Tennessee gets another crack at getting back on track Saturday, when the Vols host Auburn at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN.
The matchup comes with both teams sitting at 3-1. Tennessee is trying to bounce back from a 20-17 loss to Texas, while Auburn’s lone setback came in Week 3 against Florida.
This will be the first meeting between Tennessee and Auburn on the field since 2020. The rivalry history leans Auburn’s way overall, with the Tigers holding a 29-22-3 edge. Tennessee’s only win over Auburn since the 2000s came in 2018, a 30-24 result.
After the Texas game, Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said Monday that the offense has to clean things up.
“First of all, that position group we all understand needs to play at a higher level consistently for 60 minutes to give us a better chance to move the football. Some of that’s in the run game, certainly in protection as well.
All the protection problems, it’s not just five guys, it’s everybody involved in it. It’s tight ends, it’s backs, it’s quarterback, it’s wide receivers doing their job, too,” Heupel said.
“But certainly we got to get better. There were times in the run game where we got to create a little bit more movement.
There’s times where we created movement, get to a little bit of space, unblocked hat makes a tackle, they tackled well. So it’s all those pieces working together.”
Saturday’s game will also serve as Tennessee’s Champions Weekend, with the program honoring championship-winning teams and individuals and welcoming back former SEC and NCAA champions for milestone anniversaries.
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 🡒]
Tennessees Arkansas Trip Comes With A Streak Vols Need To End
The SECs latest kickoff release finally put a time on Tennessees next trip to Arkansas, with the Vols set for a 4:15 p.m. start on Oct. 10 on the SEC Network. It adds another familiar layer to a series that has quietly become a recurring part of Tennessees schedule, with the two programs meeting for the third straight season and the Volunteers carrying a 14-7 edge in the all-time matchup.
Arkansas enters the game under first-year coach Ryan Silverfield, who took over after Sam Pittmans departure following the 2025 season, so Tennessee will be seeing a Razorbacks sideline that looks different from recent years. For the Vols, though, the broader challenge is the same one that always comes with this trip: a conference road game against a longtime opponent, and one that Tennessee would like to make feel a little less familiar. [Read more 🡒]