Game week has officially arrived for the Auburn Tigers and first year head coach Alex Golesh. Auburn will take on the Baylor Bears in the Aflac kickoff game in Atlanta on Saturday. The Tigers and Bears will be meeting for the 6th time with the series tied at 2-2-1. Golesh talked about what has been going into preparing his team to play on Saturday.
“It starts with communication. It starts with being able to be on the same page. Then having counters to everything that you are doing on all three sides of the ball,” Golesh said at his weekly press conference on Monday.
Baylor’s defense is under the guidance of new defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman. Auburn offensive coordinator Joel Gordon feels there are a lot of unknowns going up against him, adding the Tigers could see several different looks offensively.
“They had been out of stack for four, five years I think. Before that they were all four down… being a good coordinator in both of those schemes that they are going to have the ability to do both,” Gordon told reporters on Monday.
Both Gordon and Golesh want their players to be able to play fast. The fact that Auburn has a plethora of players that have played in this offensive system before should be a big benefit for the Tigers on that side of the ball. In addition to quarterback Byrum Brown, USF transfer wide receivers Keshaun Singleton, Chas Nimrod, Jeremiah Koger, and Christian Neptune are all expected to figure prominently in the Tigers offensive rotations.
Gordon spoke about the progress his receivers have made in preseason camp. “They just took steps forward every single day of understanding, hey, when the ball comes my way, I’m playing against somebody good on the other side of the ball whoever is covering me and I gotta make a play.”
Golesh feels this year’s team is still trying to find their identity. He shared how that could present some challenges Saturday. “We’re going to continue to empower guys to lead. I feel like we have a handful. I don’t know if we have enough to be honest with you on all three sides of the ball,” Golesh said.
Gordon was upbeat about watching his offense compete against another team and talked about what he wanted to see from his unit on Saturday. “Be able to take the confidence that they’ve earned and go out there and don’t put too much pressure on themselves. Get rid of the nerves. Settle in and do what we know we can do…I’m excited to see what that looks like,” Gordon said.
Golesh will look to become the 21st Auburn head coach to win in his debut. The Tigers will also be looking for their 31st season opening win at a neutral site. Auburn and Baylor kick things off at 2:30 central inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
