Auburn found itself in a position it has come to know all too well this season on Saturday afternoon, falling 17-7 to the Vanderbilt Commodores in a game marked by missed opportunities for the Tigers to take control.
It’s the third time this season in which Auburn has outgained its opponent and still lost the matchup. The Tigers totaled 327 yards of offense, compared to just 227 from the Commodores.
In its loss to Oklahoma, Auburn outgained the Sooners 482-291 yards, and in its loss to Arkansas, Auburn outgained the Razorbacks 431-334 yards.
Of Auburn’s 12 drives against Vanderbilt, five crossed midfield, yet only one produced points—the Tigers’ sole touchdown of the game.
“I’m extremely disappointed again.This has been too often a story this year for us, for our players and our fans, and, I’m just very disappointed.”
“Whether it's finishing drives with points from our field goal unit, or whether it's us not converting third downs, we struggled at all of that today, and I’m certainly disappointed that we didn't stack upon last week's effort,” said Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze.
The Tigers struggled to sustain drives against the Commodores, converting just two of their 13 third-down attempts—both in the second half. Auburn managed only one drive of 10 or more plays – an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive, where they avoided third downs entirely by converting two fourth-and-short situations.
Despite struggling on third down, Auburn averaged 5.6 yards per play compared to 3.7 yards per play by Vanderbilt. Quarterback Payton Thorne was 20-for-29 on the night for 239 yards and one touchdown, while Diego Pavia who routed the Tigers last season as New Mexico State’s quarterback, was 9-for-22 with 143 yards and two touchdowns.
The Tigers delivered a solid passing performance but could not find momentum on the ground, finishing with just 88 rushing yards. In its win over Kentucky the previous week, Auburn racked up 326 rushing yards, with running back Jarquez Hunter alone accounting for 278 yards.
Against Vanderbilt, however, Hunter was held to 50 yards on 12 carries. The senior had only two carries in the second half and none in the fourth quarter.
“Offensively when we're not able to create explosive runs, it seems that we really struggle to protect the passer and to throw and catch some,” Freeze said. “And we’re not playing very well in special teams, so that's a bad combination.”
The Tigers missed two field goal attempts, and a special teams penalty on a Vanderbilt field goal gave the Commodores a fresh set of downs, which they used to extend their lead to 17-7 with under five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Things continued to spiral for Auburn as the Tigers missed a 52-yard field goal attempt, handing Vanderbilt the ball with 2:17 left to play. Auburn's defense quickly forced a Commodores three-and-out, but a timeout at 2:01—just before the two-minute warning and Vanderbilt’s punt—left the Tigers with 1:48 on the clock and a single timeout to mount a final drive.
Auburn sealed its fate on the first play of its final drive, as Rivaldo Fairweather fumbled after a 16-yard catch from Thorne, handing Vanderbilt its first-ever victory in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
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Grace Heim is a senior from Enterprise, Alabama, majoring in Political Science. She started with The Plainsman in January of 2023.
You can follow her on X (Twitter) at @graceeheim
