Will the defense continue to dominate after losing superstars to the NFL?
When a new coach is hired it normally means a fresh start, but Alex Golesh wasn't taking over a normal team. He was taking over the greatest 5-7 team in college football history. A major reason Auburn was able to stay in games late against powerhouse football teams week in and week out was very obvious to anyone who watched Auburn play last season... The defense was incredible.
Defensive coordinator DJ Durkin's 2025 squad ranked 12th nationally against the run allowing an average of 2.86 yards per carry. The passing defense was dominant as well. Auburn allowed an average of 4.95 yards per play through the air. A blistering 31 sacks, and 17 takeaways put Auburn in position to win every game they played last season. Opponents averaged 20 points per game. You would have to go back to 2003 to find an Auburn run defense that stingy.
The defense was even more productive at home. Auburn allowed 16 points per game in Jordan-Hare, and returning linebacker Xavier Atkins was a big reason for that success. His 17 tackles for loss, and 9 quarterback sacks led to being named 1st team All-SEC and 2nd team All-American. Atkins was the first All-American linebacker for Auburn since Karlos Dansby in 2003.
Other returning starters include senior Rayshawn Pleasant (2 INT, 1 TD), junior Kaleb Harris (50 tackles, 1 INT), and sophmores Eric Winters (33 tackles, 1 sack), and Elijah Melendez (2 INT, 1 TD).
Auburn did lose a lot of the major defenders from last year, but through the transfer portal Auburn added Cody Sigler (6-2, 308lbs) from Arkansas State, Da'Shawn Womack (6-5, 265lbs) from Ole Miss, Nate Johnson (6-5, 263lbs) from Missouri, Saint Farrior (6-3, 340lbs) from App State, and Walter Mathis Jr (6-2, 290lbs) from LSU.
An important difference between this year and last year is the tempo of Auburn's offense. Byrum Brown will be snapping the ball as quickly as possible as Golesh aims to wear down defenses with a hurry up no huddle approach at times similar to Gus Malzahn.
The major test this weekend will be against the secondary as Baylor led the Big 12 in passing last season, and they have brought in former Florida Gator quarterback DJ Lagway. The Dava Aranda led Bears passed for 419 yards against the 2025 Auburn defense without Lagway. Putting some containment on Lagway will be important on Saturday.
- Thomas Porter