Auburn football's 2026 schedule for Alex Golesh's first season set

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AUBURN — Alex Golesh and Auburn football have a better understanding of just how Year 1 under the new head coach will look, as the SEC announced schedules for the upcoming 2026 season on Thursday, Dec. 11.

The league announced conference opponents for the next four seasons in September, which included three permanent opponents for all 16 league members. Auburn‘s trio of permanent foes was Alabama, Georgia and Vanderbilt, meaning it’ll face each annually through 2029 under the SEC’s new conference scheduling model.

The permanent opponent matchups are evenly spread, with Auburn seeing Vanderbilt on Sept. 26 in Week 3, then facing Georgia on Oct. 17 in Week 7. It’ll end its regular season on Nov. 28 in Tuscaloosa with another Iron Bowl.

Florida, once an annual Auburn rival, will return to Jordan-Hare Stadium in Week 3 on Sept. 19 for Auburn’s SEC-opener. It will be just the third time the Gators have traveled north since their frequent meetings ended in 2002.

Golesh will make his return to Tennessee, where he was offensive coordinator from 2021-22, on Oct. 3 in Week 5. The Tigers will also host Lane Kiffin and LSU on Oct. 24.

FCS Samford also replaced Jacksonville State on Auburn’s schedule. The Tigers will host the Bulldogs on Nov. 21, the week before the Iron Bowl, but Auburn previously had a matchup with the Gamecocks slated.

When does Auburn football play in 2026? Full schedule

  • Sept. 5: vs. Baylor* (Atlanta)
  • Sept. 12: vs. Southern Miss
  • Sept. 19: vs. Florida
  • Sept. 26: vs. Vanderbilt
  • Oct. 3: at Tennessee
  • Oct. 10: OPEN
  • Oct. 17: at Georgia
  • Oct. 24: vs. LSU
  • Oct. 31: at Ole Miss
  • Nov. 7: vs. Arkansas
  • Nov. 14: at Mississippi State
  • Nov. 21: vs. Samford
  • Nov. 28: at Alabama

* Indicates neutral-site contest.

Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at acole@gannett.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter.To support Adam’s work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football has full 2026 schedule revealed

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