Auburn football earned its first SEC win under Alex Golesh with a 21-15 victory over Vanderbilt. DJ Durkin's defense delivered a major bounce-back, while offensive line changes showed promise. But questions remain about Jeremiah Cobb and the Tigers' rushing attack.
It was a nice rebound for the Auburn Tigers on Saturday, as they took down the Vanderbilt Commodores 21-15 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. After losing their SEC opener a week prior to the Florida Gators, Alex Skolits picked up his first SEC win as a head coach and the first SEC home game win for the Auburn Tigers since November of 2024.
The game showed much improvement, and as they prepare to head into the toughest stretch of their schedule, there are plenty of good things to take away from this outing. As well as one major issue still looming for this team.
Defense responded.
Following the worst defensive performance under defensive coordinator DJ Durkin last Saturday, the Auburn Tigers allowed 262 rushing yards and 49 points against the Florida Gators, the largest in a loss at Jordan-Hare Stadium since 2012.
Earlier this week, Alex Golesh said they prepared to "coach the heck out of it and turn the page." And that's exactly what they did.
The defense responded in a big way, holding Vanderbilt to only 14 points, keeping a ton of pressure on freshman quarterback Jared Curtis, and drastically improving the missed tackles, something they had 24 of the week prior.
The defense is nowhere near perfect, as Vanderbilt made the proper adjustments to open up the second half and capped off their most impressive drive of the day, expanding over 7 minutes. A few players are still missing tackles in open space, but the progress and progression from week 3 to week 4 are truly noticeable.
Did running game actually improve?
If you compare the two stat sheets from week 3 to week 4, you will see improvements from the Auburn rushing game, but is that really the right answer?
The Tigers improved by rushing for 139 yards on Saturday against Vanderbilt. Compared to their 102 yards against the Florida Gators. However, despite a few moments, the running game still is showing some major flaws.
Auburn's running backs are getting contacted too quickly at the line of scrimmage and struggling to break tackles to reach the second and third levels.
Jeremiah Cobb only had eight carries for 58 yards, averaging over seven yards per rush, but didn't get the ball nearly enough. Something that continues to be one of the biggest head-scratching conversations for Alex Golic since taking over the helm at Auburn.
Cobb did close the game with a 21-yard rush to move the chains and allow Auburn to need the ball with 2 minutes to go in the game. Despite that, the team only had 18 true carries to running backs.
Offensive line trending in the right direction.
Saturday gave us a new-looking offensive line, and for the most part, it was impressive.
Kenneth McManus IV got the start at right guard over Cole Skinner, easily the biggest surprise entering the game on Saturday. However, McManus looked really good.
The sophomore stepped up and was one of the better pass protectors on the team against Vanderbilt.
Jacob Strand Shared duties at left tackle with Joe Simmons on Saturday, and his results were a mixed bag. Strand did a good job with the run blocking but struggled in pass protection, a very important role for the left tackle.
It's okay to be happy.
The game wasn't perfect for the Auburn Tigers. It's okay to acknowledge that.
And it's also okay to feel however you want to feel. I won't try to change your mind. But the Auburn Tigers are 1-0 this week and have broken a streak that has long been embarrassing for nearly two years. I'll be happy today and look forward to seeing this team grow as they face adversity come October.
