Tennessee football: Vols, SEC, top 25 predictions for Week Two of 2019
Tulane Green Wave at No. 10 Auburn Tigers
TV: ESPN2; Line: Auburn -17.5; Over/Under: 51.5
Saturday, Sept. 7 at 7:30 p.m. E.T.; Jordan-Hare Stadium; Auburn, Ala.
Hey, maybe Gus Malzahn is back once again. After a thrilling win over the Oregon Ducks, the Auburn Tigers have a lot to be excited about for the year. All of a sudden, Tennessee football’s upset win over them last year seems like more of a fluke than ever before. Sure, Oregon was overrated. But that was still a thrilling win.
Now, the Tigers head back home to host a Tulane Green Wave under Willie Fritz that returns a ton of talent on defense and knows how to make games ugly. This is a Group of Five program that could cause trouble for teams who aren’t careful, so Auburn can’t just rest on its laurels after such a big win. They could fall victim to doing that with a freshman quarterback in Bo Nix.
With Tulane this week and the Kent State Golden Flashes next week, Malzahn at least has some time to try a few new things out. And this shouldn’t be a game by the second half, but the Green Wave can hang around if you’re not careful. They have a lot of experience at key spots on offense this year in addition to their defense after going 7-6 in 2018.
Prediction
Auburn showed it has the defense to shut down anybody. It also showed that its offense only really emerges when it has to. As a result, the Tigers will control Tulane in an ugly, defensive game where the Green Wave never really threaten but keep it close enough to not be embarrassed. Still, Auburn’s defense allows them to cover, but take the under.