Auburn football is entering the Alex Golesh era with renewed optimism, but Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt has delivered a blunt assessment that is likely to generate plenty of debate among Tigers fans. With Auburn preparing to open the 2026 season against Baylor in Atlanta, Klatt compared the Tigers to Texas A&M and described both programs as “popcorn programs” — teams that periodically produce impressive seasons but have struggled to maintain the consistency expected of major SEC powers.
Klatt’s comments arrive at a particularly important moment for Auburn. The Tigers are preparing for their first game under Golesh after a difficult 2025 campaign that ended with a 5-7 overall record and just one SEC victory. The program has now turned to a fourth head coach in seven seasons, making stability one of the biggest issues surrounding Auburn as the new era begins.
Speaking about Auburn’s place in the SEC hierarchy, Klatt argued that the Tigers have developed a reputation in which expectations remain extremely high despite a lack of sustained results. He drew a direct parallel with Texas A&M, another SEC program that routinely generates considerable preseason excitement but has struggled to turn that potential into consistent championship-level success.
“Auburn reminds me a lot of Texas A&M in that there’s not a ton of consistency, but the expectations are always that they’re going to be great,” Klatt said.
The analyst did not stop with the comparison. Klatt suggested that Auburn, like Texas A&M, is often evaluated through the lens of what the program is expected to become rather than what it has consistently demonstrated on the field. His “popcorn program” description was essentially a criticism of the Tigers’ inability to sustain success year after year.
In Klatt’s view, Auburn has produced enough memorable peaks to maintain the image of a national contender, but those peaks have too often been followed by disappointing seasons. That inconsistency, he argued, separates Auburn from programs that have established themselves as reliable annual contenders at the highest level of college football.
Auburn’s Recent History Gives Klatt’s Argument Some Weight
There is plenty of context behind Klatt’s criticism. Auburn has experienced some spectacular highs during the past quarter-century, including national championship contention and SEC championship appearances, but those successes have not translated into long-term stability.
The Tigers’ recent stretch has been particularly turbulent. Auburn went 5-7 in 2025 and finished 1-7 in SEC play, while the program lost a substantial portion of its roster during the offseason. According to Auburn’s official 2026 quick facts, the Tigers entered the new season with only four returning starters — one on offense and three on defense — after losing 18 starters from the previous season.
That level of turnover makes Golesh’s first season an enormous rebuilding challenge.
The new Auburn coach was hired after an impressive run at South Florida, where he went 23-15 over three seasons and finished 2025 with a nine-win campaign. He also brings an offensive background shaped by stops at Tennessee and other programs, with a reputation for playing fast and aggressively.
Golesh has already made it clear that he understands the scale of the task. Rather than promising a specific number of victories, he has emphasized building an identifiable Auburn football culture based on toughness, discipline, connection and attention to detail.
At SEC Media Days, Golesh explained that his definition of success in Year 1 is establishing the foundation of a program that knows exactly what it wants to be. He said Auburn needs an identity built around physical and mental toughness, player leadership and execution in the details that decide close games.
That philosophy could ultimately become the answer to Klatt’s criticism.
If Golesh can transform Auburn from an unpredictable program into a team capable of competing at a high level every season, the “popcorn program” label could quickly become outdated. But if the Tigers continue to alternate between flashes of brilliance and disappointing campaigns, Klatt’s argument will remain difficult for Auburn supporters to dismiss.
Baylor Game Offers First Test of the Golesh Era
The timing of Klatt’s comments makes them even more significant because Auburn has very little time to wait before beginning its attempt to change the narrative.
The Tigers will face Baylor on September 5 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta in the Aflac Kickoff Game. It will be Golesh’s first official game as Auburn’s head coach and one of the most closely watched openers of the SEC season.
Auburn has been preparing specifically for the Bears for several weeks. Golesh implemented a mock game-week approach during preseason preparation, giving his staff and players an opportunity to experience the routines, expectations and distractions associated with a regular-season game before the actual opener arrived.
The coach has repeatedly emphasized focus as one of the most important characteristics his team needs heading into the season.
That emphasis is understandable considering the amount of change surrounding the Tigers. A new coaching staff, a heavily rebuilt roster, new offensive concepts and the pressure associated with Auburn’s expectations all create potential distractions. Golesh has challenged his players to concentrate on the team and the process rather than allowing outside expectations to dictate their preparation.
Byrum Brown Could Be Central to Auburn’s Transformation
One of the most intriguing pieces of Golesh’s rebuilding project is quarterback Byrum Brown.
Brown followed Golesh from South Florida to Auburn after producing an impressive 2025 season. Baylor’s official preview noted that Brown threw for 3,158 yards and 28 touchdowns during his final season with the Bulls, giving Auburn an experienced quarterback who already understands Golesh’s offensive philosophy.
That familiarity could be crucial in the early stages of the transition.
Instead of asking a completely new quarterback to learn Golesh’s system while simultaneously adjusting to SEC football, Auburn has a player who already understands the coach’s terminology and offensive expectations. That could help the Tigers accelerate the development of an offense that has undergone substantial personnel turnover.
Running back Jeremiah Cobb is another important piece. He rushed for 969 yards and five touchdowns in 2025 and enters the new campaign as one of the Tigers’ primary offensive weapons. Auburn will need significant production from its rushing attack if Golesh’s up-tempo philosophy is going to function effectively against SEC defenses later in the season.
The Schedule Will Quickly Reveal Auburn’s Ceiling
The Baylor opener is only the beginning.
Auburn’s 2026 schedule includes home games against Southern Miss, Florida, Vanderbilt, LSU and Arkansas, along with difficult road assignments against Tennessee, Georgia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Alabama.
That schedule leaves little room for Auburn to slowly figure things out.
The Tigers will eventually have to prove themselves against some of the SEC’s most talented programs, including Georgia and Alabama. The November trip to Tuscaloosa for the Iron Bowl could become an especially important measuring stick for how far the Golesh project has progressed.
But before Auburn can worry about those games, Baylor presents an immediate opportunity to establish momentum.
The Bears also enter the matchup with significant roster changes. Baylor added 39 players through the transfer portal and 15 high school newcomers while retaining 58 players, according to its official game preview. The Bears therefore represent a legitimate early test rather than a simple tune-up game.
Golesh Has a Chance to Change the Narrative
For Auburn, Klatt’s comments may sting, but they also provide Golesh with a clear challenge.
The Tigers do not need another season of occasional brilliance followed by disappointment. They need sustained competitiveness, especially within an SEC that has become increasingly demanding.
Golesh himself appears to understand that winning alone will not immediately solve every problem. He has spoken repeatedly about establishing standards, building a team identity and creating the kind of internal culture that can survive the inevitable adversity of an SEC season.
That is precisely where the Baylor game becomes important.
A strong performance against the Bears would not suddenly erase Auburn’s recent inconsistency or prove Klatt wrong. However, it would give Golesh an opportunity to demonstrate that his version of Auburn football has a different identity.
If the Tigers can build from that foundation and remain competitive throughout the SEC schedule, the conversation surrounding the program could change rapidly.
For now, though, Klatt has placed Auburn in an uncomfortable category: a program with enormous expectations, a proud history and undeniable talent, but one that has yet to demonstrate the year-to-year consistency required to be considered an unquestioned SEC powerhouse.
The Tigers now have the entire 2026 season to answer that criticism.
And it begins Saturday in Atlanta against Baylor.
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