Auburn opened its season with a survival act. The Tigers held off Baylor 17-16 in the 2026 Aflac Kickoff Game on Sept. 5 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, escaping a would-be upset when safety Eric Winters stopped Baylor's Matthew Klopfenstein inches short of the goal line on a two-point conversion attempt with nine seconds left. A crowd of 55,068 watched Byrum Brown's 11-yard touchdown run put Auburn ahead in the final minutes, only for Baylor quarterback DJ Lagway to answer with a game-tying scoring drive before the conversion try failed.
It was new Auburn head coach Alex Golesh's debut, and he became the ninth of the last ten Auburn coaches to win an inaugural game. Brown completed 26 of 35 passes for 259 yards, while Lagway threw for 333 yards and two touchdowns for Baylor in the loss. Auburn's defense forced three turnovers, and kicker Alex McPherson extended his career PAT streak to 89-for-89 in the win.
The game kicked off at 3:30 p.m. as the marquee attraction of one of downtown Atlanta's busiest weekends of the year. Hours before, fans without tickets packed Tailgate Town at The Home Depot Backyard for the Aflac Fan Experience, running combine-style drills and cooling off under misters while Auburn and Baylor walked from the Backyard into the stadium ahead of kickoff. The same Saturday, Dragon Con's costumed parade drew more than 75,000 fans down Peachtree Street, and Georgia State opened its season the night before against North Carolina A&T at Center Parc Credit Union Stadium — stacking three major draws into downtown and its edges over the same Labor Day weekend.
The Aflac Kickoff Game has become an annual season-opening fixture at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, pairing a marquee nonconference matchup with a full day of fan programming outside the building. For Auburn, the win extended the program's streak to ten straight season-opening victories. Baylor fell to 0-1 to start the season, with the Bears' next game away from Atlanta.
Downtown hotels, restaurants and parking operators around the stadium and Centennial Yards absorbed a three-day stretch of overlapping crowds — kickoff-game tailgaters, Dragon Con conventioneers and Georgia State fans — that ranks among downtown's heaviest concentrated weekends of the year.
Weekend framing via Discover Atlanta. Game result and details via Auburn Tigers Athletics.
