The Auburn Tigers are four days away from the opening kick of the 2026 regular season and the start of a new era in the program, as Alex Golesh takes over the reins as the head coach.
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With that comes a number of emotions, both in terms of excitement and nervousness, while also bringing upon memories of how past seasons have gone.
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 mini series heads to the 2023 opener next when Auburn opened up the Hugh Freeze era by welcoming the UMass Minutemen, a game the Tigers took 59-14.
Auburn opened up the scoring on their first drive of the season with an 11-play series that spanned 62 yards, ending with a 2-yard run from Damari Alston to put the Tigers up 7-0.
The Minutemen responded though in stellar fashion after being backed up deep in their own territory, driving 89 yards down the field to tie the game on a quarterback keeper from Taisun Phommachanh.
Auburn proceeded to take the lead back on its next drive with a 37-yard field goal from Alex McPherson, but owned the game from then on.
The Tigers scored three touchdowns in the second quarter of action, all coming courtesy of quarterback Robby Ashford and his legs.
Auburn secured solid field position to open the quarter, and Ashford ran it in on the first play of the period for 10 yards to make it a 17-7 ball game. Later on, the quarterback pushed in touchdowns from 1 yard and 4 yards out, pushing the lead to 31-7 as the two sides headed into halftime.
The Tigers shined further in the third quarter, as 17 seconds into the half, Jaylin Simpson picked a pass off and made a house call, running it back 50 yards for a touchdown.
Then, on Auburn’s first offensive drive of the second half, Payton Thorne connected with Jay Fair on the drive’s first play for a 29-yard score, continuing to blow the doors open.
Jeremiah Cobb bursted through a hole later on in the third, cementing another single-play drive with a 42-yard run to extend things to 52-7.
Each team capped off the game with a touchdown drive to take away in the fourth, as UMass saw Anthony Simpson secure a 58-yard pass from Carlos Davis, while the Tigers got a 45-yard touchdown run from Sean Jackson to close the score at 59-14.
Thorne led the game in passing, going 10-for-17 for 141 yards and one touchdown through the air. Ashford and Holden Geriner also were able to get in on the action as well. Malcolm Johnson Jr. led the receiving corps with two receptions for 59 yards.
The ground put on a 289-yard performance, but not one runner eclipsed 100 yards for the game. Jackson led Auburn with five rushes for 64 yards, while the most carries came from Ashford, who ran nine times for 51 yards and three touchdowns.
Simpson was on the receiving end of both turnovers that the Tigers forced, having the pick six while also securing a fumble recovery.
Eugene Asante led the way in tackles with six total for the afternoon, while four sacks were dispersed between him, DK Kaufman, Marcus Harris and Elijah McAllister.
Auburn finished the year 6-7 overall in Freeze’s first campaign on the Plains, capping things off in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl in Nashville, where they fell to the Maryland Terrapins 31-13.
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
