David White

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Auburn Football

Week 0 College Football features compelling matchups as teams try to catapult themselves into the national conversation

August 27, 2026
Jaden Craig “matriculates” football-wise, to TCU after a decorated career in the Ivy League. (Photo courtesy of The Harvard Crimson).

Week 0 in College Football kicks off Saturday, and after all the upheaval over the summer, it’s time to put the controversy aside and focus on what’s best about the sport: the games.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey took a hard stand against Lane Kiffin and the LSU contingency when he barred any SEC team from adding NFL players to their roster. Players who had already signed NFL contracts.

Sankey put a league-wide penalty on any team that violated this rule. The punishment is severe. If a team does try and take an NFL player, the head coach would be suspended for half the season, the SEC would cut half of the team’s operations budget, and the school would lose SEC voting privileges.

I greatly admire the Commissioner for his strong stand.

That’s a positive for college football.

Now, onto the Week 0 matchups. Teams will be trying to establish themselves in the national landscape right out of the starting blocks. There’s an excellent storyline in every game on the opening weekend slate.

Here’s a look at Week 0, along with White’s World’s Sports Confidential’s Predictions.

Record in 2025: SU-174-58, 75%. ATS: 108-124, 47%. Over/Under: 123-109, 53%. Playoff/Bowls SU:13-8. ATS: 12-9. O/U: 15-6.

Record in 2024: 169-64, 73%; ATS: 121-111, 52%; O/U: 13-13. O/U just for bowls/Playoff, when I started keeping Over/Under. 2024 includes regular season and Playoff/Bowls.

All games are Saturday, and all times are Central. Records from 2025 are in Parentheses.

North Carolina (4-8, 2-6 ACC) vs. TCU (9-4, 5-4 Big 12)

Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, 51,700

11 A.M.

ESPN

Mike Monaco, JRodg, Dana Boyle

TCU by 8 1/2, O/U 46 1/2

Bill Belichick tries to recover from a disastrous first year at the helm in Chapel Hill. He’s got a new quarterback in Billy Edwards Jr., who threw for 2,881 yards with 15 TDs and 9 interceptions in 2024 for Maryland, but only played in three games for Wisconsin last year.

As usual, Belichick’s squad is packed with transfers. A lot of baggage in this program under Belichick, which is typical. A coach, his son, Steve, left the team for a medical leave. Another coach, the General Manager Michael Lombardi, not a coach technically, was suspended after a personnel complaint.

And, with that said, in comes Easy Rider Bobby Petrino to rescue the offense. That’s some serious luggage. He does have success as an offensive mind on his resume, however.

The TCU defense, and particularly its secondary, will be tested by Petrino and Edwards Jr. After a solid 2025 season on offense, as usual under Sonny Dykes, the Horned Frogs needed to bring in a new signal caller as Josh Hoover took his talents to Bloomington and Curt Cignetti; the defending national champion Indiana Hoosiers. Hoover had some good moments in Fort Worth, but he’s also a pretty high interception passer. He threw 29 TDs, but also 13 ints last season. We’ll see if Cignetti and company can do better in that department with Hoover.

Jaden Craig comes to Fort Worth from Harvard where he threw for 2,869 yards, 25 TDs and 7 ints in 2025, and 2,430 yards, 23 TDs and 3 ints in 2024. He’s not a big scrambler, but he’s a solid athlete. TCU returns two starting offensive linemen, and 12 more returners, which will help their quarterback stay upright.

Gordon Sammis came over from UConn to replace Kendal Briles as offensive coordinator as Briles took the OC job under Shane Beamer at South Carolina. In 2025, the UConn offense was 16th in the country in points per game at 36.9. They ranked 18th nationally in yards, averaging 456.7 per game. And they led the nation in ball security turning the ball over only once all season. Sammis played offensive line at Virginia. So a possible upgrade for the Horned Frogs.

