Takeaways From Auburn’s Away Loss to Tennessee

On Saturday, the Auburn Tigers fell to the Tennessee Volunteers this past Saturday, 24-14, in a game that felt like the Tigers could have made a push and won at just about any point up until the clock hit zero.

The Tigers put up quite the fight against the Vols, leading Josh Heupel’s team at halftime, but second-half struggles left the Tigers licking their wounds as they enter their bye week.

There is still quite a lot we can learn about Auburn from this loss as they’re scheduled to take on several similarly ranked teams to the Vols throughout the rest of their season.

Offense Continues to Struggle

The Tigers have struggled to get their offense going in early-game scenarios all year, but this week’s showing against Tennessee may be one of the tougher showings they’ve had this season. The Tigers went three-and-out on all of their first three drives, did not pick up a single first down in the first 20 minutes of the game and even turned the ball over right after picking up their inaugural first down of the game.

Despite a Byrum Brown touchdown on a short-field drive, the Tigers finished the first half with only 86 total yards and three first downs, as Brown passed for just 56 yards on 9-of-13 completions. The rushing attack didn’t look much better, as the Tigers only ran for 30 yards in the first half.

The third quarter wasn’t much better for the Tigers, but Brown got the Tigers down the field for a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter before a highly controversial play-calling decision on 4th and inches left the Vols inside the Auburn 25-yard-line, resulting in a touchdown.

The Tigers’ offense has been a weak point for much of the season, and they’ll need to find their bearings, especially in early-game situations, if the Tigers are to compete with the other top programs in their schedule.

Defensive Inconsistency

The Tigers’ defense showed up in a big way throughout the first half, creating so much pressure that Tennessee's starting quarterback, Faizon Brandon, was benched midway through the second quarter. The group forced two turnovers in the first half, all while holding the Vols to just 125 total yards and eight first downs.

Ole Miss transfer edge rusher Da’Shawn Womack made his presence felt early in the game, sacking Brandon twice to cap off the Vols’ second offensive drive, though he stayed quiet throughout much of the rest of the game.

However, the Tigers struggled to contain the rush in the second half, allowing Tennessee running back DeSean Bishop to break off back-to-back long touchdown rushes on his way to an impressive 220-yard, three-touchdown performance in which he averaged 6.5 yards per rush.

It’ll be worth keeping an eye on how Auburn’s rushing defense and quarterback pressure look over the next few weeks.

Bowl Eligibility

With this loss, the Tigers’ path to their first bowl game since 2023 just got quite a bit harder, as they’ll need to pick up three wins throughout the remainder of their schedule, which includes Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Samford and Alabama.

The Tigers are largely predicted to beat the Razorbacks and Samford Bulldogs later on this season, so they’ll almost certainly need to take down a ranked opponent if they want to make a bowl in Alex Golesh’s first year on the Plains.

A win over Tennessee would have made that pursuit quite a bit easier, but now the Tigers will need to band together and work out the kinks in their game plan as they prepare for the Georgia game, which is scheduled for after the Tigers’ upcoming bye week.

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