Zero votes, week three

Auburn beat Southern Miss 43-8 and still got shut out of the AP Top 25, not even a single vote of consideration. It's the first time that has happened all season, preseason poll included.

Florida comes to Jordan-Hare

The Gators visit Auburn on Saturday night, under the lights. It is the SEC opener for both teams, and the Tigers want the home crowd to set the tone.

Why this opponent matters

Florida is the second team out of the top 25 with 83 votes. Beating a team that close to the cut line is exactly the kind of result that drags a program back onto the ballot.

Offense against defense

Florida has piled up 118 points in two weeks. Auburn has won the other way, giving up just 24 points across two games. Two identities, one field.

Golesh was hired to score

Alex Golesh came in to bring back the old Auburn offense, and so far the defense has carried the wins. Saturday night is a fair test of whether the offense has caught up.

Two transfer quarterbacks

Byrum Brown followed Golesh from USF. Aaron Philo came to Florida from Georgia Tech, chasing offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner. Both are running systems they already know.

The coach is not satisfied

Golesh saw plays left on the field in the passing game and drops he called disappointing. He liked how Brown settled in, but he is not pretending the group is ready.

“We have a long way to go if we're going to win SEC games here, so we'll get there.”

A gauntlet starts now

Non-conference play is done. The SEC slate opens with Florida and runs all the way to the Iron Bowl against Alabama, so there is no soft landing from here.

Sixty minutes to a number

Win this one and Auburn could have a ranking next to its name by the end of September. Kickoff is 6 p.m. central on ESPN.

“There's 60 minutes of football until that happens, though.”