Auburn will play one of the most anticipated games in its recent football history on Saturday afternoon, and 24 hours before kickoff the Tigers named the 5 captains who will lead them in the neutral-site battle against Baylor.
It’ll be Alex Golesh‘s debut as Auburn head coach, as the program tries to move forward and move up in the SEC food chain. The Tigers will face Baylor at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, as the SEC and Big 12 teams kick things off at 3:30 p.m. ET. in the Aflac Kickoff.
The game will get the royal treatment on ABC, and Auburn will have that special quintet acting as Game 1 captains as it tries to start the Golesh era off with a big victory. Those 5 players will be headlined. by transfer quarterback Byrum Brown, who followed Golesh to Auburn in the offseason after spending 4 years in the Bulls program.
Brown threw for a whopping 7,690 yards during his time at South Florida with 61 touchdowns and just 19 interceptions, and Auburn is hoping that level of performance translates to the Plains. On Saturday in Atlanta, Brown will have the honor of being a team captain in his very first game at Auburn.
He’ll be joined as team captain by safety Champ Anthony, offensive lineman Cole Best, safety Cade Carlson and linebacker Elijah Melendez. The quintet will look to lead the way as Auburn is getting a 72.9% chance to go 1-0 under Golesh, according to ESPN’s FPI.
Auburn wants a fresh start in 2026 under a new coaching regime, and here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the Tigers’ potential win total in Year 1 under Golesh:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
