Reviewing Auburn's September 26th homegame against the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Auburn's Homecoming Victory Over Vandy 21-15
Before we get into the Auburn game, it is important to note that Florida absolutely demolished Ole Miss last Saturday. That is a really good sign for the Tigers. The loss in the SEC opener is not anywhere near as bad as it looked last week.
One week after giving up 495 yards and 44 points, Auburn held Vanderbilt to 15 points and 311 yards. The offensive line featured almost entirely different personnel, and Byrum Brown was not the leading rusher this week — a surprising shift considering how the season has gone.
Time of possession was still an issue, as DJ Durkin's defense stayed on the field for more than 37 minutes. That's two minutes less than last week, but still a rough statistic. Auburn has the players to build an incredible defense, but the depth pieces aren't fully developed yet. Leaving them out there for that long puts the game in the hands of young, still-growing defenders late. Against Vanderbilt, though, all of those guys showed up. The Commodores moved the ball (311 yards), but reached the end zone only once. Every other point came from field goals.
Speaking of field goals: the first Vanderbilt kick was actually a win for Auburn. After a not-great-but-not-terrible pass from Brown bounced off a receiver and landed in the hands of defender Miles Capers, Vanderbilt took over at the Auburn 16. Holding that drive to three points set the tone for the rest of the day, as Vanderbilt repeatedly struggled to finish drives in the red zone.
The offense answered immediately. Just 2:04 of game clock later, Auburn led 7-3. A 33-yard strike to Chas Nimrod capped a six-play, 75-yard drive. Brown had time in the pocket, and it mattered. He wasn't truly sacked all day — Vanderbilt recorded one sack only because Brown was tackled behind the line on a scramble. There were zero plays where a defender blew through the offensive line and hit Brown in the backfield. The new-look offensive line handled its business against Vanderbilt. Whether that group can keep protecting Brown as the competition ramps up in October remains to be seen, but on Saturday they were outstanding.
The play of the game came on special teams: an Omar Mabson punt block and a scoop-and-score by Cade Carlson that pushed Auburn's lead to 14-3. Vanderbilt finally answered with a 14-play touchdown drive that drained 7:53 off the clock. Auburn responded on the next possession, but needed only 2:27 to score — a quick strike that put the defense right back on the field. Against stronger opponents, that kind of tempo imbalance can be a problem, as we saw in the Florida game.
Vanderbilt ran 91 plays to Auburn's 63, a direct result of the time-of-possession gap. Auburn seems able to score when needed, but sustaining long drives keeps the defense fresh. Quick strikes put the defense right back out there. Auburn has to secure that first first down on each possession. High-percentage passes for guaranteed short yardage have been successful this year, and they remain the easiest way to stay ahead of the chains.
In closing I leave you with the 3rd down statistics for Saturdays game:
Auburn was 7-for-15 on third down (46.7%)
Auburn held Vanderbilt to 4-for-17 on third down (23.5%)
- Thomas Porter, thomasporter.net
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