Tennessee Volunteers vs. Auburn Tigers Preview and Pick

Tennessee Volunteers +6.5 (1-2, 0-1 SEC) at # 15 Auburn Tigers -6.5 (3-1, 1-1 SEC) Saturday September 27 Jordan-Hare Stadium (87,451) Auburn, AL. 3:30 p.m. EST TV: CBS

By Wilson of Predictem.com

The Auburn Tigers will host the Tennessee Volunteers this Saturday in the first meeting between these two squads since 2004, and they havent played at Jordan-Hare stadium since 2003. Auburn has won the last three contests and they also lead the series 25-21-3, with a 6-2-1 advantage in games played at Auburn. Notably, Auburn has never won four in a row against the Volunteers.

In their last meeting, the Tigers handed the Volunteers a loss 38-28 in the 2004 SEC Championship game in Atlanta.

Auburn is coming off of their only loss of the season which was to SEC foe LSU 26-21 last Saturday. No. 15 Auburn nearly beat LSU as they held the lead heading into the final minute of the game, but LSU managed to complete a last minute touchdown pass that sealed the victory.

The Tigers put up impressive numbers especially QB Chris Todd who was 17-of-32 for 250 yards, but the LSU Tigers kept Auburn running back Ben Tate to just 45 yards on 19 carries.

Defensively, Auburn is ranked 10th in scoring defense, 19th in rushing defense and 20th in total defense. The Tigers have allowed just three points in the first half this year to date.

Most sportsbooks have the game in Auburns favor at -6.5 but Auburn will need to get the running game going if they expect to pull away from Tennessee.

Eight of the last 11 games between these two teams have been decided by 10 points or less.

Auburn and Tennessee are 0-3 ATS, which may sway the betting folks, but you must figure at least one of these teams has to cover this week!

Tennessee has struggled early this season with losses at UCLA and at home to Florida. The UCLA game was a heart breaker in overtime, while the Florida game was a good old fashioned one-sided beating handed out by the Gators. The Volunteer fans actually started booing their own team at one point! Wow, thats motivating!

The loss to Florida marks the fourth consecutive for Tennessee at the mouth of the Gators. It didnt help that the Volunteers had three turnovers (2 fumbles, and 1 INT). Tennessee was also penalized 9 times for 95 yards. We just keep shooting ourselves in the foot. said Vols QB Jonathan Crompton, who also had an interception and a dropped ball for a turnover during the game.

The Volunteers were never really in the Florida game as they only managed to score two field goals in the entire game. They got the ball inside the five yard line twice but then it all fell apart with turnovers and missed opportunities.

Only three players on Tennessees roster have ever played against Auburn. Auburn may be too much for the Volunteers to overcome especially if they play the way theyve been playing- which is less than par for a Tennessee team that is expected to make a run for the BCS year after year.

Auburn really should be undefeated right now as they let LSU steal the game last Saturday night. You can look for Auburn to come out firing on all cylinders.

Wilsons Pick: Auburn is No. 15 for a reason. They should be ranked higher and will make their case more obvious when they run over Tennessee this Saturday at home- Auburn 35 Tennessee 10. Luck to ya.