First off - apologies for going quiet the last little while. Life got in the way of the breakdowns for a bit, but we're back, there's a 3-0 team to talk about, and honestly there's no better moment to jump back in than SEC opening weekend on the Plains. Let's get into it.
Vanderbilt is 3-0 for the second straight season, and it didn't come easy.
The Commodores trailed NC State by 17 points twice and looked dead in the water before Jared Curtis led a furious comeback and Miles Capers forced a fumble as time expired to seal a stunning 35-31 win. Now it's on to Jordan-Hare Stadium for a 3:15 p.m. CT kickoff on SEC Network, and the first real conference test of the season against an Auburn team going through its own growing pains under new head coach Alex Golesh.
Auburn sits at 2-1 after an ugly SEC-opening loss to Florida last week, following an underwhelming Week 1 escape against Baylor and a comfortable Week 2 win over Southern Miss. Golesh brought his South Florida quarterback, Byrum Brown, with him to Auburn, and Brown has been every bit the dual-threat weapon advertised - but the run game around him has completely stalled against Power 4 competition, managing next to nothing against Florida's front.
This is a program still figuring out its identity in Year 1 of a new staff, and Vanderbilt gets them at a moment when the record says one thing and the tape says something a little shakier.
Notable Players to Watch FOR Vanderbilt
QB Jared Curtis - Curtis has now led one legitimate comeback as a true freshman starter, and his first true road SEC start comes in a hostile Jordan-Hare environment. How he handles the noise and the moment matters as much as the box score here.
RB Sedrick Alexander - Auburn's run defense has held up fine, but its offense hasn't been able to run the ball at all against good competition, which tells you something about the level of speed and physicality up front. Alexander is Vanderbilt's proven answer for controlling tempo and keeping this one out of a track meet.
Edge Miles Capers - Fresh off forcing the game-sealing fumble against NC State and racking up five tackles for loss in that game alone, Capers is playing as well as anyone on this Vanderbilt roster right now. A dual-threat quarterback like Brown is exactly the kind of matchup where his ability to close speed matters most.
Notable Players to Watch FOR Auburn
QB Byrum Brown - The engine of this Auburn offense and the reason the Tigers were competitive against Florida even with almost nothing happening on the ground. Brown followed Golesh over from South Florida, where he was one of the most productive dual-threat quarterbacks in the country, and he's shown that same juice in flashes through three games in the SEC.
RB Jeremiah Cobb — Auburn's leading returning rusher has been nearly invisible against Power 4 defenses so far, with Brown outrushing him for most of the season. If Cobb ever gets going, Auburn's offense looks completely different — but he hasn't shown it yet against real competition.
LB Elijah Menendez — Menendez has been the leader of an Auburn defense that's actually played well enough to keep the Tigers in every game they've played. He racked up 12 tackles and forced a fumble in the Week 1 win over Baylor and sets the tone up front.
Keys to Success for Vanderbilt
Take away the run early. Auburn hasn't been able to run the ball against anyone with real size and speed up front. If Vanderbilt's defense makes this offense one-dimensional in the first quarter, it puts the entire game plan on Byrum Brown's arm.
Contain Brown, don't just rush him. Brown is a dual-threat problem the way Chris Parson and Beau Pribula have been for other opponents this year. Vanderbilt's front seven has talked all season about collapsing the pocket and making mobile quarterbacks one-dimensional - this is the biggest test of that plan yet.
Establish the ground game and control the clock. Playing on the road in a hostile SEC environment for the first time, the surest way to keep Curtis comfortable is leaning on Alexander and MK Young early and taking crowd noise out of the equation.
Learn from the slow starts. Vanderbilt has now fallen behind in multiple games this season before rallying. That formula works until it doesn't - a clean start on the road against a desperate Auburn team looking for its first SEC win under Golesh would go a long way.
Final Score Prediction
Auburn is going to be desperate and loud at home, and Byrum Brown is talented enough to make this uncomfortable for stretches. But a stalled run game against a Power 4 defense is a real problem, and Vanderbilt's front seven has been the best unit on the field in every game so far this season. Expect Vanderbilt's talent and depth to eventually take over in the second half the way it has all year, even if the start is tighter than anyone in Nashville would like.
Vanderbilt 27, Auburn 20
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As always Commodore Nation, Anchor Down.