Prediction

This game may not be as high scoring a game as predicted, due to it being the first game of the season. TCU walloped UNC 48-14 in Chapel Hill last season, but I expect a much more competitive game in Dublin. Belichick and Petrino should have the Tar Heels better prepared, while both teams are breaking in new quarterbacks. I’ll take TCU to win, but UNC to make it interesting.

TCU 24, UNC 20

San Jose State (3-9, 2-6 Mountain West) @ USC (9-4, 7-2 Big Ten)

Jayden Maiava is expected to have a big year for the Trojans. (Photo courtesy of the LA Times).

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, 77,500

2 P.M.

NBC

Noah Eagle, Todd, Kathryn Tappen

USC by 38 1/2, 60 1/2

Lincoln Riley secured the No.1 high school recruiting class in 2026 (On3 Rankings), and has declared that USC is back. They had a good year in 2025, not great, but have aspirations of making the Playoff this season. If they don’t, Riley may start feeling some more heat. Riley is expecting big things from quarterback Jayden Maiava, who in 2025, completed 265 of 403 attempts for 3,711 yards, 66 percent, 24 TDs and 10 ints. Those are probably more interceptions than Riley is looking for, but Maiava is in his fourth season, and that’s not terrible. He rushed for 6 touchdowns in 2025.

USC is planning on a big season in LA, and they aren’t backing down from their belief that they’re one of the best teams in the country. Lincoln Riley has done it before at Oklahoma, so you have some trust in his comments that USC is ready to compete. He could very well be right.

This’ll be tough for the Spartans.

USC 49, San Jose State 7

North Carolina State (7-6, 4-4 ACC) @ Virginia (11-3, 7-1)

CJ Bailey is stellar under center for the Wolfpack. (Photo courtesy of Queen City News, Charlotte N.C.)

Scott Stadium, Charlottesville, 61,500

2:30 P.M.

ESPN

Wes Durham, Max Browne, Madison Fitzpatrick

UVA by 4, 52 1/2

The ‘Hoos had a terrific 2025 under Tony Elliott as they reached the ACC Championship Game, losing to Duke, unfortunately in that one, but winning the Gator Bowl over Missouri, 13-7. Missouri transfer Beau Pribula will take the snaps for the Cavaliers this season. For Eli Drinkwitz and Missouri last season, Pribula completed 68% of his passes with 11 TDs and 9 interceptions. He rushed for 6 TDs.

On the other side, CJ Bailey completed 69% of his passes with 25 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He also ran for 6 scores.

Prediction

Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren is 4-0 against Virginia, including last season’s 35-31 comeback victory over Virginia in Raleigh, and the Pack hasn’t lost @ C-Ville since 1996. I like CJ Bailey and company to keep that momentum going and propel the Wolfpack into the 2026 season with an upset victory at Scott Stadium.

NC State 28, Virginia 27

Jacksonville State (9-5, 7-1 C-USA) @ North Dakota State (12-1, 8-0 MVC)

Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome, 18,700

4:30 P.M.

CBS Sports Network

Rich Waltz, Adam Breneman, Brian Kelly? Are you kiddin’ me?

NDSU by 7, 46 1/2

After winning 10 national championships in FCS, which included five in a row from 2011-15, and the most recent one in 2024, the Bison left the Missouri Valley Conference and now begins their journey into FBS play as one of the now 138 teams in FBS this season. Jax State is solid, but I like the Bison at the Fargodome. Don’t know a ton about the Dome except that it is a definite home field advantage from what I’ve researched on it.

The Bison aims to make a statement in FBS this season. They had massive success in FCS ball and plan on the same at the FBS level. They play big, tough, physical football and that translates well to any level of the game. The home field will be an advantage at the end, too.

