Auburn has proof of concept after shocking Georgia, but Alex Golesh refuses to buy into the hype

Golesh and the Tigers enjoyed a milestone win on Saturday in Athens, but Sunday After Auburn lost to Florida at home last month, Alex Golesh checked his phone and scrolled through three texts. Two told him he sucked. The third came from his wife, Alexis, who offered a softer judgment: "Maybe you don't suck as bad as everybody says, but we suck." The feedback shifted Saturday after Auburn stunned No. 1 Georgia 27-24 in Athens as a three-touchdown underdog. The first-year coach returned to the locker room to discover roughly 500 unread text messages. This time, surely, his phone was filled with praise rather than criticism. "Like, somewhere in the middle is probably the truth," Golesh told reporters Monday.

"I don't suck, but probably not a genius either." Auburn (4-2, 2-2 SEC) still hasn't arrived. The Tigers are 4-2 and still unranked after receiving 61 votes in the AP Top 25 following the sport's biggest upset this season. That can change this week when No. 18 LSU visits Jordan-Hare Stadium for a Noon ET kickoff Saturday. What Golesh has now, and didn't after Florida, is the evidence he needs to lift the Tigers back on the national stage. "I think it's always easier when there's proof of concept," Golesh said. "You can point to and say, man, look at the