Tennessee football will look to bounce back against Auburn.

The No. 17 Vols (3-1, 0-1 SEC) take on the Tigers (3-1, 1-1) on Oct. 3 (3:30 p.m., ESPN) at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee lost 20-17 to No. 1 Texas on Sept. 26.

Here's what to know about the matchup.

Alex Golesh makes his return to Neyland Stadium

New Auburn coach Alex Golesh will be making his first trip to Neyland Stadium since leaving Tennessee after two years as its offensive coordinator. Golesh was Josh Heupel's offensive coordinator at UT from 2021-22 before leaving for his first head coaching job at USF. With Golesh in 2022, the Vols led the nation in scoring at 46.1 points per game.

The connections between the two programs goes deeper than just Golesh, though. Seven other members of Auburn's staff coached at Tennessee under Heupel.

Tim Banks, Tennessee's defensive coordinator from 2021-25 before being fired in December, is the Tigers' co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach. Other coaches who worked under Heupel at UT are wide receivers coach Kodi Burns, offensive line coach Tyler Hudanick, special teams coordinator Jacob Bronowski, assistant offensive line coach Micah James, assistant corners coach Earnest Thomas III and senior offensive analyst Jack Taylor. Assistant offensive line coach Parker Ball played for Heupel.

Six other non-coaches on Auburn's staff also worked under Heupel at Tennessee and tight ends coach Larry Scott was Tennessee's offensive coordinator in 2017 under Butch Jones.

Byrum Brown leads Auburn's offense at quarterback

Quarterback Byrum Brown followed Golesh to Auburn after a dominant 2025 season at USF that saw him lead the nation in total offense (347.2 yards per game). He was just the 12th player in FBS history to have at least 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing in the same season.

Brown's 2026 season hasn't been nearly as dominant. He has 896 passing yards and six passing touchdowns with five interceptions, plus 237 rushing yards. Last week against Vanderbilt he only had 140 passing yards and 57 rushing yards as Auburn won 21-15.

Auburn has had a lot of trouble protecting Brown with an SEC-worst 14 sacks allowed. Tennessee, meanwhile, is tied with LSU for the most sacks in the league with 19 through four games.

Will Faizon Brandon rebound from Texas loss?

Tennessee's passing offense with freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon was passable in its first three games, but against Texas it was largely ineffective. Brandon struggled his way to 145 passing yards and a late fourth-quarter touchdown.

Through four games, the Vols' -0.08 expected points added per pass ranks No. 104 nationally. Meanwhile, its 0.29 expected points added per rush is sixth-best. Although Heupel's teams have always had dangerous rushing attacks, this group will need to stretch the field if it wants to get the most out of its offense.

It didn't help that Brandon was running from pressure throughout the game against Texas. He was sacked 10 times, much of which was the fault of the offensive line but some of which was also a result of indecision from the 18-year-old quarterback. He had to leave the game briefly with an apparent shoulder injury.

Tennessee vs Auburn prediction

Tennessee 24, Auburn 17:Rain is in the forecast and could slow down both teams' passing games. That would seem to favor Tennessee, which has relied on the run this season and is averaging 63 more rushing yards per game than the Tigers. It's also a favorable matchup up front for Tennessee's defensive line.

The Vols should be able to bounce back from their loss to Texas with a win over Auburn.

Emmett Siegel covers Tennessee baseball for Knox News. Email: emmett.siegel@knoxnews.com; X: @EmmettSiegel_

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Will Tennessee football beat Auburn in Alex Golesh's return to Neyland Stadium? Our pick