The sour taste in a lot of mouths has remained following the loss to No. 1 Texas, but now is the time for No. 17 Tennessee to bounce back and remind everyone that this is a long season. It all starts this weekend against Auburn and Alex Golesh, as the Tigers have an upset on their minds - it's something that simply can't go down in Knoxville.
With the Vols at 3-1 on the year, another loss will all but rule Tennessee out of contention to get back to the College Football Playoff for the second time in three years. It's going to be on the playmakers and coaches to make sure a convincing win gets posted. With that said, here's our look at the four Vols facing the most pressure leading up to kickoff.
4. Offensive guard Shamurad Umarov
With Wendell Moe Jr. now out for the season due to his serious ankle injury, the offensive line as a whole needs to step up its game. On the interior, there's no question that guard Shamurad Umarov has to pick up his level of play, and he needs to do it ASAP.
Umarov has battled inconsistent play for Tennessee, which has been a major bummer to see. He needs to become a hoss who Josh Heupel can rely on 100 percent of the time. He's listed as questionable for the meeting with Auburn, but there's optimism he'll be good to go. It's up in the air if he'll suit up at left guard or right guard. Regardless of where he does, he has to be a beast in the trenches for the Vols. Period.
3. Offensive line coach Glen Elarbee
What we saw as a whole out of the Tennessee offensive line last week was completely unacceptable. Sorry, but giving up 10 sacks to Texas was embarrassing, with countless eyes now on position coach Glen Elarbee. Yes, injuries have impacted his group up front, but how the line improves the rest of the campaign will come down to Elarbee's coaching.
Tennessee has depth on the outside and interior, so some movement could be on the way to put the best five out there vs. Auburn. That's going to be on Elarbee to decide, but if he gets things wrong and another woeful performance is recorded in Week 5, then it will be time to have some serious conversations about his job security.
2. Head man Josh Heupel
Let us start off by saying that Heupel is not on the hot seat at all. Matter of fact, the idea of him coaching for his job is a bit silly. However, that doesn't mean he's not going to be judged for how his team performs the rest of the way. Following the loss to Texas, loads of fans bashed him online and further questioned whether or not his offense is ever going to be able to get over the top against good teams.
Against the Longhorns, the O was kept in check basically from start to finish. Had the offense put together even an average performance, Tennessee would have taken down the top-ranked team in the nation. Instead, the offense truly looked terrible, leading to Arch Manning and Co. celebrating after the final whistle. Going up against Auburn, Heupel needs to be in his bag, making sure the offense looks stellar throughout.
1. Quarterback Faizon Brandon
This is a 'get-right game' if ever there was one for 5-star freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon. We hate to keep ripping on him for how the Texas game went down, but he very much looked like an 18-year-old kid making his first-career SEC start. Going up against Auburn, he's got to show why the Vols bent over backwards to sign him.
Auburn's defense is pretty dang average, and having to overcome a rowdy crowd at Neyland Stadium isn't going to make life easier for the defense. If Brandon can play to his abilities and let it rip the way Heupel wants him to, there's no reason to believe he can't throw for 250 yards and 2-3 TDs. Make it happen, Faizon.
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