Tigers head to first road game of season

By Staff
The Auburn football team has shown it can defend its home turf, but this week they will have to show they can win on the road tonight if the Tigers want to keep their perfect record in tact.
Standing in the Tigers' way is Tennessee and the 100,011 fans in Neyland Stadium. Auburn is 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the Southeastern Conference while the Volunteers are 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the SEC.
There are many interesting storylines in this game, but perhaps none are more interesting than the coaches.
Auburn's Gene Chizik and Tennessee's Lane Kiffin are both in their first season as SEC head coaches. They have a history as assistant coaches.
Kiffin was the offensive coordinator at Southern California in 2005, the same year Chizik was the defensive coordinator at Texas. The two teams met for the national title, and Chizik's team came out victorious.
Another item of interest is how will the Auburn defense stack up against the Tennessee offense.
The Tigers are tied for fourth in the nation in interceptions (eight) and tied for fifth in forced turnovers (12). Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton has a history of poor decision-making that leads to turnovers.
Tennessee cannot afford to turn the ball over too many times against this powerful Auburn offense that has averaged 526.3 yards of total offense per game.
The Tigers are averaging 45.3 points per game and have already scored 181 points through four games. They only scored 208 points in 12 games last year.
Both teams need this win.
An Auburn victory would keep them on pace with Alabama and LSU for the lead in the SEC West Division and likely propel the Tigers into the national rankings for the first time this season.
Tennessee also needs a win to keep pace in its division, but it also needs a win to stay on track for a bowl berth.