Coming off of a big win against Kentucky, their first SEC win this season, Auburn’s players are confident going into this weekend’s game against Vanderbilt.
Redshirt freshman left guard Bradyn Joiner spoke about the similarities between Kentucky and Vanderbilt’s offense, and how that affects Auburn’s offensive preparation.
“I feel like they’re pretty keyed up, just like Kentucky. I feel like they’re the same defense, but I feel like Vandy is more schemed up, you know, more sound. They're not going to miss a line or get out of gaps or like that.” said Joiner. “So we just have to be more vocal on the offensive line and the backfield. So practicing what we did last week, just doing the same thing, just the same routine, just to get better.”
Senior tight end Luke Deal spoke on Auburn’s offense productivity goals for upcoming games and how much of a role it plays in the outcome of the game.
“Whether we get 40 plays or whether we get 70 plays, 80 plays, it doesn't matter. It emphasizes that we've got to get the ball in the end zone, so we got to make those plays count,” said Deal. “ If they try to limit us on our plays, let's make those plays explosive. Let's make those plays count and hone into our execution because if you have 40 plays and 10 of them are mess-ups, you're not going to win a football game. So we need to just make sure that we're there, providing a spark for our defense, for our special teams, special teams, these provide a spark too.”
While the offense is focused on maintaining production and staying efficient, the defense is more concerned with containing and dealing with Diego Pavia and Vanderbilt’s dynamic offense.
Sophomore defensive end Keldric Faulk spoke on how difficult Vanderbilt’s offense is to defend.
“They come in a lot of different formations, and they do a lot of things that I mean, a lot of stuff we see every week, but they do a lot of read-option plays that, you know, we haven't seen all year, so it's going to take a lot of discipline and just fundamental sound to beat them,” said Faulk.
Faulk also spoke on facing Diego Pavia again this week and how he’s going to push the Auburn defense.
“I’m glad we get to play him again. We did not play our best ball against him last year. He is the face of that offense, the face of that team.” said Faulk. “He's what makes that offense do what it does. And so he's going to be a great challenge for us this week, especially up front. We got to contain him. We can't let him scramble anywhere he wants to go.”
Pavia has a 64.5% completion rate for the season, throwing 1,534 yards and 13 touchdowns so far. Not only does he throw well, but he is 6th in the SEC for rushing yards with 537 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. The top five are all running backs, making Pavia the leader in rushing yards for all quarterbacks in the SEC.
Junior outside linebacker Keyron Crawford spoke on the challenge Pavia poses to them.
“He's a threat, he's different, but he's also a threat,” said Crawford. “He can run, he can pass, he's very accurate down, but I know he likes to scramble down the middle, so we just gonna skim up pretty well.”
Auburn is set to play Vanderbilt in Jordan-Hare Stadium Saturday, November 2 at 11:00 a.m. CST. The game will be available to watch on ESPN.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
Jackie is a freshman majoring in Drug and Biopharmaceutical Sciences. She started with The Plainsman in fall 2024.
You can follow her on X (Twitter) at @jackie_domingun
