AUBURN, Ala. – For Auburn football players, nothing compares to night games at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
“Every time you go in Jordan-Hare, there’s a sense of pride you have to play with,” senior defensive back Rayshawn Pleasant said. “I’m looking forward to giving them a show and us being at our best for them.”
The Tigers (1-0) host Southern Miss (1-0) for Kickoff on The Plains.
“I am beyond geeked to have our guys here at home Saturday night,” said first-year head coach Alex Golesh, who will lead the Tigers onto Pat Dye Field for the first time. “Just got goosebumps a little bit thinking about playing in Jordan-Hare for the first time. It will be incredible.”
Auburn beat Baylor 17-16 last week thanks to a game-saving tackle by Eric Winters on the Bears’ two-point try in the final seconds in the Aflac Kickoff Game in Atlanta.
“We challenged our guys to flip the page after we got done with meetings (Monday) morning, put it behind us, and fight like crazy to go 1-0 this week,” Golesh said.
The Golden Eagles won their season opener as well, routing Alcorn State 49-3. Like Auburn, Southern Miss runs an up-tempo offense.
“I would say our defense was helped drastically by seeing it every day, from being able to line up and go play ball and play it at a high level,” Golesh said. “It’s helped that we’ve gotten to practice against it, it will be very similar in terms of a team that’s going to push the tempo and push the ball down the field some, which will be good for us.”
Seeking its 10th straight home-opening win, Auburn plays Southern Miss Saturday at 6:45 p.m. CT on SEC Network and the Auburn Sports Network, where Andy Burcham, Jason Campbell and Bret Eddins will call the action for listeners.
“It will be a good challenge for us,” Golesh said. “Excited to be at home, excited to play a good opponent. I’ve got a ton of respect for Blake (Anderson) and what he’s been able to do throughout his career, both offensively and as a head coach, so it will be a big game.”