In their first game since the dismissal of Hugh Freeze, Auburn will travel north to play perennial SEC-doormat Vanderbilt. The only thing is… they aren’t as doormatty this year. Instead, they’re led by a Marshall Henderson-type that lets his mouth nullify any clout he should gain from his on-field play.
But this isn’t about that guy. This is about Auburn finishing the season strong, seeing what they can salvage, and maybe even getting to bowl eligibility.
Would Auburn actually go to a bowl in the middle of coaching search or right after a coach was hired? I don’t know. I think the seniors deserve it. And getting to 6 wins in a season where the coach was let go is still a pretty good accomplishment.
Assuming the Tigers will beat Mercer in 2 weeks, all they’d have to do is beat Vanderbilt or Alabama. It can be done. But let’s not look too far ahead. Let’s look back.
Auburn and Vanderbilt are tied at 22-22-1 in their series history. Let’s be real: 3 of Auburn’s 22 losses have occurred since 1978. Auburn leads the series 15-3 since that year. Vandy’s 3 wins in that time span came in generally historically bad Auburn seasons (2008, 2012, 2024).
So here we are again. Auburn isn’t having a great year, and Vanderbilt is actually not terrible. So what can flip that script? Exactly what Auburn did. They let the coach go, put an interim in charge, and give Vandy literally no idea of what they are about to see.
It’s not uncommon for a team to come out the week after they let a coach go and play way above where they were the weeks before. A little bit of it is just a seemingly refreshed feeling. More of it is letting loose and having fun because you already somewhat know the season is over, so why not go all out? What’s funny is that, again, Auburn could still go bowling.
But back to what I said before. Auburn just took everything they’ve done on film for the last 3 years and threw it out the window. Half of making a gameplan is studying the other team’s tendencies. Auburn, at least offensively, now has no tendencies.
Nobody has a clue what a DJ Durkin-led Auburn team is going to look like. Not me, not you, not Clark Lea, and not even DJ Durkin.
We know Auburn has the talent to beat Vanderbilt. We know that because Auburn has been very CLOSE(!) to beating everybody on their schedule. So going to that D3 stadium, with at least 1/3 of the stadium in orange and blue, holding on to all the cards, should not be a problem.
Auburn literally just has to shut up and shut down their Marshall Henderson wannabe, and that will be enough. His team scored a whopping 17 points on Auburn last year. As bad as Auburn’s offense has been, the lack of film to study should be at least worth 14 points this year.
DJ Durkin’s defense is the type to stop the Vandy offense. And the Vandy defense is just bad enough to let Derrick Nix have fun with his playbook.
Jeremiah Cobb will look like Jarquez Hunter did the last time Auburn played Vandy in Nashville. The Auburn defense will be relentless and on a mission to send Mr. 2Turnt to Broadway early.
I don’t know what it will mean for the future, but I know it’s going to be a fun day and it’s going to all the talking about the coaching search. Auburn wins and it will be fun.
Auburn 28, Vanderbilt 13
