We’re in the final days of double digits for the Countdown to Kickoff, and with 10 days to go until Auburn meets Washington in Atlanta, it’s time to get into the mood with a demolition in Knoxville.
Auburn was pretty good in 2004 to put it bluntly. After beating LSU, the Tigers first got noticed, but it wasn’t until Charles Barkley declared that there was a train coming and that Tennessee better get off the tracks that the Tigers had people really paying attention.
October 2, 2004 was the first time that we really saw the full capability of a Gene Chizik defense + an Al Borges offense. The results were good, and when the Tigers and Vols met that night at Neyland Stadium, Ronnie Brown set the tone for what was going to be one of the most dominating halves of the decade.
After forcing Tennessee to punt on the opening drive of the game, Auburn got the ball at its own 45-yard line, converted two third downs, and ended up at the 10. Cue the most public of many humiliations for Vol defensive back Jason Allen.
After the score, it was time to cue the humiliation for the rest of the Vols, as Auburn built a 31-3 lead at halftime and never looked back. Auburn won 34-10 in a classic Tubershell second half, but the defense took over and intercepted five passes on the night. Junior Rosegreen, as you may recall, had four of them on his own.
As for Jason Allen, he had a really bad time in 2003-04 against Auburn.
Is that mean? Maybe, but the 2004 team took no prisoners.
TEN days until kickoff. War Eagle.