There's a homecoming of sorts on the way for both Auburn head coach Alex Golesh and co-defensive coordinator Tim Banks. Much has been said about Golesh being a Josh Heupel disciple, with the new Auburn head man getting his big break coaching wise thanks to Tennessee's leader. That's going to be a major storyline both before and after kickoff.
With that, few people know Heupel's offense and the way he works better than Golesh, who was his OC both at UCF and Tennessee. As for Banks, he went up against Heupel's offense every day at practice from 2021-25. This is, of course, a major benefit for the Tigers, but it's indeed something that Heupel is going to have to overcome.
Josh Heupel must get creative with his offense for Tennessee to take down Auburn
Golesh spent two seasons with Heupel in Knoxville before South Florida came calling. Then, Auburn gave him his shot in the SEC to prove his worth, which adds to the intrigue for this Week 5 clash. The last thing Vols fans want to see is the student take down the master, but Auburn is a sneaky game for the Vols even at home.
This could all come down to how Jim Knowles' defense handles quarterback Byrum Brown, who already has five interceptions to his name this campaign. Brown doesn't look like a starting SEC quarterback, and it's going to be on Knowles to make sure that continues.
As for Banks, he was once beloved by the Tennessee faithful, but he had people beyond livid from start to finish last season. Unfortunately for UT, his familiarity with Heupel's offense is yet another advantage the Tigers have in their game-week prep. With this, Heupel will need to open up the playbook a bit and help Faizon Brandon be at his best.
That's of course going to be easier said than done, as Brandon is coming off the worst performance of his young career. The Texas pass-rush gave him all sorts of issues, as the Vols offensive line had a nightmare day blocking up front. This is something Banks is of course going to keep in mind as he gets ready to attack the Tennessee offense.
With Wendell Moe Jr. out for the season, this only complicates things for the offensive line, but again, this is where Heupel can mix some things up and keep things balanced with the passing game and the ground attack. That will be needed to throw both Golesh and Banks off their game a bit.
Leading up to kickoff, the Vols are 6.5 point favorites to post a win, but that number dropped from 8.5. Clearly, this isn't going to be a gimme game for the Vols and Auburn will be ready to keep things tight thanks to Golesh and Banks. However, Heupel, Knowles and Co. will be ready to counter things, especially with around 100,000 screaming Vols fans ready to help out in any way that they can as well.
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