Auburn fell to 1-6 overall and 0-5 in the SEC after a 17-13 loss at Vanderbilt (3-4, 2-3).
The result on the field was similar to previous weeks, as was coach Gene Chizik’s message afterward.
Auburn came close late after hanging around all game, before a series of mistakes ended any hope of getting a win.
“It’s another example of having a chance to win at the end,” said Chizik. “We fell short.”
Chizik echoed what he’s said in the aftermath of Auburn’s prior losses this season.
When asked if there’s any one person who can answer for the results the team is getting (or not getting), Chizik said, “Me.”
The follow-up asked what those answers are.
“We keep working on it,” he said.
Clint Moseley started the game at quarterback and finished 14-20 passing for 98 yards and was sacked four times for an average of just over four yards per passing play called. Tre Mason was the leading runner with 16 carries for 85 yards and a score. Emory Blake was the leading receiver with four catches for 47 yards.
Vanderbilt’s offense was led by Jordan Rodgers’ 15-25 passing with 173 yards, primarily to Chris Boyd who caught six passes for 77 yards. Running back Zac Stacy became the school’s all-time leading rusher with 27 carries for 169 yards and a touchdown.
Auburn came into Nashville on the heels of a 41-20 loss to Ole Miss in Oxford and looked to put together four consistent quarters on both sides of the ball – something this team has failed to do all year.
Auburn knew coming into the game that it would be without running back Mike Blakely and tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen.
Vanderbilt, coming off a closer than expected 31-14 home loss to Florida, officially had its second straight sellout for the first time in 15 years and, after a slow buildup to kickoff, packed in the stadium quite well.
The Commodores offense, led by Rodgers at quarterback and Alabama native running back Stacy, opened the game with a lengthy and impressive 16-play, 75-yard drive that killed the first eight and a half minutes of the opening quarter. Running back Wesley Tate punctuated the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run, putting Vandy on top, 7-0.
Early on, Auburn showed several young defenders a lot of early playing time, notably freshman Cassanova McKinzy, who stepped in at middle linebacker for Jake Holland and had four tackles on the first drive.
McKinzy finished with a game-high 12 tackles and forced and recovered separate fumbles.
“As the game went on I got better,” McKinzy said. “I refuse to let anybody outwork me.”
Auburn started hot briefly with a 17-yard run by Tre Mason, but regressed quickly with a three-and-out following the first down and a 53-yard punt by Steven Clark.
Vanderbilt was moving the ball well on its second possession before an Angelo Blackson hit on Tate jarred the ball lose and McKinzy continued making plays in his first start and recovered the fumble.
Neither side did much with the ball as the first quarter quickly turned into the second.
Auburn saw a kick catch interference penalty hand Vandy 15 yards after an already short punt by Clark. Vanderbilt then faked a punt and Tate again fumbled it to Auburn, with senior linebacker Ashton Richardson recovering.
The Tigers got a field goal out of the ensuing drive, cutting the Commodores’ lead to 7-3 with 8:10 left in the first half.
Auburn’s defense tightened up and held Vandy on a fourth down try near midfield with a huge tackle from Chris Davis and Jermaine Whitehead. The offense thanked them promptly, scoring in five plays from 52 yards, the touchdown coming from a yard out by Mason. With 1:21 on the first half clock, Auburn led 10-7.
After the game, Chizik noted the momentum Auburn seemed to have heading into the half, with a stadium of 40,000 nearly half full of Auburn fans and the lead. But the defense broke and Vanderbilt quickly darted the field in under a minute and half, going 11 plays and 50+ yards before getting a tying field goal with no time remaining in the quarter.
The second half opened with Auburn getting the ball, but a Jonathan Wallace fumble was recovered by Jay Prosch for a 10-yard loss and then a sack of Moseley forced another Clark punt.
Vandy scored on its next drive via Stacy and never looked back from its 17-10 lead.
Auburn occasionally showed life on offense – through a Mason or Onterio McCalebb run usually – but saw untimely sacks and penalties ruin any chance it had of scoring on many second half drives. Despite having the ball for 10 minutes of the third quarter, Auburn scored no points and gained just 63 yards, losing 25 on three penalties.
Vanderbilt held the ball for almost 11 minutes in the fourth quarter and Auburn only mustered a field goal from Parkey, cutting it to 17-13 early in the frame.
Two more opportunities presented themselves to the offense as another Vandy fourth down try was stopped when Gabe Wright sacked Stacy, but the offense and a Stacy fumble was recovered by Corey Lemonier. Both times the Auburn offense came away with nothing.
By the end of the game, Vanderbilt was celebrating a 17-13 final score, and a new all-time rushing leader, in Centreville, Ala.‘s Stacy.
The resounding message from the coaches and players after the game was that the team is trying move forward as a unit and will keep buying into each other and the coordinators’ schemes.
Time will tell how long the players – and the fans – continue to accept the same answers.
Auburn’s 1-6 record and 0-5 conference slate are historically bad for the program, with the overall record being the worst through seven games since 1982, and the winless 1980 SEC schedule the closest rival to the current conference results.
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