Undefeated Vanderbilt heads to Auburn on Saturday for Homecoming, and the Commodores arrive with a fresh dose of drama after one of the strangest finishes of the young season.
Last week against NC State, Vanderbilt was down by 17 points multiple times, led for just one second all game, and still walked away with a 35-31 win. That one second was the one that counted: the Commodores recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown when NC State tried to run out the clock.
The trip to Jordan-Hare Stadium will also be the first road game for Vanderbilt freshman quarterback Jared Curtis, who put up 341 total yards in his first start last week.
“He’s really special,” Auburn coach Alex Golesh said. “The No. 1 quarterback in the country (in the 2026 class), he looks mature beyond his years to go operate and for them to trust him to come into this environment and be able to go do it.
We’ve got to take advantage of whatever freshman moments there are. If there are, we’ve got to take advantage of them.”
Auburn is expecting plenty of pressure from the Vanderbilt defense, which Golesh described as aggressive and heavy on blitzes.
“As aggressive as we’ve seen,” Golesh said. “If you could take advantage of it and be on the right side of it, for us, being able to protect, being able to run the football, all these things we’re trying to get better at every single day.
“They present a bunch of challenges. They force you to be on it. If you’re not on it, you’re going to cut guys loose and it’s not a good deal.”
Auburn, 2-1 and 0-1 in SEC play, is trying to improve to 10-1 all-time at home against Vanderbilt. The Tigers and Commodores kick off Saturday at 3:15 p.m. CT on SEC Network and the Auburn Sports Network, with Andy Burcham, Jason Campbell and Ronnie Brown on the call.
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