After a tough loss to Ole Miss this past Saturday in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, the Commodores will look to get back in the win column in their final home game of the season against Auburn. Ole Miss posed a myriad of challenges for Clark Lea’s team, consistently putting pressure on Ken Seals and Walter Taylor and easily running through Vanderbilt’s rush defense. The Vanderbilt offense had 60 passing yards, a number not nearly high enough to win games in the SEC. Similarly, the Vanderbilt defense was inconsistent, missing an appalling 28 tackles.
However, there is hope for this Vanderbilt squad. Auburn is the team’s easiest opponent left on a difficult SEC schedule, and Lea will look to grab one final win in FirstBank stadium this year. Auburn ranks last in passing yards per attempt and average passing yards per game in the SEC, hopefully helping an injury-depleted Vanderbilt secondary limit explosive plays. While the Tigers have a potent run game, Langston Patterson and Darren Agu could be the keys to stopping star Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter on the ground.
Nevertheless, in order for Vanderbilt to break its seven-game losing streak, there are a few key matchups that must go its way against Auburn on Saturday. Let’s take a look.
Vanderbilt’s offensive play-calling vs. Auburn’s defensive schemes
Vanderbilt offensive coordinator Joey Lynch has been under much scrutiny this season regarding his predictable and uninspired play-calling. It seems that on many first and second downs, opposing teams can either expect a run play up the middle or a wide receiver screen. Both of these expose Vanderbilt’s main weakness on offense: a slow and struggling offensive line. This sets up long third downs which are difficult to convert, resulting in unsuccessful drives that have no sense of rhythm. However, Lynch has shown moments where has strayed from this unimaginative formula and the offense has found more success. Hopefully, he can use the entire playbook this weekend and keep this Auburn defense on its toes.
Auburn hired a new defensive coordinator, Ron Roberts, this season to fix its defensive woes from 2022. Previously coaching at Baylor, Roberts came in with one idea in mind: stop the run game. Roberts is known for his use of “creepers,” or defenders not on the line of scrimmage that can stop perimeter runs or sack the quarterback. This could be a rough matchup with Lynch’s run plays on first and second downs.
Also, Roberts’ use of the 4-2-5 nickel defense, a common defensive scheme in college football, allows for five defenders to lurk in the secondary and stop any potential explosive pass plays. This defensive scheme can be useful as it balances the number of players near the line of scrimmage and in the secondary, helping stop both the run and the pass game.
If Vanderbilt wants any shot at winning on Saturday, Lynch will need to utilize a variety of offensive plays to fool this talented Auburn defense.
Payton Thorne vs. Vanderbilt’s secondary
Auburn has utilized two quarterbacks this season: Payton Thorne and Robby Ashford. While Ashford and Thorne have both seen meaningful snaps this year, Thorne seems to be the primary quarterback that will compete against Vanderbilt considering his exceptional performance against Mississippi State this past Saturday. Thorne had a career night on Saturday, throwing for 230 yards and three touchdowns. He went 20-for-26 to win Auburn’s first SEC game this year. It was an impressive performance and Thorne will look to carry this momentum into the game against Vanderbilt.
However, Thorne has been somewhat of a mixed bag for the Tigers this season. He ranks last in the SEC in passing yards per attempt, showing his lack of explosivity. He struggled earlier this season, throwing for less than 100 yards in games against Texas A&M, California and Georgia. He received a majority of the snaps in all of these games. All this points to a favorable matchup for a banged up Vanderbilt secondary.
Vanderbilt’s defense will likely be without key players B.J. Anderson, C.J. Taylor and Trudell Berry. The Vanderbilt secondary struggled against Ole Miss, allowing Jackson Dart to throw for 240 yards and a touchdown. Similarly, Vanderbilt was unable to cover Ole Miss receiver Dayton Wade, who had eight receptions for 120 yards. However, the secondary wasn’t just an issue last week, it has been a season-long problem for Lea’s defense. In what seems to be a clear talent deficit at cornerback and safety, Vanderbilt has been unable to stop the passing game of opposing SEC teams.
With Thorne’s more limited arm and lack of explosivity, this could potentially be a favorable matchup for the Commodores. Vanderbilt has faced many impressive quarterbacks this season, such as Carson Beck and Dart, that have exposed this secondary, but Auburn’s rushing offense will test the Vanderbilt secondary less.
Walter Taylor’s legs vs. Auburn’s front four
The quarterback position for Vanderbilt is murky. Lea was rather ambiguous in his press conference on Tuesday on who will start at quarterback this weekend. However, many believe Taylor will get the nod after replacing Seals in the second quarter of the Ole Miss game. At the very least, Taylor will likely get some snaps on Saturday. Taylor is an entirely different quarterback than Seals or AJ Swann. He is extremely mobile, as showcased by his 59 rushing yards against Ole Miss. His athletic frame and impressive arm make him both a threat in the air and on the ground. He could be just what this offense needs to win an SEC game this year.
The only issue with Taylor is his inexperience. He hadn’t really played any meaningful snaps before the Ole Miss game. This was evident as he couldn’t get the ball out and was sacked on fourth down in the fourth quarter against the Rebels. In that scenario, taking a sack was just about the worst thing he could have done.
However, Taylor’s threat on the ground opens up new possibilities for this Vanderbilt offense. Taylor is another running threat for Auburn’s front four, potentially creating more gaps for running backs. Last season, Mike Wright was able to capture two SEC wins using his speed and mobility to defeat two top-tier teams. Maybe Taylor can do the same.
Even if Taylor doesn’t start, it is likely he will get some snaps this weekend. It is possible that Lea will play multiple quarterbacks on Saturday to take the Auburn defense by surprise. Nevertheless, Taylor could use his legs to spark this Vanderbilt offense and get one final win in FirstBank Stadium.
Vanderbilt will kick things off with Auburn on Nov. 4 at 3 p.m. CDT.
