The Pregame Blogle: Florida at Auburn
This is a big one for tons of reasons. It’s Auburn’s first SEC game of the season. It’s Auburn’s only SEC home night game of the season. The coach that seemingly spurned Auburn last season has to show his face in Jordan-Hare. Golesh and Brown beat Florida last season while at South Florida, so some of the Gators are probably going to want to get ’em back. Either way, there’s a spotlight on the Plains this weekend. Let’s go.
😬 HOW I’M FEELING
I’m excited. It’s a big game at night in Jordan-Hare, and I’m ready to see it. Auburn seemed to improve from Week 1 to Week 2, although some of that could probably be attributed to playing Southern Miss. Florida played a worse opponent in Week 2 than they did in Week 1, so we really don’t have a clue how good the Gators actually are. At this point in life, I want a big, fun game, and I think Auburn has a very good chance to take advantage of it.
🤷 WHAT WE ACTUALLY KNOW
We know it’s setup to be one of the Top 2 games in the nation this weekend. We know Jon Sumrall wants to prove that he made the right choice in going to Florida. We know Golesh wants to see major improvements. We know both teams are likely playing the best team they’ve faced so far this season. Florida for sure is doing just that.
We know those things, but it’s still just Week 3, Florida has faced nobody, and we’re just now getting into SEC play. So we really know nothing.
👀 WHAT I WANT TO SEE
I want to see Auburn continue to improve offensively. I want to see the Auburn defense remind Florida that they scored 118 points on FAU and Campbell. I want to see Auburn play to the level of the stadium hype. I want to see Auburn finish and get the first big win of the season.
Specifically, I want to see Byrum Brown trust his instincts and use his legs like he did last week. I want to see the offensive line open something resembling a hole and allow the Auburn running backs a sliver of space to run through.
🥱 THE STORYLINE I’M ALREADY TIRED OF
“Auburn hasn’t won an SEC home game since 2024.” First off, I love the “haven’t done <this> since <a time that’s not that long ago>” things. So basically Auburn didn’t win an SEC home game last season. Well, they won one SEC game in all of 2025, so yeah that’s how that happens. But as Alex Golesh told a beat reporter that asked him about it this week, “this team is playing their first one.”
🦅 RANDOM OPPONENT THING
I actually Florida Things and Other Auburn Connections in a new blogle this week. But here’s one.
Former Auburn WR Eric Singleton and former Auburn WR-turned-Auburn-coach Marcus Davis are both at Florida now. Bet.
📈 BLOGLE CONFIDENCE METER
7.2 out of 10 — The Auburn offense didn’t look good against the only P4 team they’ve played this season, and Florida is likely better than Baylor. But Auburn is loads better than the two teams that Florida has used to build a false sense of accomplishment. Auburn’s home field always has my confidence higher than most. As it should.
🔒 ONE THING I GUARANTEE
One team will return a punt or kickoff for a touchdown. Let’s hope it’s Auburn.
Repeated Bonus until it happens: Alex Golesh will say a funny cuss word to whoever interviews him postgame.
🎯 THE PICK
Auburn 24, Florida 20
I’ve said it over and over. Auburn improved. Auburn has played somebody. Florida has done lots against teams without a pulse. They could be good, but we don’t know it. Auburn has seen and passed a test. Florida has run through nothing.
The crowd for Auburn’s win over Southern Miss was legit, so you can imagine with the crowd for the first SEC game will be like. Jordan-Hare thrives when it knows the world is watching and it knows things are new (in an old way), fresh, and promising. And right now, Auburn has all of those things.
