The Bowl Championship Series national championship trophy was on display in Knoxville this weekend. So were the Auburn Tigers.

Maybe that's a coincidence. But you couldn't prove it by Tennessee.

If there's a better team in the country than Auburn, the Vols don't want to get near it. The Tigers scored four touchdowns in the first half and spent the second half killing time in a 34-10 victory Saturday night at Neyland Stadium.

Auburn didn't just beat the Vols. It turned a top-10 matchup into a mismatch and destroyed all the optimism the Vols had built up with three consecutive victories to open the season.

UT's precocious freshman quarterbacks finally played like true freshmen. So did most of UT's defense.

From a Tennessee perspective, the game was like most movie sequels. It was worse than the original.

At least the Vols staged a comeback in a 28-21 loss to the Tigers last season. Saturday's comeback hopes died in the arms of Auburn senior safety Junior Rosegreen, who intercepted four passes and tied wide receiver C.J. Fayton for the most pass receptions from a UT quarterback.

Give Rosegreen the SEC defensive player of the week award. And give Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell the offensive player of the week award.

You could have given Campbell the award at halftime. By then, he had 12 completions in 15 attempts for 240 yards and two touchdowns.

And by then, he also had riddled the typical scouting report on the Auburn offense: Stop its running backs and force Campbell to beat you.

He did it with a flourish, completing a 31-yard touchdown pass and a 46-yarder on a third-and-25 situation in the first half. Two of his three first-half incompletions were dropped by open receivers.

"We played the run pretty well for the most part," UT coach Phillip Fulmer said. "(Campbell) made us pay."

UT's attention to the run was reflected in the rushing totals of star tailbacks Carnell Williams (24 carries for 95 yards) and Ronnie Brown (13-57). Williams, who rushed for 185 yards against UT last season, entered the game averaging 4.8 yards per carry, and Brown was averaging 8.7.

But don't try telling UT free safety Jason Allen that Williams and Brown weren't their usual sensational selves. Each one ran over Allen on a touchdown run.

When Brown flattened Allen on a 9-yard run to cap Auburn's first drive, it sent an alarming signal to a shaky UT defense. If one of their best players couldn't tackle Brown in the open field, what hope was there for the rest of them?

Not much.

UT's defensive shortcomings were evident enough in the first three games to suggest they would struggle against Auburn. The offensive problems were more surprising.

This was a throwback performance, indicative of UT's offensive woes in 2002 and 2003 when it averaged 11.9 points per game in its eight losses.

That just shows what a little defense will do. Auburn's defense was an obvious upgrade over those of UT's first three opponents. Moreover, it seemed honed in on the Vols' offensive tendencies. In fact, you could argue that Rosegreen knew UT's pass plays better than its quarterbacks did.

The Vols' offensive mistakes extended to the postgame interview session. They didn't make freshman quarterback Erik Ainge available to the media.

What kind of message does that send? You present him to the media when he plays great but shelter him after he throws four interceptions?

That's about the only time UT protected Ainge on Saturday night. And it's not the kind of protection he needs.

In four games as a college quarterback, Ainge already has demonstrated more talent and poise than many seniors. He certainly could have handled a few questions after his first bad game. That goes with the territory.

His answers couldn't have been any worse than what his teammates provided.

Wide receiver Jayson Swain: "We beat ourselves. We had six turnovers."

That makes it sound as though Auburn just happened to be in the neighborhood when the Vols were doing themselves in.

Later, on the Vol radio network, Fulmer said: "Auburn's a good team. They're not that much better than us."

He might change his mind after he sees the videotape.

John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.