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ATHENS, GA - OCTOBER 17: Auburn Tigers head coach Alex Golesh during the college football game between the Auburn Tigers and Georgia Bulldogs on October 17, 2026, at Sanford Stadium in Athens, GA.
First-year Auburn head coach Alex Golesh picked up the first of what Tigers fans hope will be many big victories on Saturday when his team went between the hedges and upset No. 1 Georgia, 27-24.
Afterward, Golesh delivered a rousing speech to his players that has since leaked on social media, leading to Auburn fans rallying around both him and the program.
Golesh probably won’t be happy about the speech escaping the confines of the locker room. But the results of the leak could be huge for the rest of Auburn’s season and the rest of his tenure on the Plains.
Say what you want. But this is my coach https://t.co/6NzSyyLURa
— Waterman (9x national champs) (@watermanbbb) October 17, 2026
Alex Golesh Fires Up Auburn Players And Fans With Postgame Speech
“There’s a handful of dudes in here that just put their head down and went to work,” Golesh began. “There’s a handful of guys that we’ve had to force to make that decision, and they have.
“I’m gonna tell you this one time. If you just fall in love with the work, the process – and it’s gonna be easy to believe it now – and don’t listen to anybody. Because listen, if they’ve never walked in your shoes, if they’ve never battled like I watched you battle, and if they’ve never had to go through what you have, then why would you listen to em?!
“Because not a one would walk a f—ing day in your shoes. Not a one.”
Golesh’s speech continued from there, imploring his players to continue to “dive into the work.” As you can imagine, Tigers fans were all in on the new coach after the win, and especially after the speech.
INTO MY VEINS. TALK TO ME COACH
— Cam’s Laptop🦍 (@solameez) October 17, 2026
My coach. We ride with Golesh to the end😤
— Auburn Central (@AUBCentral) October 18, 2026
OHMYGOD THATS MY COACH MAN
— MasonRyne22 🦅 (@masonryne22) October 18, 2026
Is Auburn back? Only time will tell. But this was a pretty big first step toward getting there.