Since the preseason and at halftime of every single game with Alex Golesh as their head coach, the Auburn Tigers have been told one word that needed to define the second half — finish.
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It means ending every aspect of the game the right way, which to Golesh is by being the more physical and violent football team on the field, while also playing all the way to the end.
Up until the 45-15 loss to Ole Miss on the road, Golesh came into each postgame presser feeling like his team finished the game on a solid note, whether that was in a win or a defeat. However, in Oxford, that was not so true.
After making it 17-15 in the third quarter, the Rebels scored 28-straight points on the Tigers, going from simply having a lead to putting on a clinic. Golesh exited the contest feeling like that was the first time that Auburn had not finished well and fought all the way to the end.
So when it got to the week of the Tigers preparing to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday, Golesh preached one thing, and one thing only.
“I thought the whole challenge to us going into this whole deal was the ability to go finish,” Golesh said. “It's literally the only thing we talked about the entire week. Made a huge emphasis in practice, changed some things around. Truly, the only word last night was 'finish.' The only word this morning was 'finish.' The only word at halftime was 'finish.' Play to play. Finish drives. And, certainly, finish the game. Really big to go and be able to finish.”
Finishing has especially been important in the close games, and when the games have come down to critical moments in the 2026 season, Auburn has stepped up.
With the Tigers’ 26-23 win over the Razorbacks on Saturday in Jordan-Hare Stadium, they are now 4-1 in one-score games under Golesh. The first-year head coach has led his team to more one-possession wins in nine games than Hugh Freeze did when he was with the program, as he delivered two in two years and some change.
That result has come because Golesh said his players are continuing to buy in to everything he says, as he is teaching them stuff that they can use not only in football, but in life as well.
“I'm proud of our guys for finding a way to go finish,” Golesh said. “This building a foundation is so incredibly hard, and I know I've said this before. It has nothing to do with me. It's a group of guys buying into this, laying a foundation. whatever that looks like on the outside world, that's hard.”
To Golesh, he wants to win as badly as anybody on the field, but it is not as much about the result as it is what his players learn from the moment. Even if the game results in a loss, he is always teaching his team about where it did not finish.
In this late stage of the season, Auburn is naturally experiencing fatigue and seeing some guys have roadblocks in terms of health. At the end of the day though, the Tigers still have to go out and play no matter who is healthy.
They did that against Arkansas, which is why they won.
The challenge for us, truly, now is: Can we go finish this thing the way we're supposed to, to go back on the road and go play our best football?” Golesh said. “Guys gotta step up. I think that's how you build a football program. You build depth through young guys and, today, I thought it was a really, really good example to our entire program and to some other dudes that maybe haven't gotten their chance yet — put your head down, keep working.”
Doing that will help Auburn finish the 2026 season on a solid note, something Golesh knows is necessary in order for a path to be set for the future.
“With the pressure that these guys have on the outside, the messaging, the standard, the demand has to consistently be the same every single day,” Golesh said. “Hopefully, as we go and finish this thing out, we have something to stand on and a true strong foundation that we recruit to, that we retain to.”
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
