Auburn hosts Tennessee on Saturday in Jordan-Hare Stadium as the Tigers return to the field after a 20-day layoff.
Pete Fiutak of College Football News made his prediction for the matchup:
Why Tennessee Will Win
Can Jarrett Guarantano somehow recreate the magic of a few years ago?
The Vols were able to beat Auburn in 2018 when Guarantano went off for 328 yards, two touchdown passes, and a whole slew of big plays. The Vols either need him to catch fire, or hope the experience Harrison Bailey got in the Arkansas game is enough to be ready to step in and give the Tigers trouble.
Auburn might be finding ways to come up with wins, but the defense hasn’t been great at getting off the field – Tennessee has to somehow keep the chains moving. The Tiger pass defense got hit by LSU for 315 yards, and the run D that got ripped up by Ole Miss a few weeks ago.
There isn’t one glaring weakness on the AU D, but it’s generally just okay. However …
Why Auburn Will Win
Tennessee is a strange mess. The offense that looked like it would grow into a thing after the first three weeks just sort of stopped. Granted, Kentucky keeps scores low and Alabama is Alabama, but the 302 yards put up in 31-point loss to the Tide marked the only time the Vols get over 300 in the last four games.
The running game isn’t working, the passing attack managed 107 yards against Arkansas, and nothing seems to be happening even with the offensive line not playing all that poorly.
Auburn has its issues – congrats on being the last win in the Will Muschamp era at South Carolina – but it’s finding ways to win.
Did it catch a break against Ole Miss? Yeah. Did it catch a monster break against Ole Miss? Oh yeah. But it’s the SEC. If you’re 4-2, you won four games, you take them, you don’t ask questions, and you move on.
As much as Bo Nix and the passing game have to do a better job of clicking, the offense has managed both 200 yards rushing and receiving in each of the last three games, and is coming off its best performance of the season with a big day against LSU.
What’s Going To Happen
The losing coach in this won’t be Muschamped, but the fan base will get really, really, really grouchy.
Auburn has more of its stuff together and should be consistent enough offensively to survive – at least compared to Tennessee. The Vols don’t do any one offensive thing well, and the defense isn’t taking the ball away enough to matter.
Prediction: Auburn 30, Tennessee 23
