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AUBURN, Ala. — Let the nine-game conference gauntlet begin.
Vanderbilt football begins its SEC slate with a road game at Auburn, looking for its third consecutive win over the Tigers.
Two years ago, Vanderbilt went to Auburn and left with a win that clinched bowl eligibility for the Commodores. Last season, the Commodores beat the Tigers in an overtime thriller. A lot has changed since then, though.
For Vanderbilt, it is in a brand new era with five-star freshman quarterback Jared Curtis at the helm of the offense. Curtis made his first collegiate start a week in a miraculous win over NC State. Despite Curtis throwing an interception in the final minute of the game, he still led Vanderbilt back into the game after his team was down 24-7.
This weekend is Curtis’ first road start as a college quarterback. Even though he is a young quarterback, Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea has concern on how Curtis handles the environment this weekend.
“He signed up for these road challenges,” Lea said. “But I trust him. I trust him. I trust his instincts.”
In Auburn’s case, it has a new head coach this season with Alex Golesh coming over from South Florida. It has been a little bit of a shaky 2-1 start in his first three games as the Tigers new coach.
Auburn snuck past Baylor in a neutral site game on opening week one before beating Southern Miss the next week. But Auburn enters Saturday looking to bounce back. Last week, it lost to Florida 44-39 on its own field.
The pressure is on Auburn to defend home field, especially as heavy home favorites. Vanderbilt is embracing the underdog role in this matchup, but its standard and expectation is to win this game. The Commodores realize they have not played up to their standard thus far, but they are hoping to change that Saturday afternoon.
Vanderbilt and Auburn are scheduled to kickoff at 3:15 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
Note: This story will be frequently updated throughout the day and game.
Be sure to refresh your browser for live updates from Vanderbilt vs. Austin Peay. The most recent updates will appear at the top.
FINAL: Auburn 21, Vanderbilt 15
Vanderbilt falls for the first time this season, losing to Auburn 21-15. The Commodores will look to bounce back next week with a road game against Georgia.
Auburn 21, Vanderbilt 15
Vanderbilt kicks another field goal to make it a six-point game with 6:26 to go. Vanderbilt has life down one score with plenty of time to make it up. However, it does only have one timeout to go.
Auburn 21, Vanderbilt 12
Brock Taylor drilled a 47-yard field goal, but Vanderbilt is still down 21-12 with 12:17 left in the game. Vanderbilt still has to find a way to score twice to come back and win this game.
Auburn 21, Vanderbilt 9
Auburn went right down the field in three minutes to trade touchdowns with Vanderbilt, Commodores now trail 21-9 with 4:40 left in the third quarter. Vanderbilt's defense was having a solid day overall until that drive.
Auburn 14, Vanderbilt 9
Sedrick Alexander gets in the end zone for a touchdown, but Vanderbilt missed the two-point attempt. Commodores trail 14-9 with 7:07 left in the third. What a drive to begin the second half. Vanderbilt went nearly eight minutes on the drive.
Auburn 14, Vanderbilt 3
After a false start on a 4th-and-1 attempt, Vanderbilt chose to punt and it got blocked by Auburn and returned for a touchdown. Vanderbilt would have gotten the first down if not for the penalty. A big swing in momentum and the direction of the game.
Auburn 7, Vanderbilt 3
Vanderbilt got beat off an explosive run a play a before a 33-yard passing touchdown from Byrum Brown to Chas Nimrod. Commodores now trial 7-3 with 7:25 left in the first quarter. It was going well defensively up until those two plays.
Vanderbilt 3, Auburn 0
Vanderbilt gets the scoring started with a Brock Taylor field goal to make it 3-0. A missed opportunity for the Commodores, who came away with an interception and started the drive on the Auburn 22-yard line.
If a player goes down during the game, we'll keep tabs on it and share any and all updates.
– Clark Lea announced Thursday that Vanderbilt’s No. 1 tight end Cole Spence is trending toward being a “game-time decision” after initially being listed as questionable on Wednesday’s injury report. Update: Spence saw his first snaps of his 2026 season in the late stages of the first quarter.
Clark Lea continued his positive attitude toward the possibility of Cole Spence playing Saturday.
He’s questionable for now, but Lea said things are aiming toward a “game time decision” if progress continues the way it is.
More: @VandyOnSI https://t.co/7AS8QNH73p
– Vanderbilt will be without cornerback Jaylin Lackey and linebacker Jamison Curtis with soft tissue injuries and defensive lineman Nikhil Jefferson to an injury as well. As Lea said last week, defensive lineman Aaron Bryant is out for the season with an ACL injury
Who: Vanderbilt (3-0) vs. Auburn (2-1)
When: Saturday, Sept. 26, 3:15 p.m. CT
Where: Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Ala.
TV: SEC Network
Series History: Vanderbilt leads Auburn 23-22-1 all-time.
Last time out, Vanderbilt: Vanderbilt pulled off a last-second miracle against NC State to complete a 17-point comeback and a 35-31 win.
Last time out, Delaware: Auburn lost its SEC opener at home against Florida 44-39.
Weather: The weather is starting to cool off as the official start to fall began earlier this week. The forecast shows a sunny day in Auburn with a kickoff temperature of 80 degrees before dropping into the mid 70s by the end of the game.
Spread: Auburn -9.5 points
Over/Under: 54.5 points
Source: FanDuel Sportsbook
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER
In the final play of Vanderbilt’s win over NC State, the play call was a field goal block and the personnel were the 11 guys Vanderbilt would send out on a routine field goal attempt. Vanderbilt EDGE Miles Capers helped produce the miracle that was. He gave the inside look of the play call and the huddle.
One of the important takeaways from Vanderbilt’s offense last week was the connection Jared Curtis and wide receiver Junior Sherrill had. The two have been putting in extra work post-practice since Curtis was named the starter. They could even become the best quarterback-receiver duo in the SEC.
In case you missed it, Vanderbilt running back Sedrick Alexander is donating $280 to fighting ALS every time he scores a touchdown. The idea is to help honor former Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson, who has been diagnosed with ALS.
QB: Jared Curtis, Blaze Berlowitz
RB: Sedrick Alexander, MK Young
X Receiver: Junior Sherrill, Ja'Cory Thomas, Joseph McVay
Y Receiver: Brycen Coleman, Cole Adams, Claiborne Richards
Z Receiver: Tristen Brown, Kayleb Barnett
Tight End: Cole Spence, Gabe Fisher, Maurice Veney
Tight End: Jayvontay Conner, Walter Taylor
Quick Tackle: Clinton Azubuike, CJ Williams
Quick Guard: Cade McConnell, Kevo Wesley, Ted Gregoire
Strong Guard: Orion Irving, Micah DeBose
Strong Tackle: Beau Johnson, Mitchell Smith
EDGE: Brian Allen Jr., Edwin Kolenge, Hayden Bray
Defensive Tackle: Issa Ouattara, Bradley Mann, Talan Carter
Defensive Tackle: Glenn Seabrooks III, Jaylon Stone, Mike Diatta
Razor: Miles Capers, Mason Carter, Jake Stanish
Linebacker: Nick Rinaldi, Bryce Cowan, Josiah Broxton
Linebacker: Bryan Longwell, Bryce Cowan, Austin Howard or Jamison Curtis
STAR: Mason Lewis or Carson Lawrence, Jailen Ruth
Cornerback: Martel Hight, Jaylin Davies, Cobey Sellers
Cornerback: Jordan Matthews, Cayden Daniels, Bishop Starling
Safety: Ricardo Jones, Dontae Carter, Davin Chandler
Safety: CJ Heard, Jalen Gilbert, Vanzale Hinton
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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