North Dakota State 24, Jacksonville State 16

Hawaii (9-4, 5-3 Mountain West) @ Stanford (4-8, 2-6 ACC)

Stanford Stadium, Palo Alto, 50,424

6 P.M.

ACC Network

Jorge Sedano, Rodney McLeod, Kendra Douglas

Stanford by 4 1/2, 48 1/2

Stanford had a tough transition into the ACC last season, and have a new coach, Tavita Pritchard, who is a former quarterback at Stanford from 2006-09. But Hawaii is pretty tough and defeated the Cardinal last season. I like the upset.

Hawaii 27, Stanford 24

New Mexico State (4-8, 2-6 C-USA) @ Florida State (5-7, 2-6 ACC)

Former Auburn quarterback Ashton Daniels takes the reins in Tallahassee (Photo courtesy of x.com)

Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium, 67,277

6 P.M.

CW Network

Thom Brennaman, Jason Cabinda, Wes Bryant

FSU by 32 1/2, 52 1/2

I really like former Auburn and Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels, who is now the new FSU starting quarterback . He completed 68 of 119 last season, 57 percent, for 797 yards, 3 TDs and 2 ints last year for the Tigers, playing at the end of the season, but gave Vanderbilt everything it wanted as he and Cam Coleman, now with Texas, wore out the Commodores secondary; though Diego Pavia and Vanderbilt prevailed in the end.

But Daniels and Coleman put on a clinic. I believe the ‘Noles will be improved with Daniels under center. Mike Norvell certainly needs him to be with Norvell’s job in jeopardy again with a bad season if Florida State can afford Norvell’s massive buyout.

FSU 34, New Mexico State 7

Memphis (8-5, 4-4 American) @ UNLV (10-4, 6-2 Mountain West)

Jackson Arnold, also from Auburn, will be under center for UNLV. (Photo courtesy of Hudl).

Allegiant Stadium, Vegas, 65,000

9 P.M.

FOX

Tim Brando, Devin Gardner, Josh Sims

UNLV by 4, 56 1/2

Charles Huff takes over at Memphis. Ryan Silverfield secured the Arkansas job after six solid seasons in the River City where he posted a 50-25 record and a 4-1 bowl record.

Memphis head coaches can have trouble with the transition from the Group of Five to Power 4 jobs. The Group of Five is now the Group of Six with the PAC-12 joining the American, the Sun Belt, the Mountain West, C-USA and the MAC.

Two examples of Memphis coaches struggling are Justin Fuente, who struggled at Virginia Tech before being fired, and now Norvell, who has been really slogging through the last couple of years at FSU, though he had good success in 2023, just missing the then four team playoff.

Both are good coaches. It’s just a tough row to hoe. Huff, a former running backs coach for Nick Saban in 2019 and 2020, has compiled a 39-25 overall head coaching record with a four year stint at Marshall, and last season at Southern Miss.

He’ll take on Dan Mullen and Jackson Arnold, a quarterback that has to be hungry to prove himself. Arnold completed 63 percent of his passes at Auburn last season with 6 TDs and 2 ints, but was benched later in the year. In 2024 at Oklahoma, he completed 63% of his passes for 1,421 yards with 12 TDs and 3 ints and led the Sooners to a victory over the Crimson Tide, 24-3. He rushed for 8 TDs at Auburn, and 3 for the Sooners.

Prediction

I like Huff to do a really good job at Memphis and for Memphis to keep this game close. But I like Mullen, Arnold and the Rebels to prevail.

UNLV 34, Memphis 30

Auburn Football aspires to change the narrative in 2026

August 11, 2026
Alex Golesh is now on the Plains with high goals for the future of Auburn Football. (Photo courtesy of Auburn Tigers).



The Auburn Tigers enter the 2026 season with high hopes for a turnaround from the last three disastrous years under Hugh Freeze, as Auburn hired Alex Golesh from South Florida, who brought in several players from the portal, and in recruiting, and retained some quality returners to try and turn Auburn Football’s fortunes around. Freeze is back on the golf course working on his handicap, where he spent most of his time instead of coaching football.

