For any team in the country, taking a loss is not ever enjoyable or pleasing. On Saturday in Knoxville, Tennessee, the Auburn Tigers took on that feeling for the second time in 2026.
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Losing 24-14 to the Tennessee Volunteers, Auburn and Head Coach Alex Golesh are not where they want to be at this point in the year, dropping to 3-2 overall and 1-2 in SEC play. And with a brutal slate up ahead of the program with five ranked teams in its next seven opponents, players understand that the way things have unraveled this season cannot happen going forward.
Against the Volunteers, the Tigers totaled just 25 yards of offense in the first quarter of play, and for the second time in the last three games, they were unable to gain a first down.
Penalties also became a huge concern early once again, as Auburn was flagged eight times on the offensive side of the football, three of which were for false starts that happened in the first quarter.
It was a fairly similar start to that of the Tigers’ game against Florida, when Auburn did not gain a first down until the second quarter, took on a number of penalties and could not truly move the football.
Those first quarters have set the tone for what the offense has done through the first five games, and with a key bye week having arrived, trying to get past those shortcomings is a big focus.
“Focus on us,” said Tigers quarterback Byrum Brown. “Get better at what we've got to be better at and be very intentional, very detailed and bring everyone along because we are a fantastic football team when we're clicking on all cylinders. We just have to do that from the very jump for all four quarters.”
The rushing game has also been a specific point of concern for the offense. While Auburn is averaging 180 rushing yards per game and ranks eighth in the SEC in that regard, there have only been two games out of the five where the Tigers have rushed for more than 150 yards.
According to guys like Omar Mabson II though, what he and others are working on this week will not be centered in one area, but rather everywhere.
“A little bit of everything,” Mabson said. “It's not really just one thing. We're trying to get better in all categories.”
The defensive unit is also under a spotlight as well, as Auburn is ranked 12th in the conference in average yards given up. However, it is the rush defense that is specifically in question after Saturday’s loss.
The Tigers are 15th in the SEC in average yards given up on the ground with 149, much of which is elevated by a 162-yard performance from Florida back Jadan Baugh and Tennessee back DeSean Bishop, who put up 220 yards.
It is a part of the game that linebacker Elijah Melendez is focusing on in the bye.
“A lot of that stuff that happened in the run game, every time I came to the sideline, it felt like it was on me, and I just got to be more physical in the run, taking on blocks, not letting any creases happen in the middle of defense,” Melendez said.
Safety Eric Winters is looking at the bye week as a chance for the entire team to take a huge reality check, doing whatever it can to take a significant step up before the next game.
“I’m just worrying about us,” Winters said. “What can we do better as a team? Defense, offense especially. Just taking a look in the mirror and just worrying about us.”
Auburn now gets two weeks to prepare for its second game in a gauntlet of an October slate—a rivalry game at Georgia, a team the Tigers have not beaten since 2017.
While this off week is much needed, it is not one the Tigers are looking to take lightly. In fact, it is one where they may go even harder just to get their minds in the right spot going forward.
“I think that this bye week for us will be huge,” said Auburn wide receiver Chas Nimrod. “We can go out there and work on ourselves even more. I know that a lot of people want to take a deep breath, but we can't. And so just staying on everybody, making sure everybody's going out there and actually working like it's a work day. Just letting them know that we don't have time to take a deep breath. And that if we're gonna want to go do what we say we're gonna do, we're gonna have to go out next week and take advantage of it.”
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
