Tennessee football: Five reasons Vols could upset Auburn Tigers

4. Auburn may not be as focused given its schedule.

Don’t forget that the Auburn Tigers are still in play for the SEC West. They have to win out and hope the Alabama Crimson Tide lose one game somewhere else. That’s unlikely, but it’s not 100 percent impossible just yet.

Well, after Tennessee football, Gus Malzahn’s team has to face that very Alabama team, a game that truly could reshape the West. Given that situation, Auburn may be entering this night game wondering what’s happening with the Tide in their 4 p.m. game against the Kentucky Wildcats and thinking ahead to that Iron Bowl.

After the Iron Bowl, though, Auburn then has to host the Texas A&M Aggies. As a result, they’ve got two major games that could force them to look ahead of the Vols. Hey, they’ve already overlooked one team this year, losing 30-22 to the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Now, to be fair, given that South Carolina loss and the 2018 loss to UT, there’s a great chance they will go out of their way to not overlook this game. However, it’s still hard to do that as a young player when you know what’s coming up and what’s at stake.