AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn coach Alex Golesh and his staff put the finishing touches on preparations Monday for the Tigers’ season opener against Baylor in the Aflac Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Auburn conducted a mock game as part of its final preparations for the matchup, which is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 5th.
“I think the mock game week pieces have been going on for a long time,” Golesh said. “I go back — there are so many different ways we’ve done this thing. I remember 2008, Oklahoma State, and it didn’t look like what Mike Gundy wanted it to look like. We ended up running 110 110s. So I kind of thought at that point, ‘I don’t know. If we just tell them what to do ahead of time, then we don’t have to do all that.’”
Golesh said the mock game serves as a dress rehearsal for the week leading up to a game. He stressed the importance of establishing a consistent routine, from watching film to managing rest and preparation.
“The worst thing I think you can do, from a player perspective, is just have inconsistency,” Golesh said.
For Golesh, attention to detail has been a central part of his coaching philosophy.
“On Week 1, it looks like this. The next week, it looks like this, and then we put all that together into what your process looks like,” he said. “Then you wonder, ‘Why am I performing at a certain level one week and not the next?’ So the challenge to the players is to make it feel as normal as you can, and we will do the same in terms of how we practice.”
Golesh said the mock week is also important for his coaching staff, particularly as they establish routines during his first season at Auburn.
“You have a plan until you go and try to execute it, and then you adjust as you go,” he said. “But I think it’s as much of a dress rehearsal as you could have from a game-plan perspective.”
Golesh also cautioned his staff against treating the week as something less important than a regular game week.
“I’ve challenged our coaches, too: Don’t treat it like a mock week,” he said. “We treat it like a normal game week because what happens sometimes is you treat it like a mock week and it’s like, ‘Well, we’ll just get to that next week,’ or maybe we’ll just put in a bunch and then cut back, which also could be detrimental in a lot of ways. I’ve been guilty of that. So I think it’s just a culmination.”
While Auburn is focused on its own preparation, the Tigers are also studying Baylor’s personnel and schemes.
“Week 1 is always unique, especially if there are coaching changes,” Golesh said. “Obviously, it’s drastically unique for them. They played Auburn a year ago defensively, so there is some familiarity there. It’s unique offensively for us, simply because of a coordinator change on defense.”
Golesh described the season opener as a chess match, with both teams attempting to project how their opponents will look under new circumstances.
“You have multiple things you’re looking at, and you’re trying to guess a lot,” he said. “You take this extra week, which sometimes can be detrimental, because now you’re just digging deeper and deeper. That could either mean you’re going to be more detailed, or it can mean that you’re just going down rabbit holes that don’t exist.”
One potential difference-maker for Auburn is Bryson Washington, a former Baylor running back who transferred to Auburn in January. Washington had a standout performance against Auburn last season and enjoyed two productive seasons with the Bears.
“Right now, we’re just working on making sure he’s ready to rock and roll,” Golesh said. “I haven’t picked his brain a whole lot, but we’ll sit down here as we go and see what he knows. He had a great game against Auburn a year ago and had two really, really good seasons at Baylor. So we’ll certainly pick his brain and see what he’s got. I know he’s excited for the game in a lot of ways.”
Auburn and Baylor will meet Saturday, Sept. 5th, in the Aflac Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
