Auburn to move 2026 home game vs. Baylor to neutral site, per report
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Auburn will no longer host Baylor in 2026, according to a report.
That’s per On3’s Brett McMurphy, who reports that the Tigers and Bears will instead battle in Atlanta as part of the Aflac Kickoff Game. The arrangement is expected to create up to $5 million in NIL opportunities for Auburn players, according to McMurphy’s report.
Auburn played in Waco earlier this season and won handily, 38-24. The Bears had long been planning a return trip to the Plains for 2026, but the teams will instead meet in Atlanta. This will be Auburn’s first game at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta since the 2017 SEC Championship Game. Auburn lost that game 28-7 to Georgia.
Neutral-site games early in the season have become more common in college football in college football. This year, for example, the Aflac Kickoff Game featured meetings between Tennessee and Syracuse and then South Carolina and Virginia Tech.
Auburn is 2-2-1 all-time against Baylor. Four of those meetings have come at campus sites. These teams also previously met in Jacksonville for the 1954 Gator Bowl.
Auburn has not yet confirmed the change in schedule. Auburn’s 2026 home schedule includes Arkansas, Florida, LSU, Vanderbilt, Southern Miss and Jacksonville State.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
