Five games into a college football season you want more answers than questions. You want to know -- not think, KNOW -- your strengths ... and your weaknesses. You want to know -- not think, KNOW -- the players you can count on ... and those you can't.

So five games into this SEC autumn, what do we know about Auburn and Tennessee after the Tigers' 26-22 victory over the Vols on Saturday night in Neyland Stadium?

For starters, we know that first-year Auburn coach Gene Chizik is having a much happier honeymoon than first-year Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin.

The Tigers are now a stunning 5-0 overall and 2-0 within the SEC after their first road test of the season. The Vols are 2-3 overall and 0-2 in league play.

To be fair, Chizik had previously been the boss at Iowa State while Kiffin is navigating his first campaign as a college CEO. Vols fans can only hope his learning curve is quicker than Chizik's, since the Auburn coach went 3-9 and 2-10 over his two seasons with the Cyclones.

But within the postgame quotes from each coach were also glimpses into what each man is delivering nearly halfway through his first SEC season.

Said a cheerful Chizik after Auburn's wire-to-wire win: "As a coaching staff we really had no idea how (the players) would respond in this type of environment. It was really good to see a very young football team come on the road and win."

Countered Kiffin, "I thought we lost in all three phases of the game (offense, defense, kicking game), which is very disappointing, especially for our SEC home opener."

Kind of a far cry from the UT coach's December boast about, "Singing Rocky Top all night long after we beat Florida next year. It will be a blast."

Said a much more reserved Chizik on the day he was hired, "We will not be outworked in any facet of the building process."

Now Kiffin has beaten neither Florida nor Auburn and Chizik's building process appears to be traveling at fiber optic speed, despite each man enheriting 5-7 programs.

There's also the not-so-little matter of both the immediate and near future. A year from now Kiffin will be replacing no fewer than nine starters, including starting quarterback Jonathan Crompton and one of the top five players in America in defensive back Eric Berry.

Chizik, on the other hand, could return as many as 16 starters, though he will also have to replace a senior QB in Chris Todd and a gifted running back in Ben Tate.

This isn't to say all is lost for the Vols or everything is upbeat with the Tigers. Let Tennessee defeat Georgia on Saturday inside Neyland and Kiffin could head into a bye week with a renewed focus and intensity for the Oct. 24 showdown at Alabama.

Conversely, let Auburn fall this weekend at Arkansas and the Tigers could lose important confidence for remaining matchups at LSU, Georgia and the season finale against visiting Bama.

And good as Auburn is offensively, Crompton threw at will against the Tigers defense when the Vols went to a 2-minute drill. Arkansas is light years better than the Vols on offense, as are Ole Miss and the Crimson Tide. The War Eagles can win shootouts with the Hogs and Dawgs, but outscoring LSU or Bama will be a different matter.

Then there's next year for War Eagle Nation. While almost every UT fan can't wait for Crompton to graduate, Auburn may quickly miss the unsung Todd, who has become quite a gunslinger for offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn.

In fact, Chizik's top priority in the off-season should probably be to open up the bank vault -- are you listening Bobby Lowder? -- to hold on to one of the college game's four or five most creative offensive minds.

Kiffin's task is clearly more daunting. He not only doesn't have an SEC level quarterback this year, he doesn't appear to have one next year. And with each fresh defeat this season he seems closer to losing this fragile team.

For proof, consider this single quote from senior center Cody Sullins when he was asked about Crompton losing his footing and falling to the turf for a loss on the first snap of the third period: "It was kind of disheartening. We came out with high spirits. The first play he apparently gets stepped on by somebody or something and loses his balance."

Thirty game minutes later the Vols were 2-3 and 0-2. Blame it on Crompton or blame it on a coaching staff that continues to play him but ask yourself this question this morning: Five games along, would you rather be Auburn or Tennessee?