Halftime takeaways: Auburn leads Vanderbilt after sloppy first half

How has the Tigers performed during the first half against the Commodores?

Author:
Joshua Collins
Publish date:
Nov 4, 2023 5:32 PM EDT

In this story:

Auburn has come out of the tunnel in Nashville ready to notch a second win in SEC play against the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Coming off a win against Mississippi State last Saturday at Jordan-Hare stadium, will the Tigers be able to maintain the momentum.

The Tigers are fielding their healthiest team to date against the Commodores, will that produce some more consistent play as the game continues.

Here are some takeaways from the first half of play.

- Auburn won the coin toss and elected to defer till the second half, giving the Commodores the opening drive. This opportunity was for not as Vanderbilt missed a field goal to cap off the drive.

- Auburn’s offense was up and off to the races with a two play first drive to the tune of a rushing touchdown off the back of Jarquez Hunter.

- Alex McPherson puts together a decent kickoff on his second attempt as Vandy lines up for their second drive.

- The Tigers defense have woken up for the second drive swarming to the football for a quick tackle for a loss.

- Auburn’s defense steps up and holds Vandy to a 3 and out for their second drive of the contest.

- Auburn’s second drive didn’t start as well as the first, as they are forced to a 3 and out as well as several plays breakdown under Vanderbilt’s defensive pressure.

- Auburn’s defense continues to stack on the pressure despite the QB change for Vandy. Walter Taylor III is a 6-foot-7 2^nd team QB for Vanderbilt. He looks to add some scrambling ability for Vandy’s offense.

- Payton Thorne is off to a slow start in the passing game, with very few passing attempts so far.

- Auburn is looking to play up-tempo football with quick play calls and single look reads for the offense.

- Thorne is able to stretch the drive on 3^rd down with a solid pass to Ja’Varrius Johnson. This was then immediately capitalized on by Jarquez Hunter with his second rushing touchdown taking the rock 67-yards.

- Auburn’s defensive front has come to play today, looking to crash the line of scrimmage and make any designed running play difficult to produce positive yards.

- Vanderbilt has been forced to another 3 and out as Auburn’s offense prepares to take the field for the fourth time during the first quarter.

- Despite being up by 14, Auburn’s offense seems to be stuttering slightly not getting consistent performance on consecutive drives.

- Auburn was charged with kick catch interference on the punt, although from the replay it looked to be a botched call.

- Auburn heads into the second quarter of play up 14-0 in Nashville.

- Clark Lea, head coach of Vanderbilt calls out his team’s ability to tackle regarding Hunter’s two explosive rushing touchdowns when questioned on the sidelines.

- D.J. James is playing lights out on defense, being everywhere and super disruptive on defense.

- After being forced to a 3 and out, Vanderbilt is able to pin Auburn back with a super solid punt, putting Auburn inside the 5-yardline.

- Payton Thorne makes an incredibly bad throw which resulted in a pick-six for Vanderbilt. Auburn now leads Vanderbilt 14-7 after a sloppy play.

- After the pick-six, Thorne comes back out and immediately throws the ball for a short gain. Auburn looks to be struggling to get back into tempo currently.

- Auburn is forced to a quick 3 and out. Can the momentum trend back towards Auburn’s direction before the half.

- Vanderbilt is fielding a similar quarterback rotation to that of Auburn, however they are having as much difficulty as the Tigers. Will a two-quarterback system fade out in the SEC or be tuned up to be a successful option for teams across the board.

- Thorne is looking to make up for his past errors as he has come into this drive looking to pass more frequently, extending the drive twice on third downs. The running game has somewhat slowed at this point.

- Wide receiver Omari Kelly blows a beautifully passed ball from Payton Thorne, losing a great opportunity to put 7 more points on the board.

- Auburn’s receiving corp needs to wake up and start making plays.

- Vanderbilt muffs a second punt, yet the opportunity is squandered by Auburn’s special teams unable to recover the fumble.

- Vanderbilt is forced to a 3 and out and forced to punt away. The punt looked to be slightly tipped by Auburn’s punt team giving the Tigers great field position to begin the next drive.

- Vanderbilt’s defense has seriously keyed on Jarquez Hunter, looking to slow down his rushing ability after being burned twice for rushing touchdowns.

- Thorne finds Jay Faire for a great completion within the 5-yard line looking to add some additional points before the half.

- Thorne is saved by dropped interception.

- Alex McPherson adds a field goal to the Tigers tally bringing the score to 17-7.

Auburn has a few things to clean up during the halftime break, yet the Tigers look to be playing well going into halftime.

Can the Tigers continue this play to clinch their second SEC win against Vanderbilt?

Auburn leads the Vanderbilt Commodores 17-7 going into the half.

How to listen to the Auburn football game vs Vanderbilt on the radio

You can hear the Voice of the Auburn Tigers Andy Burcham, Jason Campbell, and Paul Ellen on the Auburn Sports Radio Network. The coverage can be heard locally on Wings 94.3. The Tiger Tailgate Show will begin at 1:00 pm CT.

You can find information on all Auburn Sports Radio Affiliates here.

Auburn vs Vanderbilt Series History

The all-time series against Vanderbilt is tied, 21-21-1. The 'Dores once held a 20-7-1 lead in the series from 1893 to 1955, but Auburn has controlled the meetings since 1978, having gone 14-2 to even the series. The Tigers won the first meeting 30-10 in 1893.

Recruiting pages to bookmark

2024 Auburn Tigers Commitment List and Evaluations

2025 Auburn Tigers Commitment List and Evaluations