Tennessee is not a good football team.
The Volunteers aren’t even average.
Auburn, playing at home on the first Saturday of the fall that didn’t taste like asthmatic humidity soup, made the Volunteers look like a Top 10 team. I bring up the weather only because defenses normally perform better when their players can actually breath.
But the Tigers made Tennessee’s Jarrett Guarantano look like the best quarterback in the country in the Vols’ 30-24 victory.
That’s not an exaggeration either.
Guarantano was named national quarterback of the week by Pro Football Focus for his career day against Auburn. The redshirt sophomore completed 21 of his 38 passing attempts for 328 yards. All three of those numbers were Guarantano’s career highs. As AL.com Auburn beat writer Tom Green pointed out, Tennessee’s quarterback was 11 of 14 for 188 yards with a touchdown … on third down...inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Pro Football Focus graded Guarantano as the best offensive player named to its National Team of the Week.
It was the first time this season Guarantano passed for more than 200 yards against a defense, never mind more than 300 yards, and that includes Tennessee’s 24-0 victory against UTEP.
Guarantano passed for 143 yards in a loss to Georgia two weeks ago, and managed just 186 yards against Florida. Against Auburn, he looked like an All-American.
Tennessee was 10 of 19 in third-down conversions against Auburn. In the Volunteers’ previous two losses to SEC schools (Florida and Georgia), they converted a combined 5 of 21 third-down attempts.
Two weeks ago, the Tigers’ defense allowed 349 yards rushing against Mississippi State. Auburn knew exactly what Mississippi State was going to do — the only thing Mississippi State could do — and they couldn’t stop quarterback Nick Fitzgerald from running the ball down the middle of the field.
The point of all these numbers is this. At this point, Auburn’s defense might be worse than its offense.
It took just seven weeks for Auburn’s nationally respected defense to go from one of the most feared units in the country, to a bunch of paper Tigers.
Forget the offense and how awful it has been. The biggest indictment of Auburn’s complete collapse this season is the regression of its defense.
Auburn has quit on its coaching staff. The Tigers might not win another game this season.
I wrote on Saturday after Auburn’s loss that the Tigers are now the worst team in the SEC. Some Auburn fans, including faculty at the school, took exception with that characterization, but Arkansas has improved since its loss to Auburn. The Tigers weren’t really good then, and have gotten so much worse.
Just like the AP Top 25, the SEC Misery Index is a fluid thing. One week you’re the second worst team in the league, and next week you’re at the absolute bottom of the barrell.
First question for this Monday’s All-Access live chat: Is Auburn the worst team in the SEC?
If not, who’s worse? Be prepared to defend your position.
Now for the more important questions.
One, what can Malzahn do to fix this team, or at least get it to bowl eligibility?
Is benching Jarrett Stadium the answer? In last Monday’s All-Access, I asked if Stidham should be benched. I wasn’t sure then, but there is no doubt in my mind now. Bench him. He’s a liability, and doesn’t give Auburn the best chance to win.
His two interceptions and a fumble against Tennessee were the differences in the game.
The fact that Auburn coach Gus Malzahn is in the first year of a new seven-year contract extension and has lost his team can have far reaching consequences for Auburn beyond football. The success of a football team in the SEC affects enrollment, donations and so much more.
Malzahn held a gun to Auburn’s head to get his new contract by using Arkansas’ vacant coaching position as leverage. Now he’s holding the university hostage in a different way with his $32.5 million buyout.
It’s up to Malzahn to fix this. The university is depending on him.
Joseph Goodman is a columnist for the Alabama Media Group. He’s on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr.