Auburn’s special teams kept a win from turning into a headache, and Alex Golesh made sure Cody Sigler got his due.
In a 21-15 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday, the Tigers got two momentum-shifting plays from the third phase. On the Commodores’ final drive of the first half, Sigler erased a 48-yard field goal attempt.
Earlier, Omar Mabson II burst through to block a punt, and Cade Carlson turned that into points when he scooped it up and scored. That play pushed Auburn ahead 13-3 with more than eight minutes left in the first half.
Golesh said that kind of work was the separator.
“From a special teams perspective, that was the difference in the game. And we talked so much, and I talked to you guys about the margins being so, so small.
One, for us as we build this thing. But two, you get in this league, and everybody’s got really good players, really good coaches, really good schemes.
The margins are tiny. And for the margin on special teams to go our way, obviously, the block punt for a touchdown at a really, really big time," Golesh said.
“And then probably not talked about enough is Cody Sigler’s blocked field goal. And this is one of the better kickers in the country.
And for him to be able to get his hand on it, it turns out to be a really, really big swing there in the game. And so it’s a credit to our special teams unit.
"It’s a credit to our defense and the buy-in on the field goal block side. We keep talking about, man, just keep giving effort.
It’ll come. Just keep giving effort.
It’s really good to have proof of concept there for our own guys to be able to understand that."
Sigler’s day was about more than one huge block. The defensive tackle played 49 snaps against Vanderbilt and led Auburn with six quarterback hurries/pressures against Jared Curtis and the Commodores’ offensive line. He mostly lines up at the three-tech and one-tech spots, but he’s showing up in more than one way.
The New Hope, Alabama, native said before the season that he wanted to move past being labeled just a “high-effort guy,” and his play is backing that up. The Arkansas State transfer is making his mark in the trenches and on special teams, where Auburn has already leaned on him in a major way.
That broader unit has done its job through the first four games. Auburn’s return and kicking teams have limited damage, and Alex McPherson has been perfect on extra points.
Golesh wasn’t nearly as upbeat about the offense or defense, but special teams is a different story. He knows that group can be trusted.
That matters with Tennessee up next on Saturday in Rocky Top, where Auburn enters Week 5 at 3-1 instead of carrying the weight of a 2-2 start.
In Other News...
Auburn Found One Lifeline In An Uneven Win Before Tennessee
Auburn needed every bit of its special teams to survive Vanderbilt, and it got it in a game that was far from clean on offense. Cody Siglers blocked field goal and Cade Carlsons blocked punt returned for a touchdown supplied the kind of hidden-yardage swing that can change a tight afternoon, and head coach Alex Golesh pointed to those plays as decisive in the 21-15 win.
The performance still left plenty for Auburn to sort out before Tennessee arrives. The Tigers found a way to get a needed result, but the offense never fully took control, which makes the margin for error much thinner with a tougher SEC test next on the schedule. For a team trying to build momentum, the question now is whether those special teams sparks can carry over when the stakes get higher. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Just Earned New Hope With A Brutal Test Ahead
Auburn finally got the kind of result it had been chasing at home, snapping a stretch that dated back to 2024 and nudging its record to 3-1 in the process. For a program still trying to settle into a rhythm under Alex Golesh, it was the sort of win that can steady a season, even if the bigger questions around consistency still linger.
CBS Sports ranking of Auburn at No. 13 in the SEC says plenty about where the Tigers stand right now: competitive enough to be intriguing, but not yet proven enough to command broad trust. The next few weeks will tell the story, with Tennessee, Georgia, LSU and Ole Miss all waiting on a schedule that leaves little room for the kind of uneven play Auburn has shown so far. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Defense Still Has One Issue Tennessee Could Expose
Auburns defense took a step forward in the win over Vanderbilt, doing a better job of limiting quarterback Jared Curtis than it had in the earlier loss to Florida. The improvement mattered, but it also came with a reminder that the Tigers are still working through some things on that side of the ball as the schedule gets tougher.
The main concern inside the program has been urgency, along with missed tackles that popped up even in a better showing. With Tennessee up next and Georgia, LSU and Ole Miss still looming, Auburn knows the margin for error is getting thinner, and several players along with the head coach have made it clear that the defense has to clean up those habits fast. [Read more 🡒]