After leaving Oxford with a two-score win over Ole Miss a week ago, Auburn needed another clutch interception from Josh Holsey to secure a 23-16 win over Vanderbilt.
Auburn’s offense struggled in the first half without Sean White, but it started to find its rhythm after he went back in at quarterback at halftime. The defense was uncharacteristically soft, allowing Vanderbilt QB Kyle Shurmur to throw short most of the game. But it stood tall when it had to, and Auburn is 7-2 with three games remaining on the schedule.
Here are some notes from the Tigers’ win.
QB carousel, part two
As stated above, Sean White didn’t start the game. According to coach Gus Malzahn, he didn’t take a snap during practice this week, but he tried to warm up before kickoff. White couldn’t go, but Malzahn and the rest of the coaches had gameplanned around John Franklin III starting the game all week, and he did. Malzahn never said there was an injury, and it’s unclear what White was suffering from.
In one half of action, Franklin ran seven times for 59 yards, and was 2-4 passing for nine yards. He also had a fumble, but Malzahn said he managed the game well. At halftime, and with Auburn trailing, Malzahn made the call to switch quarterbacks after White said he was good to go.
Topping 1k
For the eighth year in a row, an Auburn player has cracked the 1,000 rushing yard mark. Kamryn Pettway, who has only taken snaps in six games, eclipsed 1,000 in the third quarter. He sits at 1,106 yards on the year, and there are still three games left for him to add to that total.
However, Pettway came up limping late in the game. He busted through the middle of the Vanderbilt defense from deep in Auburn territory and looked like he had a clear shot to paydirt. Before Pettway could reach the end zone, though, he started hobbling just after midfield before getting dragged down inside the red zone. He had to come out of the game, but Pettway looked to be smiling and in good spirits on the sideline.
Welcome to the record books, Daniel
Daniel Carlson kicked three field goals Saturday. He’s got 61 over the course of his career now, surpassing Wes Byrum, who booted 60 from 2007-10, for the most in Auburn history.
He almost had four, but the last one was blocked by a leaping Zach Cunningham with roughly a minute and a half remaining in the game that would’ve likely salted the game away for Auburn and prevented all the drama at the other end.
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