The Auburn Tigers had chances to get a victory over the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday, but some familiar issues returned in Knoxville. Auburn lost 24-14 in a game they needed to win with the upcoming schedule and dropped to 3-2 on the season with a 1-2 SEC record.
The biggest culprit in the Tigers' loss on Saturday night was mistakes. These missteps were not isolated to just one area or position group. The offensive line, though, is a good place to start. It was once again a rough outing for a group that has struggled in the first five games of the season. They committed six false starts that resulted in putting the offense behind the chains.
It started on the Tigers' first drive of the game.
After Auburn forced Tennessee to punt after five
plays, the Tigers got the ball at their own 9-yard line. When looking at a manageable 3rd and 3, Stanton Ramil moved early and made it 3rd and 8. The Tigers did not pick up the first down and had to punt. The trend continued throughout the afternoon and early evening. The way the drive started was also a trend that led to being defeated by the Volunteers. Three times in the game, punt returner Bryce Cain made a fair catch inside the Auburn 10-yard line. The correct approach would be to let the ball bounce; otherwise, it could result in a touchback.
Turnovers were a problem too. Byrum Brown committed three turnovers: two interceptions and one fumble. The fumble in the second quarter was basically canceled out due to Tennessee fumbling the ball back to Auburn four plays later. The big one was the first interception thrown in the second half. With 5:25 remaining in the third, Brown overthrew a pass that was picked off by Dejuan Lane and returned for 32 yards. The second interception ended any hopes of a victory with 0:51 remaining.
It was not just the players; the coaches also made mistakes in the game. The biggest mishap was the decision on 4th down and 1 from the Auburn 24-yard line with 6:34 remaining. It is not the decision to attempt the fourth-down conversion, but the play that was called. Instead of attempting a quarterback sneak with Brown, Auburn ran a pitch to Jeremiah Cobb, who fell short of the first down. The Volunteers followed that up by adding another score to go up 24-14 when running back Desean Bishop scored on a five-yard touchdown with 3:30 remaining in the game.
Going for the 1st down made sense with Auburn having momentum at that point in the game. Auburn had just scored a touchdown on their prior possession to make the game 17-14 when Brown found Arlis Boardingham on a 16-yard jump pass that was set up by a 57-yard run by Brown one play prior.
This does not go into the mistake category, but the Tigers again had issues stopping the run game. The Volunteers rushed for 237 yards and were led by Bishop for 220 yards and three touchdowns. For Auburn, they did rush for 186 yards, but 107 of those were from Brown. Cobb was limited in the game for 17 yards on three carries, but Omar Mabson proved why he should get more carries. He had 62 yards on ten attempts.
Auburn will take an off week after this defeat and will next play at Georgia on Oct. 17. Alex Golesh and his coaching staff will need to regroup to get this season back on track. The mistakes made against Tennessee can be corrected, but if they are not, more losses are in the future of the 2026 Auburn Tigers.
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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Jordan's Review: Mistakes cost Auburn on Rocky Top | OPINION
