Tennessee football at Auburn: Vols vs. Tigers 10 keys to the game

10. Jeremy Pruitt and Gus Malzahn familiarity with each other

Tennessee football head coach Jeremy Pruitt has faced the Auburn Tigers every year he has been a coach at the college level. After six years as an assistant with the Alabama Crimson Tide, he had plenty of experience going against them.

Then, in his five years as defensive coordinator, he faced them all five seasons, including with the Florida State Seminoles in the national championship game and two years each with the Georgia Bulldogs and back with the Tide. Meanwhile, Malzahn was on the other side of the ball in eight of the last 11 times Pruitt faced the Tigers, three years as an offensive coordinator and the last five as a head coach.

Simply put, the two are extremely familiar with each other. So who has the advantage when that’s the case? Well, Pruitt is 6-2 against Malzahn, and as a defensive coordinator going up against Malzahn as a head coach, he is 4-1.

However, one drawback is that Malzahn won the most recent match-up. So it’s not like familiarity with Malzahn’s offense is going to be an advantage for Pruitt. What does this say about Saturday? We don’t know.

But what’s clear is that Malzahn and Pruitt know each other’s tendencies well. So whomever can figure out a new advantage will receive a major boost when the two go against each other at Jordan-Hare Stadium. We’ll just have to wait and see who can do it first. And if neither can do it, unfortunately for the Vols, this game could then come down to pure talent.