Tennessee’s offensive line had a disastrous afternoon against Texas last Saturday in Neyland Stadium.

Vols true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon was sacked 10 times in the 20-17 loss to the Longhorns. It felt like he was under pressure every time he dropped back for a pass attempt.

It was easily one of the worst performances we’ve seen from Tennessee’s offensive line in the Josh Heupel era.

To make matters worse, the Vols lost starting left guard Wendell Moe early in the first half (he only played four snaps before exiting due to injury).

It’s unclear how much time Moe will miss, but he’s not expected to play on Saturday against Auburn.

What will Tennessee’s offensive line look like against Auburn?

Tennessee will need to figure out what its best offensive line combination looks like going forward with Moe expected to miss some time.

The only positions that seem to be “locked in” right now are David Sanders Jr at left tackle and Sam Pendleton at center (though it’s possible Nic Moore, who started the Furman game at center with Pendleton suspended, could push the Notre Dame transfer for playing time over the next few weeks).

VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs joined WNML’s SportsTalk on Tuesday and discussed what the Vols’ offensive line could look like against Auburn.

“I think where they go right now is they go Sham Umarov at left guard, and I think that they go with Donovan Haslam at right guard,” said Hubbs. “And Jesse Perry stays at right tackle. I don’t think they have a ton of confidence, or at least based on snap numbers, it doesn’t look like they have a ton of confidence in Ory Williams (he played just four snaps against Texas). But we’ll see if they go that direction.

“They obviously are not going to play as many fronts like what they played against Texas, but they have to play better. Fundamentally, they have to play better. I mean, Josh Heupel doesn’t publicly call people out, but he made it clear post game, and he made it clear again [on Monday], that what that offensive line was doing on Saturday just simply isn’t good enough. That’s not winning football. That’s an experienced group that’s got to respond. … If Auburn can control the line of scrimmage with three and four men on the defensive line the way Texas did, then [Tennessee] has real problems. I mean, real problems. And so we’re getting ready to find out. This is a big test.”

Hubbs mentioned that Tennessee doesn’t seem to have much confidence in Ory Williams at right tackle, but with the interior offensive line playing so poorly, it’s possible they could slide Jesse Perry back to right guard and play Williams. The idea there is that Brandon can handle pressure off the edge better than interior pressure (that would also allow Tennessee to rotate Haslam and Umarov at left guard).

“I think you’ve got to be willing to adjust and change on the fly,” said VolQuest’s Austin Price on Tuesday on 104.5 The Zone’s Ramon and Will. “And if that means shifting Jesse Perry inside, then I think it means shifting Jesse Perry inside. Ultimately, Tennessee cannot allow the pressure to come from the interior, which is what’s been happening. I think it’s much easier for Faizon to avoid pressure coming off the edge than it is when it’s shoved right up in his lap.”

Regardless of who is out there against Auburn, that whole unit needs to show up ready to play with an edge. Tennessee’s offensive line got pushed around by Texas. They need to take that personal and make a statement against Auburn — that’s ultimately the only way to quiet the noise.