Staff Predictions: Vanderbilt Football Vs. Auburn – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE—Time for Vanderbilt football to be about what it says it's about.
Vandy on SI has been on site for every Vanderbilt fall camp practice and preseason press conference to gather information about Clark Lea's sixth Vanderbilt team. All of those days have informed us to make these predictions as Vanderbilt faces Auburn in its biggest game to date and looks to move to 4-0 on the season.
Here's our predictions in regard to what will happen when the Commodores take the field Saturday.
I have no concern on Vanderbilt’s ability to score with Auburn. With Jared Curtis at the helm, he gives the Commodores the chance to win these types of games. However, Vanderbilt’s defense is walking into a similar situation as it did a week ago. It’s another dual-threat quarterback that Vanderbilt had a very difficult time stopping last week. For that reason, I think Vanderbilt just won’t get enough stops to win on the road.
In a game where all eyes will be on Jared Curtis and his ability to make plays and limit mistakes, this one once again comes down to the defense. Specifically, if Vanderbilt is able to slow down Auburn’s run game enough to not have to play from behind.
If Auburn does indeed get out to an early lead, causing the Commodores to abandon the run and play hero-ball with Curtis, the mistakes will likely start to pile up like we saw at times last week, leading to a close but heartbreaking loss for the Vanderbilt faithful.
There’s a world where Vanderbilt carries its momentum from last week’s miracle finish into SEC play and pulls off the upset at Jordan-Hare Stadium, but I don’t think it’s this one. It’s hard to see Vanderbilt’s defense — which allowed 26 and 31 points to Delaware and NC State, respectively — holding up against an SEC offense that scored 39 against Florida last week.
The combination of a lackluster pass rush and cornerbacks who’ve struggled to survive in man coverage could spell trouble, and Auburn’s offense should have plenty of opportunities to score early and often. Vanderbilt will need some Jared Curtis magic to keep pace, likely turning this into a shootout if the Commodores are going to pull off the upset. 
There’s a clear path to Vanderbilt leaving Auburn with a win Saturday, but Auburn has a clearer path and it’s hard to trust Vanderbilt at this point.
It’s 3-0, but it’s been unconvincing to this point and is trotting out a freshman quarterback on the road for his first SEC start. If it’s going to win, it’s going to have to take some of the pressure—literal and figurative—off of Curtis.
Time to see if Vanderbilt can go to Auburn and win for the second-consecutive trip. 
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Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Basket Under Review and Mainstreet Nashville.
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