Saturday’s Tennessee-Auburn matchup in Knoxville already has the feel of an SEC grinder, and now the weather may be the detail that changes the whole afternoon.
No. 17 Tennessee hosts Auburn at 3:30 p.m.
ET in a game between two 3-1 teams, with the Tigers riding in off a win over Vanderbilt and the Vols trying to shake off a loss to Texas. The football will matter, of course.
But so will what’s coming out of the sky.
AccuWeather’s Tuesday morning forecast calls for a 91% chance of precipitation in Knoxville on Saturday, along with four total hours of rain, a 55% chance of thunderstorms, and wind gusts around nine MPH. The more detailed afternoon outlook is even more pointed: a 70% chance of precipitation and “Showers and a heavy thunderstorm; mostly cloudy and humid.”
The Weather Channel is tracking along the same line, projecting “a steady rain later in the day” with rain expected to hang around through the night.
For anyone heading to the stadium, that sounds a lot more like a poncho-and-rain-jacket situation than a clean fall Saturday. If the thunderstorm risk ramps up at the wrong time, a delay is at least possible. More likely, though, is a steady rain that makes life difficult without completely shutting things down.
That matters because wet weather can drag passing games into the mud. If the forecast holds, this could turn into a run-first afternoon for both offenses.
Tennessee, even after the rough outing against Texas, still brings one of the SEC’s better ground games. The Vols rank third in the conference in total rushing yards, trailing only South Carolina and Florida, with 966 yards on the season. That works out to 5.46 yards per carry and 241.5 yards per game.
Auburn’s numbers on the ground are more modest. Through four games, the Tigers sit ninth in the SEC in rushing with 714 total yards, averaging 4.64 yards per carry and 178.5 yards per game.
Senior Jeremiah Cobb leads the backfield, but quarterback Byrum Brown is the real x-factor in the Tigers’ run game. He leads Auburn in carries with 62, yards with 237, and touchdowns with 3.
The forecast still has room to change as the week goes on, and the weather could wind up better, worse, or right where it is now. But if Saturday does bring the kind of rain that’s currently projected, Tennessee looks built to handle a bruising, defense-heavy game better than most.
In Other News...
Texas Had To Address A Tennessee Celebration Vols Fans Wont Forget
Texas left Neyland Stadium with a hard-earned 20-17 win over Tennessee, but some of the attention afterward centered on behavior rather than the final score. Head coach Steve Sarkisian met separately with Colin Simmons and Raleek Brown to address celebrations that crossed the line, including the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty Simmons drew after a touchdown. For a road win that already carried plenty of weight, it became clear the postgame conversation had to include discipline as much as execution.
Sarkisian made clear he was not brushing it off, especially with Simmons viewed as a potential first-round NFL draft pick and expected to carry himself accordingly. The message was about professionalism and setting a standard moving forward, the kind of correction that can linger long after the scoreboard is forgotten. Tennessee fans may not have liked the result, but they certainly noticed the celebration, and Texas had to answer for it. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Just Gave Vols Fans A New Respect Debate
Tennessees narrow 20-17 loss to top-ranked Texas at Neyland Stadium left the Vols with the kind of mixed review that tends to linger. The defense and special teams did enough to keep the game tight, but the offense never fully found its rhythm, and that imbalance showed up again when the latest 247Sports SEC poll landed after Week 4.
Georgia claimed the No. 1 spot, Texas settled in at No. 2 and Tennessee slid to No. 8, a drop that adds another layer to the ongoing respect conversation around the program. Florida and Mississippi State made noticeable climbs, while Texas A&M and Ole Miss also moved down, but for Tennessee the bigger question is how much a close battle with the nations top team actually changes the conference view of the Vols. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Gets A Charged Auburn Test After One Ugly Wake-Up Call
Tennessee gets back on the road Saturday, Oct. 3, and the timing of Auburn could hardly be more instructive. Both teams are 3-1, and for Josh Heupels group, the trip comes with a quick chance to reset after the offense sputtered in the loss to Texas, a game that forced the head coach to talk openly about what needs cleaning up.
Champions Weekend adds another layer to the afternoon in Auburn, with Tennessee honoring past championship teams and individuals while the current roster tries to restore some momentum. The Vols do not have much margin for another clunker this early, and this matchup should say plenty about how quickly Heupels offense can respond to the wake-up call it just got. [Read more 🡒]