Vanderbilt walks into Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday with a perfect start intact and conference play finally here.
The Commodores, 3-0 and 0-0 in the SEC, open league action against Auburn at 3:15 p.m. on Sept. 26.
Auburn enters at 2-1 and 0-1 in conference play. The game will air on SEC Network, with Andrew Allegretta, Norman Jordan and Kevin Ingram on the radio call on 94.9 The Fan.
This matchup also brings a little recent history with it. Vanderbilt owns the all-time series edge, 23-22-1, and has taken two straight and four of the last six from the Tigers. The Commodores beat Auburn 45-38 in overtime last season at home and followed that with a 17-7 win at Jordan-Hare Stadium in 2024.
Vanderbilt’s 3-0 start is its second straight, which had not happened for the program since the 1946 and 1947 seasons.
The Commodores are coming off one of their most dramatic wins in years. Last Saturday at FirstBank Stadium, they erased a 17-point deficit to beat NC State 35-31, winning on a last-second fumble recovery in the end zone.
Vanderbilt trailed the whole way until the final second, when Miles Capers forced a fumble as the NC State quarterback tried to run out the clock and take a safety. Cayden Daniels pounced on the loose ball to seal it.
That comeback matched Vanderbilt’s largest since it erased a 17-point hole at Ole Miss on Nov. 10, 2012.
The NC State win also extended a few streaks. Vanderbilt has now won four straight against ACC teams, with back-to-back victories over Virginia Tech in the last two seasons and a win over Georgia Tech in the 2024 Birmingham Bowl.
The Commodores have also won 10 straight home games, their longest run since winning 12 in a row at then Dudley Field between 1928 and 1930. At FirstBank Stadium, they’ve won 11 straight against nonconference opponents, the program’s longest home streak in those games since a 10-game run from 2015 to 2019.
Saturday’s crowd of 35,000 made it seven straight sellouts at home dating back to last season.
Vanderbilt’s defense has been disruptive in the backfield. The Commodores are fourth in FBS and third in the SEC with 12 sacks, and the 91 yards lost on sacks are the most in the country. Nick Rinaldi’s 3.5 sacks rank tied for seventh in FBS and second in the SEC, while Miles Capers’ five tackles for loss place him 13th nationally and fourth among SEC players.
Sedrick Alexander keeps piling up the touchdowns. He scored his 29th career touchdown against NC State, moving to third in Vanderbilt history and sitting one away from a tie for second.
He had already reached 23 career rushing scores in Week 2 against Delaware, leaving him one shy of Marcus Wilson for third on the school’s all-time rushing touchdown list. Alexander has found the end zone 11 times on the ground in 2025, which is sixth-most in a season by a Commodore.
Last fall, he added four receiving touchdowns and finished with 90 total points, the fourth-most in a season at Vanderbilt. For his career, the senior has 1,676 rushing yards and 605 receiving yards.
He entered the season with 1,469 snaps, the most of any returning running back in FBS.
Junior Sherrill remains Vanderbilt’s top returning receiver after posting career highs last season with 54 catches, 784 yards and seven touchdowns. His two touchdown grabs against NC State pushed him into Vanderbilt’s top 10 for career receiving touchdowns.
He also crossed 1,500 career receiving yards on his first catch against Austin Peay. In 2025, he tied for the team lead in touchdown catches and ranked second on the team in receptions and receiving yards.
He had a career-best 123 receiving yards on eight catches against Iowa in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Sherrill has caught at least one pass in 40 straight games and needs 110 more receiving yards to crack Vanderbilt’s all-time top 10.
Freshman quarterback Jared Curtis earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors on Sept. 21 after his first career start in the 35-31 win over NC State, giving Vanderbilt its 10th such award. Curtis put up 341 yards of total offense and threw three touchdowns.
He completed 20 of 34 passes for a career-high 277 yards and added a team-high 64 rushing yards on 12 carries. In the second half, he threw for 205 yards, including an 8-of-13 stretch for 163 yards and two touchdowns in the final 15 minutes as Vanderbilt rallied from 10 down in the fourth quarter.
That performance helped deliver the Commodores their biggest comeback win since Nov. 12, 2012.
In Other News...
Miles Capers Revealed How Vanderbilt's Wildest Play Even Happened
Miles Capers is still talking about the kind of snap that can change a season, the one that began with Vanderbilt sending out a field-goal block call and ended with a forced fumble and a game-winning touchdown. In the aftermath, Capers walked through how the play unfolded from his side, including the surprise of the call and the scrambling that came with trying to execute it cleanly in real time.
For a program that has spent plenty of Saturdays searching for a breakthrough, the moment carried extra weight because it showed how quickly a defensive swing can flip the mood around a team. Capers said it mattered for the group moving into SEC play, too, where Vanderbilt will need that same edge, attention to detail and belief that even a chaotic snap can become something bigger. [Read more 🡒]
Clark Lea Just Put Vanderbilt's Defense On Notice Before Auburn
Clark Lea didnt spend much time softening the blow after Vanderbilts defensive showing against NC State. The Commodores gave up too much yardage and too many explosive plays, and Lea made it clear during his press conference that the problem wasnt just one bust or one bad drive. With Auburn next up in the first SEC game of the season, Vanderbilts coach pointed to the need for cleaner structure and sharper communication if this group is going to hold up against a heavier conference challenge.
The focus now turns to whether the Commodores can turn that message into something tangible on Saturday. Leas standard is straightforward: keep explosive touchdowns off the board and make Auburn settle for field goals when drives get into scoring range. For a Vanderbilt defense that has already been put on notice, the opener offers an immediate chance to show the issues from last week were a warning, not a pattern. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilts SEC Opener Hinges On One Crucial Offensive Return
Cole Spences status has become one of the more important early-week storylines for Vanderbilt as it gets ready for its SEC opener against Auburn. Clark Lea said the tight end is day-to-day and will be listed as questionable, a notable update for a player the Commodores were counting on to help anchor the offense after Eli Stowers departure.
Spences injury trace goes back to before the season opener, and his availability has been a recurring concern. Even so, Vanderbilt still views him as a piece who can shape what the offense looks like in league play, which is why his progress this week carries more weight than the usual injury note. [Read more 🡒]