With the lights shining from the sun in downtown Atlanta and those inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, all eyes were on the defenses for both Auburn and Baylor as the two looked to make their own statements to kick off the 2026 season.
Sure enough, with nine econds left in the game, that statement happened.
The star in the green and gold that was Gavin Freeman caught a touchdown pass from DJ Lagway to put the Bears down by just one point, and with the game on the line, Baylor Head Coach Dave Aranda chose to go for two points and the win.
After a series of timeouts took place to assess the situation that was at hand, the teams came onto the field for what was the game-defining play.
Lagway then took a snap and rolling a little right found his tight end Matthew Klopfenstein at the 1-yard line, and despite the big senior catching the ball, in came Eric Winters, who after giving up the recent touchdown catch came bursting to the flat to make a tackle before Klopfenstein could get across the goal line, sending those in orange and blue into a frenze and getting the Tigers to 1-0 on the year.
Winters was the story of Auburn’s early defensive success, as on the first Bears drive of the game, Lagway put up a successful hurdle on Rayshawn Pleasant. Winters proceeded to knock the ball out on the landing, and Kaleb Harris recovered the ball to force a turnover.
The Tigers got on the board on the ensuing drive, as Alex McPherson knocked a kick good from 43 yards to get a 3-0 lead.
On the second Baylor drive, the theme of the turnovers kept on as, once again in Tigers territory, Lagway gave it away. This time, EDGE Jared Smith got his hands up at the line of scrimmage and came down with the ball, making it two turnovers in two drives for defense.
The defenses overall went drive-for-drive, finding ways to make a key play that set the opposing offense back and ultimately stalled the drive.
That showed up big at the beginning of the second quarter when the Bears got a field goal opportunity for Rhett Armstrong from 42 yards. Dallas Walker IV ultimately got a finger on it, causing it to go wide right.
Baylor kept going though on defense, and later in the second quarter with Auburn driving, Byrum Brown threw a deep ball that got intercepted at the 2-yard line by Reggie Bush II.
The Tigers finally got threw on their next drive out, a run from Bryce Cain around right end set up for Jeremiah Cobb to run it 15 yards through the right side of the line and into the end zone for a touchdown to make it 10-0.
The Bears responded though, and Lagway got the game back within one possession with a 14-yard pass to Louis Brown IV, making 10-7.
Auburn attempted to respond near the end of the first half, but Brown threw his second interception of the night with just a few seconds left to Devon Jordan off a tipped pass.
The third quarter continued on with the defensive slugfest as the Tigers held their own by getting a fourth down stop on man-to-man coverage thanks to Rayshawn Pleasant playing tight on Jadon Porter.
At the end of the period though, it was Baylor once again coming up with a big stop. Auburn went for a fake punt in Bears territory and Omar Mabson II got stuffed, giving momentum back to Baylor headed into the fourth.
The fourth quarter packed the highlights though, and Brown avenged his interceptions with an 11-yard run around left end, capping off a 10-play, 75-yard drive to make 17-10.
But as the Bears kept driving down the field, completing pass after pass, Baylor got to fourth down and the game on the line, and Lagway came up and fired one in the flats to Freeman to send green and gold into a frenzy, making 17-16.
The game rested on the ensuing 2-point play though, and after Winters gave up the most recent touchdown, he flew in to make the tackle on Klopfenstein to win the game, sending the Tigers out of Atlanta 1-0.
Auburn will head back home and suit up for its home opener against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles next week.
