Auburn vs Baylor Prediction, Pick & Odds (Friday, Aug. 29)

• The Auburn Tigers are 2.5-point road favorites in Week 1 College Football action vs the Baylor Bears
• Baylor QB Sawyer Robertson led the nation’s 20th-best offense last season
• Read below for Auburn vs Baylor betting line, prediction and pick

---

It’s an SEC vs Big 12 banger Friday night, when the Auburn Tigers visit the Baylor Bears.

The college football odds are liking what the new-look Tigers are showing, picking them as road favorites even though the Bears were a crisp 5-1 at home last season.

Kickoff is set for 8pm ET from McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas, with Fox providing the broadcast coverage.

See below for the latest odds, preview and my betting prediction for this one.

Auburn vs Baylor Odds

The Bears are 2.5-point underdogs on their home field, and +105 on the moneyline. Auburn is a short -125 on the moneyline, while the total sits at 58.5 points.

Odds as of August 29 at 3pm ET. Be sure to check out the best Caesars Sportsbook promo code before placing a bet on any Week 1 College Football matchup.

Tigers Sport QB Carousel in Week 1

Perhaps the books are a little bullish on the Tigers, especially as there’s uncertainty clouding the most important position on the field.

Jackson Arnold was supposed to be the fresh face at pivot, but the Oklahoma transfer hasn’t exactly swept away the competition.

In fact, head coach Hugh Freeze has hinted at playing three quarterbacks on Friday night, which would include Stanford transfer Ashton Daniels and freshman Deuce Knight.

QB uncertainty and inconsistency plagued Auburn last year, with Payton Thorne losing his job to Hank Brown. Walker White and Holden Gernier took to the transfer portal.

AU still put up 27.8 points per game and ranked fourth in yards per completion at 13.8 per contest.

Baylor Run it Back with Robertson

There’s no such QB issue in Waco, as the Bears are confident in Year 2 with Sawyer Robertson. Baylor finished 8-5 in 2024, and tied for fifth in the Big 12 at 6-3.

Robertson finished the year throwing for 3,071 yards with 28 touchdowns against just eight interceptions, leading Baylor to the second-highest scoring offense in the Big 12, averaging 34.4 points per game.

They ranked fifth in passing at 261.3 yards per game, with a run game that ranked in the top half of the conference to keep teams honest.

The Bears will have to overcome the level-up factor: last year, they reeled off six wins in a row to end the regular season, before getting crunched by LSU in the Texas Bowl. Another SEC team to kick off 2025 will be a good barometer to see where they stack up.

Auburn vs Baylor Prediction

• Pick: Baylor +2.5 (-115 at Caesars)

Even with Auburn winning eight straight season openers, it’s hard to pick a team that doesn’t have the quarterback position settled.

Across the board, the Tigers are the more talented bunch, but Baylor’s cohesion, especially on offense with Robertson at the helm, should play a factor here.

The Bears are 5-1 themselves in their last six season openers.

Freeze has generated two losing campaigns since taking over at Auburn, so the pressure is there to get things started right. I think they win, but it will be tight, and I don’t think it will be pretty.