Auburn fans are anticipating a big season with young players with more experience under their belt and hopes of disappointment soon to be gone.

The season of optimism may come sooner than anticipated.

Auburn football will open the 2025 season one day earlier than originally scheduled, now set to play Baylor on Friday, Aug. 29, according to multiple reports.

Brett McMurphy of the Action Network was first to report the change.

It will be a rare Friday game for Auburn, the program’s first in the regular season since the 2010 Iron Bowl, a 28-27 comeback win over Alabama. It’s the first regular season game not on a Saturday since beating Kentucky on a Thursday in 2015. The game against Baylor was originally scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 30, but a time was never announced.

The game is the first of a home-and-home series, with the return game currently scheduled for Sept. 5, 2026, in Auburn.

The 2025 opener will be the first time since 2020 that Auburn has played a Power Four opponent in its first game, and the 2020 opener against Kentucky was part of a conference-only schedule due to COVID-19. It will also be the first time Auburn starts the season on the road since traveling to USC in 2002.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m