Auburn didn’t need a clean afternoon to get Alex Golesh his first SEC victory. It needed a blocked punt, a little balance on offense and enough defense to slam the door late.
That was enough Saturday in Auburn, Ala., where the Tigers held off Vanderbilt 21-15 after Byrum Brown threw and ran for a touchdown and Cade Carlson turned a special-teams play into six points. Auburn improved to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the Southeastern Conference, bouncing back from a home loss to Florida in a way that mattered immediately for Golesh.
Brown finished 18 of 27 for 140 yards, including a touchdown pass to Chas Nimrod, and he also threw an interception. On the ground, he added a score of his own as Auburn did just enough to stay in front.
“One of the keys for us to have success on our offense was to be able to handle the pressure, to be able to handle the true, the cover zero looks, the all-up looks,” Golesh said. “I thought Byrum handled it extremely well”
The swing play came in the second quarter. Omar Mabson II got into the punt and blocked it, and Carlson scooped it up and went 10 yards for the touchdown that pushed Auburn ahead 14-3.
Jared Curtis kept Vanderbilt in the fight all afternoon. He completed 22 of 33 passes for 199 yards, and he also led the Commodores on the ground with 18 carries for 46 yards.
The true freshman, making his first career road start, played mostly mistake-free football, with his only turnover coming on a Hail Mary to end the first half. The source also noted he finished with 48 rushing yards on those 18 carries.
“You got to go find a way to win, and those are the margins I keep talking about. Like there’s a formula to winning,” Golesh said. “Sometimes you got to go outside the formula, and ultimately for us, as we build our identity here in year one, as big as anything else is the ability to finish and find ways to finish.”
Auburn’s defense answered a rough week in a big way. After allowing 44 points and 495 yards against Florida, the Tigers held Vanderbilt to 15 points and 311 total yards. The home win also snapped Auburn’s wait for an SEC victory at Jordan-Hare, giving the program its first conference home win in 671 days.
Vanderbilt dropped to 3-1 overall and 0-1 in league play. Auburn heads to No.
14 Tennessee next Saturday, while Vanderbilt goes to No. 2 Georgia.
In Other News...
Vanderbilt Has A Chance To Change How Fans See This Team
Vanderbilt comes into this matchup at 3-1 with a chance to do more than just hang around with one of the SECs heavyweights. After a loss to Auburn, the Commodores now get a shot at Georgia, which has opened the year 4-0 and climbed to No. 2 in the national rankings after taking care of Arkansas and Oklahoma in its first two league games. For Vanderbilt, the setting is about more than the scoreboard - it is another opportunity to show that this start is not a fluke and that the program can be taken seriously in a conference where credibility is earned quickly.
Georgia, though, brings the kind of pressure that has made these games so difficult to turn into statement wins. Raylen Wilson has been central to the Bulldogs defense, leading the team in tackles, sacks and forced fumbles, and the betting markets still lean toward the SEC power that has already looked the part of a contender. For Vanderbilt, the intrigue is whether this is the kind of night that changes the conversation around the Commodores, even if the final answer is still waiting to be written. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilt Faces Its Biggest Composure Test Yet At Georgia
Clark Lea and a pair of his players spent the buildup to Vanderbilts trip to No. 2 Georgia talking less about the noise around the matchup and more about the work it will take to survive it. Junior Sherrill and Bryan Longwell joined their coach in acknowledging the obvious edge Georgia brings, from the history between the programs to the challenge of playing in Sanford Stadium, while Vanderbilt continues trying to define its offensive identity and keep its focus on preparation and execution.
For the Commodores, this is as much a composure test as it is a football game. They know the setting will be unforgiving and the margin for error slim, but the message from inside the program has been consistent: stay grounded, trust the plan and avoid getting pulled into the outside expectations that come with facing one of the sports premier teams. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilt Heads To Georgia With Little Margin For Error
Vanderbilt heads to Sanford Stadium on October 3 knowing the margin is already thin in a season that has left little room for a setback. The matchup with No. 2 Georgia is only the next stop on a brutal stretch, one that underscores how difficult the Commodores closing run will be with seven of their remaining eight games coming against ranked opponents.
Still, there is enough individual production on the roster to give Vanderbilt a reason to keep showing up with confidence. Junior Sherrill, Nick Rinaldi, CJ Heard and Sedrick Alexander have all supplied meaningful pieces of the puzzle, and their work has helped the Commodores stay competitive even as the schedule stiffens. What matters now is whether those efforts can travel into one of the toughest venues in the SEC and keep Vanderbilt from losing ground before the hardest part of the calendar truly opens up. [Read more 🡒]