Overall, Auburn’s defense performed better against Baylor than last year’s opener in Waco. The Bears had fewer total yards, fewer passing yards, more turnovers and, most importantly, fewer points than in the same match up in 2025. Where head coach Alex Golesh feels they need to get much better is on third and fourth down.
“Early, really really poor…played it out well on third down as the game went…it truly is having situational awareness enough to understand leverages in coverage to play tighter on the perimeter,” Golesh said to reporters on Monday. He was particularly frustrated with the space Baylor’s wide receivers were allowed to operate in on third and short to medium.
One receiver that gave the Tigers fits was Gavin Freeman, who hauled in 12 receptions for 154 yards. Auburn Undercover asked defensive coordinator DJ Durkin about that and how the secondary is adjusting this week to have a better outing against Southern Miss’s receivers.
Durkin said, “Couple of those things were alignment/leverage issues. We knew going into the game he was going to be a key guy for them…we know better than this. Let’s go play our style. I’m certain our guys will do that.”
Auburn’s defense was on the field for a staggering 99 plays on Saturday. Despite numerous players taking over 90 of those reps, Durkin’s unit only gave up 2.3 yards per rush, which indicates the Tigers were in excellent physical condition for the contest. One of the players that had a high snap count was safety and game one hero Eric Winters, who took 91 of the 99 defensive snaps. Durkin broke down Winters game saving final play of the game.
“It was a picture perfect example of what we say wrap, squeeze, drive for five… He was going against a big body that's a tight end. If he did not do all that you're supposed to, that ball has to go 6 more inches and it's a whole different story.”
Golesh feels Saturday was eye-opening for the program. He feels a lot of the young guys played beyond their years, especially Winters. Golesh also said he hopes moving forward that more leaders will emerge across the team. “This entire program understands because of the way that dude (Winters) goes through his daily process, makes that play, now we need everyone to go do it.”
Since football began on the plains, Auburn has won 106 home openers. A win on Saturday would be the 79th time overall an Auburn team has started the year 2-0. Auburn and Southern Miss kickoff from Jordan-Hare Stadium at 6:45. It will be the 23rd straight sellout inside JHS.
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
