Auburn’s trip to Tennessee turned into a rough measuring stick, and the PFF grades from the Volunteers’ 24-14 win on Rocky Top make the picture pretty clear. The Tigers took their worst loss of the young season, and the numbers from Rocky Top Insider point straight at the areas that got exposed.
The biggest swing of the afternoon came when Josh Heupel made the call to move on from true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon and go with George MacIntyre. That decision paid off in a major way.
MacIntyre posted an 81.8 PFF grade and looked comfortable from the jump, staying efficient without forcing anything. He completed eight-of-10 passes, including a 42-yard strike to Mike Matthews on a dig route, and helped set the stage for DeSean Bishop’s huge day.
Bishop ran for 220 yards on 34 carries and scored three touchdowns while MacIntyre kept the offense on schedule.
Auburn’s issues up front showed up just as loudly on the other side of the ball. Donovan Haslam earned a 71.5 PFF grade and stood out as Tennessee leaned into the run game.
With Wendell Moe Jr. out for the season, the Volunteers worked the A- and right B-gap more often, and Haslam helped drive that action with the best grade on Tennessee’s offensive line. He and right tackle Jesse Perry were on the field for all 68 snaps together, but Haslam clearly did more of the heavy lifting inside.
Auburn’s tackling at the second and third levels was a problem again, and the Tigers simply weren’t plugging gaps the way they need to against top SEC competition. Florida’s Jadan Baugh had already put up 162 rushing yards and three touchdowns against this same run defense two weeks earlier, and Georgia, LSU and Ole Miss are still ahead.
In the passing game, Mark Matthews’ 70.1 PFF grade came almost entirely from one explosive moment. Cornerback Champ Anthony was beaten on a 44-yard catch, and that one play accounted for most of Matthews’ damage.
Outside of that, Matthews managed just 13 receiving yards. No other Tennessee receiver topped 12 yards, so while the play was costly, it was not a disastrous day overall for Auburn’s secondary.
David Sanders Jr. turned in a mixed performance for Tennessee with a 64.2 overall grade. His pass protection was the bright spot, as he graded 87.5 in that phase, but his 61.7 run grade pulled the total down. Auburn’s best pressure came through the A- and B-gaps, and Sanders held up well on the left edge when the Tigers came after him there.
The final indictment for Auburn came from Dejuan Lane, whose 83.4 PFF grade underlined just how much trouble the Tigers had protecting the quarterback. Lane got to the quarterback once as a blitzer and added another sack while serving as a spy.
Auburn allowed one of four sacks, and Byrum Brown was hit twice by a safety. That’s a bad sign for any offensive line, and it was another reminder that the Tigers’ front is a problem right now.
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