Auburn football’s 2026 season opener moved to Atlanta
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What was originally supposed to be a home-and-home series with Baylor is now turning into a pair of road trips for the Auburn Tigers.
Auburn announced earlier this week that the 2026 season opener against Baylor will now be in Atlanta, serving as the Aflac Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Keep reading to learn more about the kickoff game + Auburn’s 2026 schedule.
Aflac Kickoff Game
The kickoff game is hoping to set a new standard in college athletics by creating a first-of-its-kind opportunity for student-athletes to engage in name, image and likeness (NIL) activations tied directly to ticket sales, the Aflac Kickoff Game, and surrounding events.
Through a multi-million-dollar partnership, Peach Bowl, Inc., via the Aflac Kickoff Game, will work with third-party entities to secure marketing assets and promotional appearances by Auburn student-athletes, giving them meaningful visibility and new avenues to benefit from their NIL.
“Any time we have the ability to advance Auburn student-athletes’ ability to earn third-party NIL compensation, we will take that opportunity. The exposure of playing on a national stage against a Power Four opponent in one of the premier neutral-site games in the country will not only benefit our student-athletes financially, but it will also enhance their brands. This is not only a win for Auburn student-athletes but for Auburn Athletics.”
John Cohen, Auburn AD
2026 Auburn schedule
The Tigers will be playing in Atlanta for the first time since 2018 and making their fourth appearance in the Aflac Kickoff Game (2012, 2015 and 2018).
There will almost certainly be a crowd advantage for the Tigers still but this means there will be one less game at Jordan-Hare Stadium than originally expected. Auburn also has five road SEC games next season under the new nine-game format.
The Tigers’ home slate in 2026 now includes games against:
- Southern Miss
- Jacksonville State
- Arkansas
- Florida
- LSU
- Vanderbilt
Excluding the 2020 short season, this will be the least amount of true home games for the Tigers in a season since 2001 when they played at Jordan-Hare Stadium six times during the 11-game regular season.
The last time Auburn played at least six regular season games away from Jordan-Hare Stadium was 1984.
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