Advertise on podcast: The Auburn Express

With nine of sixteen SEC teams ranked, Auburn, Florida and Oklahoma all sit at 5-4 just outside the top 25, and the Mid-Week Rapport crew explains how Auburn can sneak in by winning out. They break down a strong offensive line recruiting class led by Jatori Williams and Layton Von Brandt, why top recruits should be developed into starters instead of buying linemen in the portal, and why kids still want to win. Then the numbers: when Byrum Brown runs well, Auburn wins, and when he does not, Auburn has no shot. The guys explain why Mississippi State is a game Auburn can only lose by beating itself, and what a 2019-style Iron Bowl could look like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Auburn already beat the Georgia Bulldogs. Now the Tigers head to Starkville looking to sweep the Bulldogs on their schedule. The Mid-Week Rapport crew previews Auburn at Mississippi State, starting with a defense that has given up season-best performances at nearly every position and needs to make life miserable for whoever starts at quarterback, AJ Swan or Parker Puckett, with Kamario Taylor out. The guys react to the report that Mississippi State is ready to offer Taylor $7.5 million, the offensive line commitment of Jatori Williams, and why Byrum Brown's legs are the engine of this offense. Plus, why a win means bowl eligibility and a path to 7-5. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ike Jones breaks down why Saturday’s 11 a.m. kickoff in Starkville against Mississippi State is the most pivotal game of the 2026 season for the Auburn Tigers. First, Ike dives into the initial SEC Availability Report—highlighting key returns for Auburn like Sylvester Smith-Reed, Jeremiah Koger, Andre Jordan, and the season debut watch for offensive lineman Tai Buster—while examining how a thin linebacker room (with Bryce Deas out and DeMarcus Riddick questionable) will handle Mississippi State running back Fluff Bothwell. Plus, a look at the Bulldogs' injury woes with QB Kamario Taylor out for the season. In the second half of the show, Ike explains what a road win in Starkville actually means for Year 1 of the Alex Golesh era: clinching bowl eligibility for the first time in three years, locking in 4 SEC wins, and putting Auburn on the doorstep of its first 7-win winning season since Gus Malzahn. Can the Tigers finally avoid a slow start, silence the cowbells, and put a game away early? Chapters: 0:00 - Intro & Why Starkville is Massive for Auburn 0:45 - Kalshi Sponsor Read 1:55 - Auburn SEC Availability Report Breakdown (Tai Buster & DBs Return, LB Depth Concerns) 5:45 - Mississippi State Injury Report & Kamario Taylor Out 9:00 - Midroll Break 9:30 - What a Win Means: Bowl Eligibility & 7 Wins in Year 1 of Alex Golesh 13:45 - Can Auburn Finally Start Fast & Put Away a Beatable Opponent? 17:30 - Score Wish & Final Thoughts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How did Auburn get here, and what has to change? The Auburn Express crew argues that talent evaluation comes before everything else, and debates how much of this season falls on the coaching staff versus who was brought in. They explain why offensive linemen are so hard to land in the transfer portal, why high school linemen usually need three years to develop, and why Auburn should be in position to make the College Football Playoff by year three. The guys predict staff changes could come within a week of the Iron Bowl, draw a lesson from Auburn basketball's eligibility case, and explain why this team's problem is not its ceiling but its floor, after blowout losses to LSU and Ole Miss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex Golesh says he wants Auburn to establish an identity in the final third of the season, and the Auburn Express crew plays and reacts to his postgame comments about sticking with the run, wearing teams down with tempo, and Byrum Brown's scramble plays. Nine games in, this team is still searching for who it is. Golesh also talked about laying a foundation, and the guys explain why that foundation is about the transfer portal: wins at Georgia and in Tuscaloosa would give Auburn a powerful pitch to prospects. They also discuss identifying the players to build around, whether someone on staff has to answer for this season, and how NIL changed the way rosters get built. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Auburn has three games left, so just go run the ball. Mike G is joined by Brett Pritchard of Auburn Blitz to react to Alex Golesh’s Monday press conference. Golesh’s message was that nobody cares if you’re young or hurt: Auburn has to run the football, protect the quarterback, and impose its will up front. We talk about the life lesson in that message, and why after nine straight Mondays of hearing it, fans want to see it fixed, not hear it again. Against Arkansas, Auburn ran for 18 yards in the first half and converted one of nine third downs before Byron Brown took over in the second half with 121 rushing yards. So should Auburn just make Brown the run game the rest of the way? Then we turn to Sedaris Tootle’s breakout: 11 tackles and three sacks from a former practice-squad player. We also cover Golesh on accepting your role, the injuries in the linebacker room, and why Auburn may have more depth than we thought. Which player do you see stepping up next? Tell us in the comments, and subscribe to The Auburn Express TV, powered by The War Rapport. Timestamps 0:00 Golesh: “Nobody Cares” 6:59 Run the Ball: Is Byron Brown the Whole Run Game? 14:05 Sedaris Tootle’s Breakout & Auburn’s Depth Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some fans want Alex Golesh