Auburn football fell 24-14 to No. 17 Tennessee on Saturday, Oct. 3, at Neyland Stadium, and seriously, the same old problems were back to haunt them. Alex Golesh’s return to Rocky Top definitely didn’t deliver the result anyone wanted, with Auburn’s offense looking out of sorts yet again, and the defense struggling hard to contain another ballcarrier.
The Offense Is Still Struggling Out of the Gate and the Defense Can’t Stop Anyone
Man, that offense is still looking totally out of sorts. We saw some late efforts, sure, and you gotta give them props for trying to mount a comeback. But why can’t we start a game as well as we finish it? If we could, our record might look way different, right? The unit earned a D+ grade for the game, which, let’s be real, is not going to get it done.
And the defense? Dude, for the second time in three SEC games, some ballcarrier just tore us up. Jadan Baugh did it before, but Tennessee’s DeSean Bishop straight up outdid him, running wild on our guys. This unit got a D grade, and honestly, it’s making you wonder, maybe this defense isn’t what we all thought it would be when the season started.
A D- For the Coaching Staff? Seriously?
Special teams, at least Hudson Kaak wasn’t completely miserable trying to win the field position battle, especially with both offenses sputtering early. He wasn’t amazing, but he was far from terrible, scoring a C grade. Still, he was outshined by Tennessee punter Jackson Ross.
But then there are the coaches. Seriously, a D-? How can you feel inspired by that performance on the headset? Yeah, players gotta execute, we all know that. But between the procedural penalties, those scripted drives stalling out, and that wild late fourth-down decision, the coaching staff just left so much to be desired. Plenty of blame to go around there, for real.
So, a D- final grade overall for the team. On paper, yeah, it’s “just” another one-score loss to a ranked opponent. That itself isn’t exactly an abject failure. But the constant mess on offense and defense? That’s what’s got me seriously worried, especially with what’s coming up on the schedule. We gotta figure this out, and fast.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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