One week stands between the Auburn Tigers and the kick-off to the 2026 college football season, one that marks a new era in the program with Alex Golesh taking the field for the first time as the team’s head coach.
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The beginning of every season brings back memories of years past, and while the season opener does not always match what a program’s overall season looks like, there is a special charm about what it does.
Auburn Undercover takes a look back at the last five season openers that the Tigers have played in. Auburn has not lost a season opener since the 2016 season, when it fell to the Clemson Tigers 19-13.
The 2022 opener comes up next as Auburn took on the Mercer Bears with a new starting quarterback in T.J. Finley, as Bo Nix transferred to Oregon after 2021.
Just like the year prior, the Tigers owned this contest from the first kick, getting off to a quick start in the first half of action and ultimately winning 42-16.
Auburn’s opening drive of the year was the prime example of the fast start, as an 11-play, 68-yard drive ended in a 19-yard run by Jarquez Hunter for a touchdown.
Just six minutes later, the Tigers went quick and rattled off 93 yards in four plays, finishing the drive with a 2-yard pass from Finley to John Samuel Shenker.
Two more rushing touchdowns filled the second quarter for Auburn, as Hunter and Tank Bigsby each rumbled home a 2-yard score to make it a 28-0 game.
Mercer got on the board to end the first half with 20 seconds left as Devron Harper caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Fred Payton.
The ground game continued its dominance in the second half as the duo of Hunter and Bigsby struck again. Hunter scored for a third time with a 1-yard run, while Bigsby broke off a 39-yard run to push the Tigers lead to 42-7.
The fourth quarter saw the Bears be the only ones to score with a 33-yard field goal from Devin Folser and a passing touchdown from Payton to Harper for an 8-yard score to cap off the 42-16 win for Auburn.
Finley finished 9-for-14 passing for 112 yards with just one touchdown and two interceptions. Robby Ashford also got some time under center, going 4-for-7 for 100 yards. Wide receiver Ja’Varrius Johnson led in receiving yards with four catches for 117 yards on the night.
The rushing attack owned the night with 285 total yards. Bigsby led the running backs in yardage, carrying the ball 16 times for 147 yards and two touchdowns. Hunter was behind him with eight rushes for 34 yards and three touchdowns. Ashford got action on the ground as well with six runs for 68 yards.
Linebacker Cam Riley led the way on the defensive side of the football, notching 15 tackles, with nine of them being solo. Derick Hall had a lone sack on the day, part of an illustrious career for the now NFL star.
The Tigers totaled 497 yards for the game and 22 first downs. The 285 rushing yards accounted for 57.34 percent of the total yardage, while the 212 passing yards made up the other 43.66 percent. Auburn lost the time of possession battle though, only having the ball for 27 minutes and 57 seconds compared to Mercer’s 32 minutes and three seconds.
The Tigers finished the year 5-7, with Bryan Harsin having been fired following a home loss to Arkansas to close out October. Cadillac Williams became the interim head coach, going 2-2 in his four games leading the program. Auburn did not make a bowl game as a result of its record.
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