Golesh did retain stellar defensive coordinator DJ Durkin, which was a no doubter given the results Durkin has gotten out of the Auburn D in the last two years. In his third season on the Plains, Durkin will bring another aggressive, attacking NFL style of defense, which will go along with Golesh’s uptempo, spread’em out offense. It could possibly work well.

Here’s a look inside the Auburn Tigers and a prediction on how great it’ll be to be an Auburn Tiger in 2026 and beyond…

Auburn Offense

Golesh brought along several of his South Florida players with him to the Loveliest Village. He was 23-15 in four years at Tampa, and 9-3 overall and 6-2 in the American in 2025. The Bulls posted victories over Florida and Boise State last season, but lost in the Cure Bowl at Orlando to Old Dominion, 24-10, after Golesh had taken the Auburn job on November 30th.

The man under center in 2026 is Byrum Brown, who put together a stellar career at USF, completing 616 of 950 passes, 65%, for 7,690 yards, 61 TDs against 19 ints.

In 2025, Brown completed 226 of 341, 66%, for 3,158 yards, 28 TDs against 7 ints. He also rushed for 1,008 yards and 14 more TDs, so he was responsible for 42 TDs in 2025.

He’s promising, though he has an unusual side-arm throwing motion, which could still work. Arch Manning uses that throwing motion as well, and it’s worked out OK, not great, for him so far. But Arch has a year of starting under his belt and his talent is unquestionable. So is Brown’s, however not in the SEC. That’ll be something to watch. But the numbers are absolutely impressive. His size is also impressive at 6’3″, 235. He’s electric.

He’ll be working with a few veterans around him, and guys who’ve been through the wars, just not the SEC wars. But a few have. Jeremiah Cobb rushed for 969 yards and 5 TDs last season, his sophomore season as a Tiger. Cobb brings terrific, hard-nosed toughness running between the tackles at 5’11”, 205, and an ability to take it to the house. Bryson Washington, a 6’0″, 210 pound junior transfer from Baylor, brings power running the ball as well. The Tigers offensive staff is high on what USF transfer wide receiver Chas Nimrod can bring to the Tigers passing game. Nimrod is 6’2″, 200. Bryce Cain, a sophomore and returning player, is a guy whom Golesh and wide receivers coach/co-offensive coordinator Kodi Burns expect to bring it this season out wide. Those are just some of the potential weapons. There will be 5 transfers starting on the offensive front, so that’s a transition, though all have experience in FBS ball. Six-four, 322 pound center, and USF transfer Cole Best, looks like a leader up front. Golesh has recruited a lot of depth on the O Line, so it just depends on how these guys progress the rest of this month and early in the season. With Brown, Cobb, Washington and some others, the running game could be outstanding if the blocking can hold up.

Defense

Defensive Coordinator DJ Durkin is totally trustable for the Tigers. (Photo courtesy of The Auburn Observer).

The great Durkin will have his bell cow back, the 6’0″, 210 pound outside backer Xavier Atkins. All Atkins did in 2025 was lead the Tigers in tackles with 84, posting 17 for loss, 9 sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and he took an interception back to the tune of 73 yards versus Texas A&M at College Station, which led to an Auburn TD on the next play, though the Tigers dropped that game, 16-10, in another frustrating close Freeze loss. Atkins will anchor the defense. He’ll be alongside some other stellar second level players in middle backer Elijah Melendez and Buck linebacker Jared Smith. The secondary will feature free safety Champ Anthony and corner Rayshawn Pleasant. They both have good ball skills and leadership ability. There are a lot of transfers up front on D for Durkin and the Tigers too. Cody Sigler is a 6’2″, 308 defensive tackle, who transferred from Arkansas State. He brings a big body to Durkin’s 3-3-5 D. There are some other big, but new players up front, just like at Alabama. There are question marks for both teams on both sides of the line of scrimmage. But if anybody can develop this defense and the d line, it’s Durkin.

