Auburn Set to Face Tough Vanderbilt Team in Return to Home Field

The Auburn Tigers finally get the familiar comfort of home, but they're faced with a newfound tough opponent

This isn't your typical Vanderbilt team and Auburn needs to take that into account. / Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Auburn Tigers return home from a long road trip for a showdown with the Vanderbilt Commodores.

The Tigers earned a convincing win over the Commodores on the road in Nashville last season, but this is a much different Vanderbilt team than the last time they met.

The Commodores upset Alabama for their first win against a top-ranked team in program history. They also took a top-five Texas team down to the wire. 

Vanderbilt also comes to Jordan-Hare Stadium with a familiar foe. 

Diego Pavia, the quarterback who led New Mexico State to its dominant upset over Auburn at home last year. Now, he calls Nashville home and will be looking for his third win over Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze in as many seasons.

“I’m sick of seeing that quarterback,” Freeze said. “I’ve had enough of him. What a competitor he is.”

Freeze spoke highly of Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea who has the team playing at its highest level in quite some time. 

“What a job Clark Lea and his staff have done there,” Freeze said. “To be in the games and have a chance to win all the games they’re playing against the nation’s elite is so impressive. You get time to really establish your culture and your locker room and people that believe in your system.”

It is no secret that the Commodores have a different look to them this season and have ended the long-standing assumption that they would be an automatic win on the schedule of most SEC teams. They’re arguably more than a trap game. They’re a serious threat. 

“They’re just playing with so much confidence, and they know who they are,” Freeze said.

The familiar faces don’t stop with the quarterback. Chris Klenakis, Vanderbilt’s offensive line coach, held that same position under Freeze at Liberty. While this could be an advantage for Liberty, it can be one for the Tigers too. 

This could give Auburn’s coaching staff more familiarity with the Commodores’ staff and what they will try to do. But because Freeze knows him well, he knows he’s up against a quality O-line. 

“He’s one heck of a coach and he’s doing a great job with their offensive line in the run game,” Freeze said.

The Tigers and Commodores face off at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday at 11:45 a.m. CT. The television broadcast can be found on SEC Network.