Following an unexpected open date, Tennessee looks to get back in the win column with a road trip to Auburn. The Tigers seem to be hitting their stride as they have won 3 of their last 4. What’s key for the Vols to end their four game slide? Here are four, in our weekly Cheat Sheet.
Run the ball — The last time these two teams met, the Vols couldn’t run it a lick. Tennessee averaged just 1.9 yards a carry against a very good Auburn defensive front. The 2020 version of the Auburn defense is not as stout as they were then and Tennessee isn’t nearly dynamic enough in the passing game. So the Vols have to run the football successfully. They don’t have the ability to throw jump balls all afternoon.
Auburn is giving up 156 yards a game on the ground which is an unheard of number by a Kevin Steele defense.
The Vols must take advantage of it by successfully running the ball for four quarters.
2. Get settled in — Auburn has been good in the first quarter outscoring their opponent 34-17. Many in the league are playing up tempo on offense but Gus Malzahn has done it longer than anyone. His tempo and his scheme are different and take some getting used to. Jeremy Pruitt knows Malzahn’s system as well as anyone and knows surviving the first quarter is key.
“We kind of have a history there of playing against Auburn. It seems like if you can get through the first couple of drives – they play so fast – and you get accustomed to playing them. I was telling the defensive guys yesterday, if you look, the teams that play Auburn every year have more familiarity with how the offense is run. Teams that don't play them every year seem to struggle. It's important to try and understand what Auburn tries to do philosophically on offense. We really worked hard yesterday to get that engrained into our defensive players."
3. Scheme it up — Tennessee has to run the ball with success if they are going to win. The also have to create some big plays. This offense has struggled with chunk plays as most of the receivers have struggled against man coverage. So Tennessee isn’t just going to out physical defenses on the perimeter.
That’s why Chaney has to scheme up something to get someone free. He did it in week one with Brandon Johnson over the middle. He did it last year with Wood-Anderson. Chaney has to scheme up some explosives. He doesn’t have to throw his play call sheet but what Vol fans wouldn’t give to see one of their receivers running wide open down the middle of the field.
4. Tackle the Tank — In the first two games, Bigsby rushed for 46 yards on 14 carries (3.2 yards a run). In the last four games Bigsby has 75 carries for 457 yards (4.5 yard a run). Bigsby’s per carry after went from 7 the first two weeks to 18.8 the last four weeks. The Tigers are 3-1 since they started leaning on the freshman and their loss was to South Carolina where Bigsby rushed for 111 yards but it wasn’t enough to overcome Bo Nix’s 3 interceptions.
