AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn forced turnovers on back-to-back plays to take a halftime lead and rallied again in the fourth quarter, but Tennessee’s DeSean Bishop scored three touchdowns to lead the No. 17 Volunteers to a 24-14 victory Saturday at Neyland Stadium.
“Our guys will continue to fight and scrap. It’s the detail with which you do it,” Auburn coach Alex Golesh said. “To win games on the road, the margins are even tighter. Between the penalties, the mis-execution on offense at times, and not being able to stop the run in the second half, that’s the story of the game, and that’s where our focus has to be.”
Trailing 17-14 with 8:17 to play in the fourth quarter, Auburn forced a punt and started a drive at its own 5-yard line.
Two Byrum Brown completions picked up 19 yards, but Tennessee stopped Auburn for no gain on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1, and Bishop scored his third touchdown five plays later to clinch the hard-fought win for the home team.
Bishop gained 220 yards on 34 carries, accounting for 68 percent of Tennessee’s 323 yards of total offense.
Leading 7-3 at the half, Auburn picked up a first down on the opening drive of the third quarter before Tennessee forced a punt.
Taking over for starter Faizon Brandon, Tennessee backup quarterback George MacIntyre completed his first six pass attempts, including a 42-yarder to Mike Matttews, helping the Volunteers take a 10-7 lead on Bishop’s 25-yard touchdown run on Tennessee’s first drive of the third quarter.
“In the first half, we kept answering the bell defensively,” Golesh said. “In the second half, we couldn’t get a stop in some critical situations. We gave up a couple of explosives where in the first half, we were the complete opposite of that.”
Auburn used consecutive Omar Mabson II runs to pick up 23 yards and a first down at Tennessee’s 39-yard line, but Tennessee’s Dejuan Lane returned an interception 32 yards, and Bishop motored 44 yards on the next play to give the Volunteers a 10-point lead with 5:15 to play in the third quarter.
Trailing 17-7 and pinned at its own 6-yard line early in the fourth quarter, Auburn covered 94 yards in just four plays. Mabson gained 21 yards, then Brown rushed for 57 yards, Auburn’s longest play of the game.
Brown faked a run, then passed to Arlis Boardingham for a 16-yard touchdown to pull the Tigers within three points with 10:57 to play.
“That’s what it feels like when we’re in sync and in rhythm,” said Golesh, whose team totaled 250 yards of offense in the second half. “Staying ahead of the chains, you can certainly operate that way.”
Auburn then got the stop it needed, but Tennessee’s defense denied the Tigers on consecutive plays for no gain.
Trailing 24-14 in the final minutes, Auburn drove to Tennessee’s 12-yard line but an interception ended the opportunity.
Auburn’s Da’Shawn Womack set the tone on Tennessee’s second possession, recording back-to-back sacks.
Hampered by penalties and poor field position early, Auburn produced only 25 yards of total offense in the first quarter. The Tigers’ defense generated four tackles for loss in the opening quarter while holding Tennessee to only 42 yards.
The Volunteers converted on their field position advantage, taking a 3-0 lead on Cooper Ranvier’s 36-yard field goal at the 9:51 mark of the second quarter.
Auburn opened its next possession with a 16-yard completion from Brown to Keshaun Singleton for the Tigers’ initial first down of the game.
The possession ended three plays later when Tennessee recovered a fumble at midfield.
On third-and-1 from Auburn’s 40-yard line, Cody Sigler forced a fumble that Jared Smith recovered to give the Tigers’ their best field position to that point.
Brown connected with Singleton for 14 yards, advancing Auburn past midfield for the first time.
Tennessee (4-1, 1-1) then forced a punt, which Auburn downed at the 11-yard line.
For the second consecutive play, Auburn’s defense created a turnover when Xavier Atkins intercepted Faizon Brandon’s pass at the Volunteers’ 20-yard line. Atkins led the Tigers with 11 tackles while Elijah Melendez added nine.
On first-and-15, Brown found Chas Nimrod for 16 yards to give Auburn first-and-goal at Tennessee’s 8-yard line.
Two plays later, Brown scrambled to his right, muscled away from three Tennessee rushers in the backfield and outraced two more Vols to the pylon for a spectacular 7-yard touchdown run that gave Auburn a 7-3 lead with 3:48 remaining in the first half.
Brown rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown while Mabson gained 62 yards on 10 carries. Singleton led Auburn with seven receptions for 54 yards.
After an open date, Auburn (3-2, 1-2) hits the road again to play No. 2 Georgia in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry Oct. 17 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia.
“Our players have to grow and grow quickly and understand what it takes to go win on the road,” Golesh said.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer