What went wrong for Auburn during its 24-14 road loss to Tennessee?
While there’s plenty of things to highlight, two drives in the third quarter stick out as critical misses by the Auburn offense. Auburn threatened Tennessee by driving into enemy territory on back-to-back drives, but both times came up empty.
It came at a crucial point in the game — Tennessee started finding its groove offensively, and even more devastating for Auburn, the end zone. Tennessee scored its first touchdown on its first possession of the second half, taking a 10-7 lead.
Could Auburn respond to the first Tennessee touchdown? For several plays, it seemed like the Tigers were poised to strike back.
Byrum Brown hit Keshaun Singleton for six yards to get the drive going and followed it up with a 3-yard rush. The Tigers then picked up 31 yards on the ground through a trio of chunk plays. Brown had an eight-yard rush, with Omar Mabson II adding on runs of eight yards and 15 yards.
It set Auburn up with a fresh set of downs at the Tennessee 39-yard line, reaching that point mostly on the ground. The Tigers then went to the passing game — and it backfired immediately.
Brown took a sack out of the shotgun, losing six yards and backing up the offense. Now facing a second-and-long, Brown dropped back again and overthrew his intended target. It was easily intercepted by the Tennessee safety.
Drive over. Tennessee scored on the next play, making it 17-7. It was a 14-point swing within a few minutes.
Still, Auburn had a chance to get it back to one possession.
Brown hit Mabson for an 11-yard completion, then Jeremiah Koger for a 5-yard completion. Mabson took Auburn to near midfield with an eight-yard run, simultaneously picking up a first down.
Jonathan Echols then dropped a wide open pass, Brown rushed for a yard, and a false start set Auburn up with a third and long. Brown converted with a 21-yard scramble, putting the Tigers on the Tennessee 34-yard line.
And once again, Auburn went backward.
Mabson lost a yard, Brown had an incompletion and then was sacked for eight yards. Even a field goal could have cut it to one possession, but the Tigers were knocked out of field goal range.
Two possessions in Tennessee territory. Two scoreless possessions. And a two-touchdown swing in the third quarter that proved costly in a 10-point loss.