gone, but the Auburn Express crew points out that Auburn just earned two SEC home wins in a season for the first time since Gus Malzahn left, and is on track for a winning record. A listener shares his first Auburn win in person, with Toomer's Corner rolled after Alex McPherson's game-winning field goal. The guys revisit costly home losses, why Kentucky invested in its offensive line, and why a quarterback is only as good as the line in front of him. They also make the case that a road trip to Mississippi State, without its starting quarterback, is just as much a must-win as Arkansas was, and why roster depth is this team's biggest issue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Auburn Express crew opens the mailbag and answers your super chats after the Arkansas win. They talk about Auburn's struggles on opening drives, whether any of this season's problems can be blamed on the previous staff, and why winning one-possession games is real progress. A strong game from a young defensive back raises tough questions about evaluation and practice reps, while Shadarius Toodle, Cody Sigler and Byrum Brown are named the game's standouts. The guys also discuss offensive line recruits and the need for portal experience, what record in year two would show progress, how Georgia's loss to Auburn could help them, and whether DJ Durkin can get better results with better players around him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Outside of Byrum Brown, nobody has paid a bigger price for Auburn's offensive struggles than Jeremiah Cobb. The Auburn Express crew explains why Cobb should be chasing a thousand-yard season, how his carries have been cut, and how a working run game could have flipped a close loss like Florida. They look back at Alex Golesh's offenses at USF, where the quarterback was the featured runner, and debate whether Brown has been the gift and the curse for this staff. Then the conversation turns to NIL spending, getting outbid for offensive linemen, how past staffs chose where to spend, and why talent evaluation, not one player, is at the root of what went wrong on offense this season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Ike Jones breaks down the upcoming Auburn vs. Mississippi State matchup in Starkville, focusing heavily on the battle in the trenches and the run game on both sides of the ball. Defensive Focus: How Auburn's defense can bottle up Mississippi State's downhill running back Fluff Bothwell by creating interior disruption, utilizing run blitzes, and getting quality minutes from the linebacking corps. Offensive Strategy: Why Auburn needs to show more patience with their running game, stretch the defense sideline-to-sideline early, and lean into the QB read-option to wear down Mississippi State's front line. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steven Pearl after the win against App State. The Auburn Express TV (formerly The War Rapport) is the premier independent digital media network covering Auburn Athletics. Reaching thousands of dedicated Tigers fans weekly through deep-dive analysis, exclusive interviews, and daily podcasts. For advertising, sponsorship inquiries, and media kits, contact: [email protected] Head over to www.thewarrapport.com for all the best Auburn Content Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guard, Tahaad Pettiford and Forward, Adam Olsen, talk about the win against App State. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex Golesh has an unshakable belief in Byrum Brown, and the Auburn Express crew plays what the head coach said after the Arkansas win, including his message to Brown to tune out everyone but the voice that says he can play. The guys explain why November is about getting every win possible: beat Mississippi State, take care of Samford, and walk into the Iron Bowl in Tuscaloosa with momentum. They dig into an inconsistent coaching staff, play calls that left them scratching their heads, and why Brown is not even among the top three problems on this offense. Plus, Jeremiah Cobb running angry, a sideline that came alive after halftime, and why this team has not checked out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Freshman linebacker Shadarius Toodle came off the bench against Arkansas and played like a star: eleven tackles, three sacks, and a place in the record book as the first Auburn freshman, and only the sixth Tiger since at least 1995, with three sacks in a single game. The Auburn Express crew breaks down how a linebacker room hit by injuries and departures keeps producing players, and gives DJ Durkin credit for his eye for linebacker talent. They also talk about the young defensive backs getting snaps, Cody Sigler making plays on what looked like one leg, Alex Golesh's push to rotate more players, and why this defense has to make Mississippi State look ordinary on the road in Starkville. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Auburn avoids a disastrous loss to Arkansas, and the Auburn Express crew is back to sort through a true tale of two halves. Auburn opened by committing to the run, then the offensive line stopped blocking anyone, while a defense that struggled the last two weeks played well enough to keep Auburn in it. The guys break down Alex Golesh telling his team at halftime that they were about to get their swagger back on offense, and then doing it. They debate Byrum Brown's inconsistency on routine throws against his ability to make something out of nothing, whether a backup quarterback would make the same go-ahead touchdown, why seven wins still feels like failure to some, and what eight wins would mean. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices