Every breakup has the moment you realize your ex took more than you thought. For Tennessee, that was Auburn week. Alex Golesh ran Hendon Hooker’s 2022 offense, the one that led the country at 46.1 points a game. Now he’s Auburn’s head coach, with Tennessee’s former defensive coordinator, its former receivers coach and a Golesh quarterback along for the ride. It wasn’t Tennessee vs. Auburn. It was Tennessee vs. its old group chat.

About Texas

I’d picked Tennessee to win. Texas won 20-17. Wrong winner, right side: the Vols were getting 4.5 and lost by three. They had eight more first downs than the No. 1 team in the country and a late touchdown and onside kick that made 101,915 people believe. The one disaster: 10 sacks allowed.

The worry, and why I wasn’t worried

Auburn’s defensive coordinator had spent five years practicing against every Tennessee protection. But that defense ranked 92nd in scoring the year before, and Auburn’s 3-1 start told you nothing: a one-point win over Baylor, 44 allowed at home to Florida, 21 points against Vanderbilt.

The pick

Tennessee opened at 7.5, and at least one model liked Auburn. On paper, sure. But paper doesn’t sing Rocky Top, and nobody else had a defense like Texas. I said Tennessee by 10.

Final: Tennessee 24, Auburn 14. By 10, on the nose.

Pick: Tennessee -7.5 (win by 10) · Result: Tennessee 24, Auburn 14 (win) · Vols against the spread: 2-0

Read the full column at TriStar Daily: UT v. Auburn: The Ex Comes to Dinner

For entertainment. Lines as of the day the column ran.