Everybody at Auburn knows the stellar Xavier Atkins will anchor this defense. (Photo courtesy of AL.com).

2026 Schedule

The schedule looks imposing in the SEC, but that’s rhetorical as every team has to survive this gauntlet. The Tigers open on September 5th versus Baylor at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Outside, in the city, it might be 95 degrees with 104 heat index, but it won’t be inside, which is good for both teams. Brutal right now in the South, maybe everywhere. This contest is a rematch from last season’s game at Waco, a game which the Tigers won 38-24 in what was a promising start, but one that didn’t last as the Tigers finished 5-7 and AD John Cohen dismissed Freeze with three games left in the season. Game time for the Tigers-Bears is 2:30 P.M. CT/3:30 ET on ABC. It’s one of the best games of week 1. There are some pretty good games the week before in week 0. I’ll cover and predict those when that time comes. TCU-UNC is the best game of week 0. It’s at 11 A.M. CT/12 East on ABC, and it’s being played @ Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.

Then Auburn faces Southern Miss at Jordan-Hare on Saturday, 9/12, at 6:45 P.M. CT/7:45 East on the S-E-C Network. In week 3, the Tigers square off with Florida and its new head coach, Jon Sumrall, at Jordan-Hare on Saturday, 9/19, at 6 P.M. CT/7 ET on ESPN. Some pundits are high on what Sumrall can do in his first year for the Gators after successful stints at Troy and Tulane, but we’ll see. Should be a highly competitive game. Vanderbilt comes to Jordan-Hare the next Saturday, 9/26, with the time and TV to be determined. Game 5 is Saturday, 10/3, @Knoxvegas versus the Vols. It’s either a 2:30/3:30 P.M. game or a 7/8 game with TV to be determined. Will know towards the latter part of September. The Tigers will have earned a nice off week on Saturday, 10/10, then they head to Athens to face “Dem Dawgs” on Saturday, 10/17. Looking at a 2:30/3:30 or 3:30/4:30 kick with TV TBD. The Tigers host Lame and his Bengal Tigers the next Saturday as LSU visits Jordan-Hare on 10/24, with an 11 A.M./12 P.M. kick preliminarily scheduled on ESPN. On Saturday, 10/31, Auburn’s @ Ole Miss with an 11 A.M./ 12 P.M kick likely. Arkansas at home on Saturday, 11/7 (11/12 kick), then the Tigers are @ Mississippi State on Saturday, 11/14, with an 11/12 kick possible. On Saturday, 11/21, the Tigers host Samford. And on Saturday, 11/28, they travel to Tuscaloosa to play for 365 days of bragging rights and a possible important showdown for both teams if things go better than predicted.

Prediction for the Auburn Tigers 2026 season

From what I’m reading and hearing from Golesh, things seem positive. He’s got some talent, a talented coaching staff, and an electric quarterback. Tiger fans should look for progress, not perfection. Games against Florida and LSU at home are toss ups, depending on the health of the teams.

There are some extremely difficult road games @ Oxford, @ Georgia and @ Tuscaloosa. Tennessee, like the East Course at BCC, is no bargain on the road either. Vanderbilt will put up a fight. They’re all tough in this conference. There are no Saturdays off in this conference.

A first game victory over Baylor in game one is critical for the Tigers to establish momentum and progress on a positive note moving into the rest of the season.

I’m looking at a ceiling of 8 wins if things go very well, an 8-4 season, and a floor of 5-7, if things don’t go as well and there are some critical injuries. I like what Golesh is saying and I love what Durkin does on defense.

Auburn’s got a shot to have a solid season and keep building for the future. The 2026 high school recruiting class was ranked 40th by Rivals/On3, but the 2027 class is already ranked 12th by Rivals/On3. The 2026 transfer class was ranked 47th.

But 2027 recruiting looks extremely promising.

Golesh just has to prove to the Tiger fans and recruits that he’s for real.

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