Vols' Offense slow to start against Auburn

Auburn is ahead of Tennessee in the rebuilding race. A 26-22 victory Saturday night in Neyland Stadium didn’t seem an accurate measuring stick of how far ahead.
“I thought we lost in all three phases of the game today,’’ said UT coach Lane Kiffin after the Vols fell to 2-3, 0-2 SEC. UT trailed 23-6 early in the fourth quarter before quarterback Jonathan Crompton and the rest of the offense finally showed some pop.
Too little, too late. Crompton’s 32-yard touchdown pass to Denarius Moore as time expired was the closest Tennessee got all night.
The Tigers dominated statistically most of the night and ended up with 459 yards of total offense.
“They’re so complicated,’’ Kiffin said. “They do a great job. And I thought their players made a lot of plays tonight.’’
Tennessee didn’t make many plays until the fourth quarter.
Chris Todd’s 11-yard TD pass to Terrell Zachery put the Tigers on top 23-6 with 13:41 to play.
UT answered with a quick scoring drive. Crompton found Montario Hardesty with a 31-yard touchdown pass and it was 23-13 with 11:36 remaining.
Tennessee’s next possession was a laborious, 18-play undertaking that reached the Auburn 4, but not the end zone.
Daniel Lincoln’s 26-yard field goal left it 23-16 with 4:19 left.
A 52-yard kickoff return by Ontario McCalebb helped the Tigers get close enough for Wes Byrum’s fourth field goal of the game.
And a 26-16 lead was money in the bank, with only 39 seconds left.
The Tigers, it turned out, needed those three points. Crompton hit two long passes, the final one to Moore for the score.
But time was out and Auburn was home safe.
The late rush made Tennessee’s numbers surprisingly respectable — 410 yards of offense.
Crompton was 20-of-43 passing for 259 yards. But only 78 of those yards came in the first three quarters as the passing game struggled mightily to overcome off-target passes and drops by the receivers.
“We’re not good enough to overcome drops,’’ Kiffin said. “We’re not explosive enough.’’ The SEC Rocks!