Auburn Offense Sunk in 17-7 Loss to Vanderbilt Commodores

The Auburn Tigers offense could never get on track against the Vanderbilt Commodores in a 17-7 home defeat.

Rivaldo Fairweather as the lone touchdown for the Auburn Tigers in a 17-7 loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores. / Brian Smith, On SI

Returning to Jordan-Hare Stadium after a month away was not enough to lead the Auburn Tigers to their second-straight win.

Auburn (3-6, 1-5 SEC) fell 17-7 to the Vanderbilt Commodores (6-3, 3-2), returning to the loss column for the fifth time in its last six games.

Both teams were slow to get going as no points were put on the board until Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia connected with AJ Newberry for a 28-yard touchdown near the end of the first quarter. It did not take Auburn long to respond, however, as Payton Thorne found Rivaldo Fairweather for a 30-yard touchdown two drives later.

VALDO TO THE PYLON!!

TOUCHDOWN, @rivaldo_f13 💪 pic.twitter.com/e4N0HjOs4l

— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) November 2, 2024

Points were difficult to come by in the second half as well; the first score coming from a 31-yard field goal by Vanderbilt's Brock Taylor to give the Commodores a 10-7 lead with 1:05 left to play in the third quarter, marking the beginning of the end for the Tigers.

Auburn’s drive that followed got the Tigers near midfield and gave them a chance to even the score or put the go-ahead touchdown on the board, but a Malcolm Simmons rush attempt lost 10 yards which led to their sixth punt of the day.

On the next drive, Vanderbilt drove 78 yards in 14 plays. Pavia hit Eli Stowers for a four-yard touchdown, giving the Commodores a 10-point lead with 4:22 left to play.

The final nail in Auburn’s coffin came from a Rivaldo Fairweather fumble that ended a drive that could have made it a one-score game.

Despite failing to come out on top, Auburn contained Pavia for the majority of the day and did not allow him to dominate the whole game like he did with New Mexico State inside Jordan-Hare Stadium last season. Pavia was limited to 9-of-22 through the air for 143 yards. Pavia entered the fourth quarter with 103 passing yards.

With its loss today, Auburn will need to win out in order to achieve bowl eligibility this season. If the Tigers fail to pull that off, 2024 will be their fourth consecutive losing season. It's a tall order with No. 10 Texas A&M and No. 14 Alabama still on the docket.

Auburn has its second bye week of the season next week. The Tigers return to action in two weeks to host Louisiana-Monroe at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Kickoff is set for 11:45 a.m. CT and SEC Network will carry the broadcast.