The Auburn Tigers have had quite the rollercoaster of a season, from taking down No. 1 Georgia on their own turf to dropping two straight games in blowout fashion to Ole Miss and LSU, further proving the point that Golesh’s squad is impossibly difficult to predict on a week-to-week basis.

As it stands, the Tigers are an even 4-4, their first .500 or below record of the season, and they’ll be looking to make sure they do not slip below the .500 mark throughout their final four games of the season. 

The Tigers have just four games remaining this season, and with the brutality of their SEC schedule, which included matchups against No.1 Georgia, No. 17 Tennessee, No. 18 LSU and No. 12 Ole Miss, now over, the Tigers have just one ranked matchup left this season: their season finale against Alabama.

The other three teams on the Tigers’ schedule are Arkansas, Mississippi State and Samford, all teams that the Tigers, undoubtedly, could beat, but several issues have plagued the Tigers throughout the season and could come back to bite Golesh’s squad as they wrap up their season.

A wise man once said: ‘Expect the best, but prepare for the worst,’ so we’ll break down both extremes for the Tigers and, more than likely, find that reality lies somewhere in the middle.

Worst-Case: 5-7

November collapses have haunted Auburn coaches of years past, and Golesh will need to prove that he is not an exception to that rule. The Tigers are heavy favorites against Arkansas and Samford, and though I do not think there’s a world in which the Tigers fall to Samford, Ryan Silverfield’s squad could cause some problems for the Tigers in their upcoming matchup.

If the Tigers fall to Arkansas, it’ll be the Tigers' third straight loss, and opinions will likely begin to fly wildly on the Plains, leaving Golesh with a lot to prove as the Tigers head to Starkville to take on Mississippi State, where they currently have a 49.6% chance to win, even though the Bulldogs are without Kamario Taylor. 

Dropping that game would see the Tigers fall to 4-6, and after what should be a tune-up game against Samford, the 5-6 Tigers’ bowl hopes would, once again, rely on beating Alabama. Golesh could curry some favor if he takes down the Tide, but he and his staff would be expected to do significantly better in the win column next season, especially against lower-tier SEC teams, lest the Tigers end up back in the coaching carousel once again.

Best-Case: 8-4

The formula is simple in the best-case scenario: just win out. The Tigers are 89% favorites to take down the rebuilding Razorbacks, and, in this scenario, they dodge their third-straight loss in a much-needed home win, with bonus points given for a big-time blowout win. 

Then, in Starkville, the Tigers handle the Bulldogs, who have struggled to build offense without Kamario Taylor, securing bowl eligibility for the first time since 2023, a welcome sight for the Auburn faithful. The following week, they improve their record once again as they take down another set of Bulldogs, this time from within their home state.

Regardless of the outcome against Alabama, the Tigers would already have their best record since 2019, but with a win against Alabama in this scenario, the Tigers would have shown three major qualities that bode well for Golesh’s future on the Plains: they can take down Auburn’s biggest rivals, they can rebound from major losses and they can keep momentum moving after wins all things that prior Tiger head coaches have struggled to do.