.

Source: CBS Sports

Opelika Daily News — Thursday Report, September 3, 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