Vanderbilt Commodores Defense Continues Dominance in Latest Win
The Vanderbilt Commodores have done something that no one expected of them entering this season with their latest win.
After beating the Auburn Tigers 17-7 on the road, the Commodores have six wins in the 2024 campaign, making the team bowl-eligible for the first time since 2018.
While most of the praise has been heaped on superstar quarterback Diego Pavia, who is not undeserving in the slightest, a big part of Vandy's success this year has been their outstanding defense.
It showed up again in a big way on Saturday, leaving Ethan Stone of Saturday Down South to make it one of his key takeaways from the game.
"The Commodores got to QB Payton Thorne 3 times and totaled 7 tackles for loss," writes Stone, "Vanderbilt’s defensive line was all over Auburn’s from the jump and held an offense that was totaling 178 yards per game on the ground to just 100 rushing yards. Most notably, Auburn was a dismal 4-15 on 3rd and 4th down combined."
It was yet another fantastic showing from the defensive unit, even with it being against a not-so-great offense.
This year, Vanderbilt's defense has held opponents to 21.0 points per game, while the offense has been busy putting up 30.33 points of their own.
The defensive unit has been especially smothering on the running game, allowing only 111.8 yards on the ground per game, and showed that prowess against the Tigers Saturday by holding their rushing offense to only 88 yards.
Takeaways have been a big part of the team's success this year, too, with 11 so far, eight on interceptions and three on fumble recoveries, and they secured another takeaway in the form of a fumble recovery in the late stages of Saturday's game to seal the deal on the victory.
The Commodores really made it hard for Auburn in late-down conversion attempts, continuing the trend they have made this season, holding the Tigers to only 2 for 13 on third down, making Vandy's season defensive total now 44 for 110, keeping opposing offenses unsuccessful 60 percent of the time.
Diego Pavia has been a big part of Vanderbilt's success this year, and there is no denying what he has been able to do for Clark Lea and the offense.
The defense, however, has played just as big of a part in the success and deserves its flowers just as much as Pavia does.
It has been a fantastic season for the Commodores on the gridiron, and it was just extended by one more game.
