Vanderbilt Commodores Top Offensive Stars to Watch Against Auburn Tigers
The Vanderbilt Commodores will look to get back in the win column when they travel to Jordan-Hare Stadium to face the Auburn Tigers on Saturday afternoon.
The Commodores (5-3, 3-1 in SEC) are one win away from playing in their first bowl game since 2018. As they look to shake off last week’s close defeat to fifth-ranked Texas, they shift their focus to Auburn.
Vanderbilt's offense has been a big factor in the drastic improvement from a season ago. The team finished 2023 with a 2-10 record, including 0-8 in the conference. The addition of some top contributors from the transfer portal went a long way for Commodores head coach Clark Lea.
The Tigers (3-5, 1-3) finally picked up their first conference win of the season last week in a rebound game against the Kentucky Wildcats. The team arguably played its best full game of football, especially in the second half.
As the team, led by head coach Huge Freeze, continues to build momentum in his second year with the Tigers, Auburn is making impressive strides on the football field, which is getting close to breaking long-standing records within the program's history books.
Here are the offensive players to watch for both teams entering Saturday’s game.
Vanderbilt
QB Diego Pavia
The Commodores genuinely rely on their star quarterback, and it’s no surprise. He has been a dual threat this season in both the run and the pass for Vanderbilt. If he is on, so is the offense. Over his college career when with the New Mexico State Aggies, Pavia has defeated a Hugh Freeze coached team twice, including Auburn last season. His 1,534 yards in the air and 13 touchdown passes are only one side of the story for the dangerous Vandy threat. Pavia also leads the team in rushing with 537 yards and four scores on the ground.
TE Eli Stowers
As the top receiver on the team, Stowers has made a name for himself across the landscape of college football. Also coming to Vanderbilt from New Mexico State, the Denton, Texas native has 496 yards receiving on 36 catches with three touchdowns. He leads the team in all three of those categories. Stowers is a player who definitely should be considered for the Mackey Award at season’s end.
RB Sedrick Alexander
Possibly one of the most overshadowed players on the team’s offense is running back Sedrick Alexander. Due to the volume of work Pavia demands, Alexander has only seen 105 carries on the season. He makes the most of them, however, as he averages nearly four yards per carry and has 412 yards on the ground in 2024. His five rushing touchdowns lead the team. He is also fourth on the squad with 148 yards receiving.
Auburn
RB Jarquez Hunter
The Commodores are about to face the most dynamic running back in the SEC on Saturday. Hunter is electric when he gets a hold of the ball. The Senior out of Philadelphia, Mississippi, is coming off a career-high performance against the Kentucky Wildcats after rushing for 278 yards and two touchdowns. It is the fourth-best rushing performance in Auburn’s program history. Hunter is also the leading rusher in the conference, and he has done it by only getting 120 touches on the season. His 23 carries last week was the most all season and only the second time he has surpassed 20 on the year. As the team is starting to find its new identity, despite being in the second half of the season, look for Hunter to once again be in season-high range in rushing attempts on the day.
WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith
The team’s leading receiver with 579 yards has made plenty of explosive plays this season. With only 30 receptions on the season, Lambert-Smith is averaging nearly 20 yards per catch. He is a magnet to the endzone, as he has seven touchdowns across eight games, tied for most in the SEC.
QB Payton Thorne
Maybe the biggest wildcard entering the contest on Saturday is the signal caller for the Tigers. The senior quarterback has had his highs and lows this season in his second year in the program after transferring from the Michigan State Spartans. Thorne has 1,586 yards passing on the season with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Although he started the season on track to be the program's first 3,000-yard passer since 2017, the Auburn quarterback was benched at one point in the year. After earning his job back, Thorne has focused on limiting the turnovers, which proved beneficial in last week's win, helping the Tigers snap a four-game losing streak.
