Auburn's run game and special teams proved to be too much for the Tennessee Volunteers to handle after the Tigers cruised to a 55-23 victory on the road in Knoxville for its ninth win of the season.
The Tigers finished the day with 444 yards on the ground and two special teams touchdowns.
"It was a successful day," Tre Mason said. "We are getting better every week, and we're showing it. Of course the offensive line we feel like they are they best in the country and they're proving it. We get wins like that."
It was a very big win for us on the road against a team that has been playing well at home and it was a great crowd," head coach Gus Malzahn said. "It was a true team effort."
Tennessee came out running the ball well against the Tigers, scoring on a field goal in the first five minutes of the game.
The Auburn offense would get off to a slow start coming out and throwing the ball four times on its first drive and having to punt the ball back to the Volunteers.
Auburn finally was able to start moving the ball on the ground against the Tennessee defense, but because of a Tre Mason fumble and poor tackling by the Auburn defense Tennessee was able to keep the game tied at 13-13.
It looked like Tennessee had all of the momentum, but the Auburn defense finally came up big sacking Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs on third-and-long forcing a punt.
Chris Davis then took the Volunteers punt 85 yards for the touchdown giving Auburn the 20-13 lead with 9:51 left in the first half.
"We faced some adversity early, and I'm real proud of our special teams," Malzahn said. "The two special teams touchdowns were big momentum plays and really helped turn the game around."
Davis' return was the first punt returned for a touchdown since Robert Dunn against Louisiana Monroe in the season opening game in 2008. It was also the third longest punt return in Auburn history.
Auburn continued to pound on the Tennessee defense with the running game on a six-play 85-yard drive to extend the lead to 27-13 on a seven-yard touchdown run from Marshall.
Nick Marshall finished the first half with 164 yards rushing and two touchdowns, which is the fourth most rushing yards in one half in Auburn history.
Auburn would go into the half leading 34-20.
Corey Grant would continue the momentum for the Tigers opening up the second half with a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown extending the Tigers lead to 41-20.
It was the Tigers second special teams touchdown of the game.
"Corey Grant cut it back across the field and he has real speed," Malzahn said. "Coach Fountain has worked real hard on the little things, and I think it helped us win the game."
Auburn would continue its dominance on the ground in the second half and cruise to the 55-23 final score.
Marshall finished the game with 214 yards on the ground, which is the third most rushing yards in a single game by a quarterback in school history.
"We were just taking what the defense was giving us, and the offensive line was blocking their tails off. Me and Tre were able to gash the defense," Marshall said.
Mason would also have a good day running the football, finishing with 117 yards putting him over the 1,000 yards rushing mark for the year.
This is the second year in a row Mason has rushed for 1,000 yards.
The defense struggled a little defending the run after giving up 226 yards to the Volunteers, but they still managed to only allow one Tennessee offensive touchdown all game.
"We don't like all the rushing yards," said safety Ryan Smith. "We felt like we had a lot of misfits, but we'll get that fixed this week in practice."
Next week will be a big game for the Tigers as they face the Georgia Bulldogs in the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry.
"I told the team to enjoy this win," Malzahn said. "We'll start worrying about next week tomorrow."
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