This season, The Plainsman will make staff picks of Auburn's weekly matchups. Also look for our selections for the national showdowns in the "Plainsman Pick 'Em" section in the print edition of our publication.
Here are our picks for Tennessee at No. 21 Auburn (11 a.m. CST, SEC Network).
Nathan King, sports editor
Of the four units present in today's SEC throwdown between Auburn and Tennessee, the Tigers defense may be the only one somewhat entertaining.
Neither offense has been very efficient midway through the season. Homefield advantage and an opportunistic defense should help Auburn cruise, but it may not be pretty.
Prediction: Auburn 27, Tennessee 13.
Jake Wright, sports writer
For weeks, we have been saying Auburn needs to find a rhythm on offense, yet little has changed. This is no different against Tennessee. The Tigers offensive production caught up with them in Starkville last weekend as they didn't score a touchdown.
Tennessee is looking for their first SEC win since 2016 and the first of the Jeremy Pruitt era. Tennessee is not very good right now, but frankly neither is Auburn. I think that Tennessee will hang tight with Auburn for the entire game on Saturday morning. It won't be a full house with students on fall break. An 11 A.M. game and Auburn's lackluster start to the season compared to expectations after beating Washington won't help the atmosphere either. There is a lot of drama surrounding Auburn in the locker room right now and I think that this team won't be able to bounce back even if it is against one of the weaker teams in the SEC.
Prediction: Tennessee 20, Auburn 17
Tyler Roush, assistant sports editor
Returning home to Jordan-Hare Stadium is good to forget about two in-conference losses.
And failing to have success through the air, or on the ground, alongside a defense that's holding the house up.
Tennessee and head coach Jeremy Pruitt are looking for their first conference victory this season with a familiarly struggling quarterback in Jarrett Guarantano. Auburn is looking to define how the offense will end the season, with a rushing attack that hasn't fired all of its shots yet.
With the home atmosphere, Auburn should find some energy to get the motor going again.
Prediction: Auburn 24, Tennessee 13
Cole McCauley, sports writer
After a disappointing performance in Starkville the week before. Auburn football is certainly at a crossroads. The Tiger defense is elite, there is no question about that and with pretty much the entire Auburn offense being underwhelming thus far, look for the Tigers to lean on that defense if that want to secure their second conference win.
Jeremy Pruitt's squad has struggled mightily against Power Five opponents and while this Tiger offense almost certainly wont be putting up 40+ points, Stidham and company only need to play smart football and take care of the ball to scrape by.
Despite barely scraping by against Southern Miss in their last home game, Jordan-Hare Stadium is still one of the most hostile environments in college football and on Sunday that will be apparent for Auburn's first home matchup against the volunteers since 2008.
Prediction: Auburn 27, Tennessee 13
Sumner Martin, sports writer
After a crushing loss on the road to Mississippi State, some reports have started to suggest that Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn has lost control of this team, and the locker room as a whole. Quarterback Jarrett Stidham has been performing below average all year, in turn losing the trust of his teammates and showing a lack of leadership.
All signs point to a downward slope and a disappointing second half of the season. But, Auburn is hosting Tennessee on Saturday. Any other team may have a chance to keep pounding on the Tigers, but the Volunteers have been even worse than No. 21 Auburn.
The lone bright spot of last week's loss at Mississippi State was the surprising play of Boobee Whitlow off the bench, who had been fighting through a shoulder injury all week. If the Tigers can get Whitlow involved early and often, Auburn should win this game by two touchdowns at home.Also, don't be surprised if Malik Willis sees some snaps behind center with Stidham still struggling.
Prediction: Auburn 24, Tennessee 10
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