AUBURN, Ala. – A special teams touchdown, two timely quick-strike scoring drives and a defense that held Vanderbilt to only one touchdown carried Auburn to a 21-15 win over the Commodores Saturday at sold-out Jordan-Hare Stadium, the Tigers’ 35th consecutive Homecoming victory.
“I told these guys, for as not pretty as it was at times, for you to go finish, I’m really proud of it,” Auburn coach Alex Golesh said. “For you to go find a way to win, this is twice now this year where you found a way to go finish. The ability to show up, go to work and perfect your process, your craft, one day at a time. Can that be us? That’s the challenge ahead of us.”
After Vanderbilt kicked its third field goal to pull within six points with 6:26 left in the game, Auburn ran out the clock, picking up a vital first down on 20-yard pass from Byrum Brown to Keshaun Singleton on third-and-5.
After another Auburn first down, Jeremiah Cobb gained 21 yards to get to the two-minute timeout, and the Tigers ran out the clock from there with Vanderbilt out of timeouts.
“It’s awesome to see the team come together,” said Cobb, who led Auburn with 58 rushing yards on eight carries. “It’s something we’ve worked on for a long time, fourth quarter finishing. I’m glad to see that we could do that. It was crazy walking off the field. This is what I want to feel like every day. It was very exciting and I want to continue to do that and help this team do that.”
With Auburn leading 14-3 at the half, Vanderbilt opened the third quarter with a 14-play, 75-yard drive that consumed 7 minutes and 53 seconds, converting twice on fourth-and-1 with quarterback runs and scoring on Sedrick Alexander’s 3-yard touchdown run.
Auburn forced an incompletion on Vanderbilt’s two-point attempt, giving Auburn a 14-9 lead with 7:07 remaining in the third quarter.
Auburn answered with its own 75-yard touchdown drive, converting on third-and-7 with a 19-yard completion from Brown to Jeremiah Koger.
Cobb picked up 21 yards on the next play, then after a defensive pass interference penalty, Brown scored from the 2 to give Auburn a 21-9 lead with 4:40 to play in the third quarter.
Vanderbilt followed with another time-consuming drive that covered 16 plays and chewed up seven and a half minutes. Auburn held the Commodores to a field goal that preserved the Tigers’ two-score lead at 21-12 early in the fourth quarter.
“This Auburn family thing is real,” Golesh said. “Our students and this fanbase are incredible, and I know they deserve a reward. Hopefully they understand that we’re working our tails off to bring them that. It was electric. Our players are beyond grateful for that.”
The teams traded three-and-outs on their first possessions, with Xavier Atkins making a third-down sack, one of seven Auburn tackles for loss in the first half. Atkins led the Tigers with eight tackles, including three TFL.
An Auburn interception led to a Vanderbilt field goal for an early 3-0 Commodores lead.
On Auburn’s third drive, Brown found Chas Nimrod over the middle for 11 yards on third-and-5 for the Tigers’ initial first down.
One play later, Omar Mabson II rushed for 19 yards, Auburn’s longest run of the half. On the next play, Brown tossed a 33-yard touchdown pass to Nimrod for a six-play, 75-yard drive that put the Tigers on top 7-3 midway through the first quarter.
On the first play of the second quarter, Auburn foiled Vanderbilt’s fake punt, forcing an incomplete pass from Tyler Ebel that gave the Tigers possession on the Commodores’ 46-yard line.
Auburn went three-and-out, but the Tigers’ punt pinned the Commodores at their 10-yard line.
Vanderbilt picked up two first downs, but the Tigers forced a punt that Mabson blocked and Cade Carlson scooped up at the 10-yard line and returned for a special teams touchdown and a 14-3 halftime lead for Auburn.
“I was just in the right place at the right time,” Carlson said. “Omar blocked it, I just saw the ball in the air, locked in on the ball and it just happened to be there. That’s what you dream of growing up playing football, getting to play in this awesome stadium, they pack it out every weekend. It’s awesome.”
After concluding its three-game homestand, Auburn (3-1, 1-1) plays its first SEC road game next Saturday at No. 14 Tennessee (3-1, 2-1) at 2:30 p.m. CT on the Auburn Sports Network with the TV network to be determined between ABC and ESPN.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer
GENERAL
TEAM NOTES
INDIVIDUAL NOTES – OFFENSE
INDIVIDUAL NOTES – DEFENSE
INDIVIDUAL NOTES – SPECIAL TEAMS
