(Payton Smith/The Auburn Observer)

AUBURN — It’s been far too long.

The last time Auburn played Florida, I had no idea The Observer was even a possibility. The last time Auburn played Florida at home, I was a freshman with an undecided major.

The anticipation for Saturday night’s showdown between Auburn and Florida has been building all week. You could even say it’s been building since the summer, when we first knew that it would be a night game inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.

It’s been far too long since Auburn fans have gotten to look forward to a game like this — the optimism, the nervousness, the excitement, the fear. It’s just one game in the grand scheme of things, but it’s a lot closer to what this program is supposed to have on a regular basis. This is the type of matchup that makes this place special.

We’ve broken down both sides of the ball for Auburn vs. Florida both in the newsletters and in the podcast this week. In today’s mailbag, to kick off a true big game weekend on the Plains again, we’ll tackle some questions about the rosters, the head coaches and the history that hangs over a rivalry that needed to return.

It’s been far too long since we’ve gotten to hit a weekend like this. We’ll see how it all unfolds on Saturday night, but it’s good to be back here. Let’s go.

I keep hearing, from you and others, that Florida has a better overall roster than Auburn. I don’t think they are better at quarterback, and I can’t imagine they have superior linebackers, so what positions, in your opinion, give the Gators an edge, however slim that advantage might be?

Paul

You’ve said a few times that UF has the better roster on paper — can you provide a little more context to that?

How does USF’s roster last year compare to AU’s roster this year?

How does UF’s roster last year compare with this year?

Ham Sandwich

Whenever I talk about on-paper talent advantages, I am almost always pointing to recruiting rankings. The go-to is the 247Sports Team Talent Composite, which stacks up the star ratings of every player on a roster and weighs them all against each other. It’s been around for more than a decade now.

According to the 2026 edition, Florida is No. 10 in the Composite rankings with three former 5-stars and 47 former 4-stars on its roster. In 2025, Florida was No. 12 with four former 5-stars and 48 former 4-stars. The difference, essentially, is that former 5-star DJ Lagway is now at Baylor. It also goes to show you that it’s getting harder to retain talent as it spreads out through the portal, as an ever-so-slightly weaker roster on paper is actually two spots better than it was a season ago.

The Jon Sumrall rebuild at Florida was pretty straightforward: Florida recruited a lot of talent under Billy Napier and couldn’t do much with it. The offseason emphasis for Florida was to retain as much of those players as possible, then fill in the gaps through the portal. On Florida’s depth chart, I counted a dozen former blue-chip players in the starting lineup that were with the Gators last season.

Meanwhile, Auburn is at No. 18 in the 2026 Team Talent Composite with one former 5-star and 31 former 4-stars. It’s important to note these are based on the composite rankings, and Da’Shawn Womack was the only composite 5-star on Auburn’s current roster. (Players like Malik Autry were 5-stars on 247 but not in the composite.) That’s a roster that is around the middle of the pack in the SEC, which is right around where Auburn reportedly is spending compared to its peers.

Last year, Auburn was No. 13 in the Team Talent Composite with three former 5-stars and 43 former 4-stars. As you all know by now, Auburn had a lot more outgoing movement in the transfer portal than Florida did. The Tigers were able to retain some bigger-named players, especially on defense, but Alex Golesh’s rebuild strategy leaned more on plugging in the pieces that worked for him at USF last year.

Obviously, looking at talent levels through former recruiting rankings isn’t a perfect strategy. Jaden Baugh might be Florida’s best player on offense, and he’s a former 3-star. The same goes for Byrum Brown for Auburn. Top players for the Tigers such as Cody Sigler, Jo Simmons and Keshaun Singleton didn’t have high school star ratings at all. But, generally speaking, stars matter at the macro level — even though it’s more difficult than ever to stockpile recruiting talent in this current era.

We also know that talent level alone doesn’t win football games. Auburn had a very talented roster the last couple of seasons under Hugh Freeze and couldn’t win with it, much like Florida had with Napier. Indiana had some of the lowest star ratings of any power-conference team in college football last season and steamrolled its way to a dominant national championship run. And, of course, Golesh’s USF beat Florida in The Swamp last season with a roster that was ranked No. 61 in the Team Talent Composite, with just seven former 4-stars in total.