The Auburn Tigers followed their Iron Bowl loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide by following an old pattern. In three career head coaching seasons, the best win for Alex Golesh came is the 2025 season-opener over then No. 25-ranked Boise State. Boise State is now 8-4 and ranked No. 51 by ESPN's FPI. Golesh's South Florida Bulls followed that win by beating the then No. 13-ranked Florida Gators. The Gators finished the season at 4-8.
In October, I opined on Auburn's Hugh Freeze mess and explained what caused it: "When a program consistently measures itself against a rival and makes key decisions based on improving chances of beating that rival, other important things are ignored.