Vanderbilt Football Drops First of the Season in Loss to Auburn – Sports Illustrated

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AUBURN, Ala. — Vanderbilt football lost its first game of the season Saturday, dropping its SEC opener to Auburn by a score of 21-15.
It was a little bit of a slow start for both offenses to start the game. Teams traded scoreless possessions the first few minutes, but Vanderbilt got the first big play of the game. On a third down, Vanderbilt EDGE Miles Capers intercepted Byrum Brown off a tipped pass that hung in the air. The interception set Vanderbilt’s offense up on the Auburn 22-yard line.
However, Vanderbilt was unable to do anything with it and settled for a field goal for the first points of the game. The next defensive drive for Vanderbilt, it got beat by Auburn wide receiver Chas Nimrod for an Auburn touchdown to make it a 7-3 game.
Midway through the second quarter, there was the first big swing of momentum in the game. Vanderbilt had the ball in its own territory for a fourth down situation, just one yard to go. The Commodores went for it and got the first down, but a false start penalty scrapped the gain and forced Vanderbilt to punt.
A few moments later, Vanderbilt had its punt blocked by an Auburn defender and the Tigers returned it for a touchdown, putting Vanderbilt in a 14-3 hole. Vanderbilt did have a chance to make it a one-possession game in the late minutes of the second quarter, but the Commodores missed on a 49-yard field goal attempt.
In the second half, Vanderbilt started to find some hope coming out of the locker room. Vanderbilt went on a drive that lasted just under eight minutes, ending in a Sedrick Alexander touchdown. Vanderbilt went for the two-point conversion a moment later, but missed it.
However, that glimmer of hope faded quickly. Auburn ended up matching Vanderbilt’s touchdown with one of its own on its first possession of the second half. The touchdown put Vanderbilt in a 21-9 deficit with five minutes left in the third quarter.
Vanderbilt kept fighting. The Commodores kicked a pair of field goals to make it a 21-15 game with over six minutes to go in the game, showing plenty of life. But in the end, Vanderbilt was unable to get the key defensive stop that it needed to late in the game.
Vanderbilt will hit the road again next week for maybe its toughest game of the season. The Commodores will visit Georgia seeking to bounce back.
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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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