Auburn is four games into the Alex Golesh era, and the biggest question hanging over this team is still the same one it opened the season with: what exactly are the Tigers supposed to be?
That uncertainty showed up again Monday, when Golesh talked about Tennessee in a way that sounded a little too revealing for Auburn’s current state.
"I think they know who they are from an identity standpoint," Golesh said. "We've talked so much about our identity and as we continue to build what that looks like."
That gap between the two programs is hard to miss heading into Auburn’s first road game of the season, a trip to Knoxville to face Golesh’s former team. Tennessee looks like a team with a clear plan. Auburn, at least right now, is still sorting through the pieces.
The offense has been the clearest example of that. Auburn ran for 343 yards against Southern Miss, then struggled to keep the ground game steady against Florida before leaning harder on creativity to find rushing lanes against Vanderbilt. Even the offensive line has already been shuffled, and left tackle turned into a revolving door on Saturday.
There’s also the question of how much Auburn wants Byrum Brown involved as a runner. So far, that answer appears to be trending toward not enough.
And then there are the slow starts, which have followed the Tigers through the first four games and kept them from ever really settling in early.
Golesh didn’t pretend that can linger much longer.
"Good football teams go get better week to week to week," Golesh said.
That’s the task now, and it gets tougher in a place like Neyland Stadium.
Defensively, Auburn has another issue to clean up: missed tackles. The Tigers missed 24 against Florida and 16 more against Vanderbilt. They did improve on third down against Vanderbilt, but that didn’t stop the Commodores from converting all four of their fourth-down tries.
Auburn still won that game 21-15, but those kinds of breakdowns can become expensive fast, especially against Tennessee. The Volunteers pushed the number one team in the country to the edge last Saturday, losing by just a field goal.
There are some encouraging signs on that side of the ball. The defensive front is creating disruption, and young players like Jourdin Crawford are carving out bigger roles and making their reps count.
Special teams gave Auburn a huge swing against Vanderbilt, with a blocked punt turning into a touchdown. But that phase needs to be a boost, not the thing propping up a team that’s still trying to find itself in conference play.
Golesh said Tennessee plays on all three sides of the ball like a team that knows exactly what it is. Auburn, through four games, is still working toward that answer.
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