Auburn vs. Tennessee: Can the Tigers Become Road Warriors?

After a Saturday of solid, yet less than inspiring football against an overpowered Ball State squad, the Tigers head north to invade the Land of Lane known as Vol Country.

While Auburn is no Florida, Lane Kiffin has given Auburn credit this week for the way they’ve performed so far, opposed to the way he’s spoken out about Urban Meyer and the Gators.

Lane Kiffin knows he doesn’t have the tools to succeed quite yet. Given time, he just might. Gene Chizik, well, let’s just say he was told he didn’t have the tools to succeed. So far, he has.

The Tigers have no plans of letting up now. The mistakes that have continuously haunted Auburn in prior weeks have been special teams, as well as getting the defense off the field on third downs.

The coaching staff vowed to shore up the punt protection unit after a near costly punt block error against MSU, and through two weeks, they have lived up to their word.

Other than that, special teams have been below average at best. Going into Neyland Stadium at night, with a talented, yet very young team will require near mistake free football. One small blunder on special teams could turn the entire game around.
Both teams understand that.

Kiffin will be ready to pounce on an Auburn mistake, and Chizik will work to prevent them.

On paper, the Tigers have a better team. Offensively, Auburn has firepower that is incomparable to many schools in the nation. While the running attack has seen a dropoff in recent weeks, Chris Todd has played smart and efficient after two average outings to open the year.

It will be very interesting to see how Todd responds to the Volunteer crowd with the expectations as high as they are on the Plains for a 4-0 Auburn squad. Having a Heisman candidate to deal with on defense in Eric Berry will be another interesting task for Todd to undertake.

Jonathan Crompton, the UT signal caller, who was once the “future of Tennessee Football” has yet to find his niche in Knoxville.

Prone to interceptions, Crompton’s turnover numbers are a huge concern to Kiffin and the Vol nation. It will be an even bigger dilemma in facing a Tiger defense that is fourth in the country with eight interceptions in four weeks.

The Volunteers will look to capitalize on Auburn’s shaky special teams, while the Tigers will look to put pressure on Jonathan Crompton and force him into bad decisions.

This SEC East vs. West tilt has the makings of a heavyweight bout, but it’s just another night of the best college football in the country.

The Tigers and Vols will go under the lights in front of a national audience with two new head coaches with everything to gain Saturday night.

While Lane Kiffin tends to boastfully voice his opinion more than other coaches, that doesn’t always translate into victories on the field.

We all know Gene Chizik is very guarded and methodical in what he says, and so far, that has led to success on the field for the Auburn Tigers. Look for another victory this week in Knoxville.