Auburn won a football game against Baylor that I don't think it wins over the last few years.
And although the win wasn't pretty, it might be the biggest takeaway for Alex Golesh in his debut for the Auburn Tigers.
We can talk about the offense only scoring 17 points. We can talk about the missed field goals, the turnovers, or some of the opportunities Auburn left on the field.
Sure, those things certainly have to get better. This is a Baylor team that certainly improved from last season and maybe even was underestimated by the Tigers, but they will not be the best team they face all season.
But heading into a new era with Alex Golesh, who clearly has high upside and support inside the program, it's okay to be happy to win a football game.
Because how many times over the last few years have we sat at the stadium or on our couch after a game talking about how Auburn somehow found a way to lose? Last year, Oklahoma immediately comes to mind (the Georgia game, Texas A&M). There have been plenty of others.
And I'm guilty of thinking that Saturday felt like it was heading towards another one of those same conversations.
Auburn was tied 10-10 late in the fourth quarter. The offense hadn't exactly been moving the football at will. Baylor's defense was giving Auburn a ton of different looks, loading the box and making Byrum Brown and this offense work for everything.
Then Auburn needed a drive.
And it got one.
Truly a difference maker, not only in the game but in the identity of New Auburn football.
Brown eventually found Chas Nimrod down the sideline for a huge gain. Auburn scored on the next play, and suddenly the defense had to protect a seven-point lead.
And although Baylor went right back down the field and scored to tie it with just seconds remaining, the Tigers once again made a play when they needed to. Baylor scored, they went for two, and they couldn't convert, thanks to an Eric Winters redeeming tackle at the goal line.
And that's where I keep finding myself going back to.
When Auburn needed its offense to make a play, it made one. When Auburn needed its defense to make a play, it made one.
That hasn't always happened around here. At least not lately.
I also think we probably underestimated Baylor a little bit.
We spent so much time comparing this Baylor team to the one Auburn beat by two touchdowns last season. Sawyer Robertson was gone. Bryson Washington was now playing for Auburn. Baylor lost a ton of production offensively. DJ Lagway certainly had his moments, and maybe if he were 100% and not injured for most of the game, this contest would have gone in a different direction.
Baylor's defense looked completely different. It loaded the box. It went one-high and two-high. It slanted, stunted, and twisted up front. It forced the Tigers to beat them through the air.
And Auburn had to figure it out during the game.
So, I'm going to choose to celebrate this victory, but I'm going to be well aware that the offense still has to be better. I'm not going to pretend 17 points is what we expected from this group, but week one hasn't been easy for hardly any team in college football this year, and a ton of programs have struggled with sloppiness.
Week one is about finding out something about your football team, and I think we found out that Auburn can win a close game, something that the last coach went 2-13 in his tenure. Alex Golesh starts off 1-0.
Maybe later on in the season, Auburn is in another one of these situations against an SEC opponent , and we can look back and say, "We've already done this before. Auburn has made the offensive drive at the end of the game. They've made the stop on defense. They found a way to win."
After spending the last few years watching Auburn find ways to lose these games, that's a pretty good place to start.
