Saturday's game between the Auburn Tigers and Baylor Bears in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium has plenty on the line. For Baylor, head coach Dave Aranda faces pressure to have a big season and needs to start 1-0. For Auburn, the Alex Golesh-era is beginning, and winning his debut would give the program plenty of momentum.
The ESPN Matchup Predictor has the Tigers favored with a 72.9% chance at a victory. BetMGM is also on the side of the Tigers, listing them as a 7.5-point favorite. The ESPN FPI prediction for the season has the Tigers winning 6.7 games, and a 1-0 start will help meet the preseason expectations.
Auburn on defense should be able to perform well in the game. The Baylor Bears do have a new quarterback in Florida transfer D.J. Lagway,
but there are questions around his supporting cast. The Bears have to replace their leading rusher Bryson Washington (now with Auburn), and need to find their new go-to wide receiver. The offensive line has questions as well. That will work well with an Auburn defense that returns D.J. Durkin as coordinator and star linebacker Xavier Atkins.
Last season, Baylor was one of the worst defenses in the Big 12 and college football. They did not do much to improve that side of the ball during the offense. Quarterback Byrum Brown should be able to have success against the Bears' defense, and Jeremiah Cobb could have big numbers on the ground.
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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: ESPN predicts the outcome of Week 1's game between Auburn and Baylor
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