Auburn football
Week 1 baseline
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auburn 1-0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Baylor | 0 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 16 |
- Total yards
- 389–436 Auburn–them
- Yards/play
- 5.12 4.40 allowed
- Turnovers
- -1 2 taken, 3 given
- Third downs
- 10/18 7/22 allowed
- Flags–yards
- 6–47 them: 5–40
The game
There is no previous-game comparison or season trend yet. This game establishes the 2026 baseline. Every counting statistic below is also the season total, every game rate is also the season rate, and each per-game average equals this game's value.
The side-by-side numbers show Auburn's offensive output and what its defense allowed. Percentages and two-decimal averages are calculated from the official totals. Official box score
| Team statistic | Auburn | Baylor |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 17 | 16 |
| Points by quarter, Q1 / Q2 / Q3 / Q4 | 3 / 7 / 0 / 7 | 0 / 7 / 0 / 9 |
| Total yards | 389 | 436 |
| Offensive plays | 76 | 99 |
| Defensive plays | 99 | 76 |
| Yards per play | 5.12 | 4.40 |
| Rushing attempts | 41 | 45 |
| Net rushing yards | 130 | 103 |
| Yards per rush | 3.17 | 2.29 |
| Rushing touchdowns | 2 | 0 |
| Completions / attempts | 26/35 | 27/54 |
| Completion percentage | 74.3% | 50.0% |
| Passing yards | 259 | 333 |
| Yards per pass attempt | 7.40 | 6.17 |
| Yards per completion | 9.96 | 12.33 |
| Passing touchdowns | 0 | 2 |
| Interceptions thrown | 3 | 1 |
| First downs | 24 | 27 |
| First downs: rush / pass / penalty | 9 / 14 / 1 | 7 / 17 / 3 |
| Third downs | 10/18, 55.6% | 7/22, 31.8% |
| Fourth downs | 0/1, 0.0% | 4/6, 66.7% |
| Red-zone scoring | 2/3, 66.7% | 3/4, 75.0% |
| Red-zone touchdowns | 2/3, 66.7% | 2/4, 50.0% |
| Fumbles / lost | 0 / 0 | 2 / 1 |
| Giveaways | 3 | 2 |
| Takeaways | 2 | 3 |
| Turnover margin | −1 | +1 |
| Sacks made / yards | 1 / 7 | 5 / 23 |
| Sacks allowed / yards lost | 5 / 23 | 1 / 7 |
| Tackles for loss made, including sacks | 8 | 11 |
| Pass breakups | 9 | 4 |
| Penalties / yards | 6 / 47 | 5 / 40 |
| Possession | 27:28 | 32:32 |
Defensive plays equal the opponent's official offensive play count and are tracked separately for weekly comparisons and season workload. Auburn's baseline is 99 defensive plays total and 99.0 per game; Baylor's is 76 total and 76.0 per game. These are team-play counts, not individual snaps.
Tackles for loss and pass breakups are summed from the individual defensive rows. Red-zone touchdown rates use the scoring plays and official trips. Rushing totals include sack losses under college scoring conventions.
Special teams supplied five Auburn points. McPherson made and missed from the same distance; Auburn's kickoff coverage had no returns to defend. Official kicking and return statistics
| Special teams | Auburn | Baylor |
|---|---|---|
| Field goals | 1/2 | 1/2 |
| Field-goal distances | Made 43; missed 43 | Made 22; missed 42 |
| Extra points | 2/2 | 1/1 |
| Two-point attempts | None | 0/1 |
| Punts / total yards | 4 / 170 | 4 / 208 |
| Gross punt average | 42.5 | 52.0 |
| Net punt average, calculated | 43.25 | 51.50 |
| Longest punt | 49 | 54 |
| Punts inside 20 / touchbacks | 2 / 0 | 1 / 0 |
| Punts of 50+ yards | 0 | 3 |
| Punts fair caught | 2 | 3 |
| Kickoffs / yards / touchbacks | 4 / 260 / 4 | 4 / 200 / 2 |
| Punt returns / yards | 1 / 2 | 1 / −3 |
| Kickoff returns | 0 | 0 |
| Return touchdowns | 0 | 0 |
The breakdown
Net punting subtracts opponent return yards and touchback deductions from punt yardage. Auburn's net exceeds its gross because Baylor's only punt return lost three yards.
My read: situational defense and offensive third-down execution won a game that ball security and protection nearly threw away.
- The offense moved the ball better than the score suggests. Auburn gained 0.71 more yards per play than Baylor and converted third downs at a rate 23.7 percentage points higher. Brown's 74.3% completion rate is encouraging. The three interceptions and five sacks show why completion percentage alone would give a misleading picture. Box score
- Protection and negative plays are the biggest offensive concern. Five sacks cost 23 yards. That is a calculated sack rate of 12.5% using pass attempts plus sacks; it is not a pressure rate and does not assign blame solely to the line. Removing sacks from rushing yields 153 yards on 36 carries, or 4.25 per carry, versus the official 3.17. The running game was more productive than the raw average suggests, but the sack losses still count. Box score
- The defense deserves credit beyond the 436 yards allowed. Baylor ran 23 more plays. Auburn held it to 4.40 yards per play, 2.29 per rush and no rushing touchdowns. Baylor completed half its passes, but Auburn generated only one sack against 54 attempts. Low sack production is something to track; the box score cannot establish how much pressure Auburn actually created. Box score
- Finishing drives needs work on both sides. Auburn had 24 plays and 111 yards in the third quarter without scoring. Baylor then converted two fourth downs on its final touchdown drive. Winters saved the result, but allowing that drive is still a concern. Auburn recap, Baylor recap
The main contributors were Brown (259 passing yards, three INT, one rushing TD), Jeremiah Cobb (12 carries, 53 yards, TD), Keshaun Singleton (7 catches, 89 yards) and Jeremiah Koger (5 catches, 66 yards). Elijah Melendez led Auburn with 12 tackles; Winters had 11, two TFL and a forced fumble. Xavier Atkins recorded the lone sack. Baylor's Gavin Freeman produced 12 catches for 154 yards and a touchdown, a matchup to examine when evaluating the pass defense. Official individual statistics
The season starts at 17.0 points scored / 16.0 allowed per game, 389.0 yards gained / 436.0 allowed per game, 5.12 offensive / 4.40 defensive yards per play, 55.6% offensive / 31.8% opponent third downs, −1 turnover margin, and 5.0 sacks allowed / 1.0 made per game. These are starting measurements, not established strengths or weaknesses.
Next week's report will place latest game | previous game | numeric change | season average/rate | change in season average/rate side by side, with offensive plays and defensive plays each having their own row in the comparisons and game-by-game trends. The first priorities are fewer interceptions and sacks, keeping the third-down advantage, and preventing fourth-down conversions from rescuing opposing drives. Changes will be interpreted in opponent context rather than treated as automatically meaningful.
Auburn next hosts Southern Miss on September 12 at 6:45 p.m. Central. The next scheduled Sunday report is September 13 at 7 a.m. Central. Official Auburn schedule information
No pressure counts, EPA, success rate or opponent-adjusted ratings have been estimated. Late-game timestamps in recap prose conflict; this report uses the official box score's nine-second touchdown and conversion sequence.