Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown celebrating with fans after Auburn’s 21-15 win over Vanderbilt at Jordon-Hare Stadium on Saturday Sep. 26, 2026. (Photo by Rodd Lewis)
Auburn ends their long Southeastern Conference home losing streak with a 21-15 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday afternoon at Jordan-Hare-Stadium giving Alex Golish his first SEC win as head coach.
Auburn entered the game at 2-1 while also having lost the last two years to the Commodores. Aside from that, Auburn hasn’t won an SEC home game since Nov. 24, 2024 against Texas A&M in a four-overtime thriller.
Needing to get off on the right foot, the Tigers went three-and-out on the first drive of the game. Their second wouldn’t go well either as quarterback Byrum Brown would throw an interception to fifth-year senior edge rusher Miles Capers on a tip giving Vandy the ball at the Auburn 23-yard line. It would result in three for the Dores.
After that, Auburn would get the ball rolling as they would go on a 6 play, 75-yard drive capped off by a 33-yard touchdown pass from Brown to senior wide receiver Chas Nimrod, putting Auburn up 7-3 early. It would stay that score through the end of the first quarter as the teams traded a few punts. Brown would finish 18-27 for 140 yards and the lone touchdown.
The first play of the second quarter was a head scratcher as Vandy ran a fake punt on fourth and five and failing to convert, giving Auburn a chance at some easy points but the Tigers gained one total yard and had to punt it back.
At the 9-minute mark, Auburn would get a game altering blocked punt after Vandy tried to convert another fourth down but got flagged for a false start. Tigers sophomore running back Omar Mabson would block it and sophomore safety Cade Carlson would pick it up and run 10 yards making it 14-3 Auburn.
Vandy would get moving on the following drive. Freshman quarterback Jared Curtis would hit senior receiver Junior Sherrill for a 39-yard pass to put the Dores inside the Auburn 40. They missed out on a chance to get anything after Curtis would get called for intentional grounding on third down, pushing them out of field goal range.
Vandy would get another chance nearing the end of the half as Curtis would have two 10 plus yard runs to get the Commodores into field goal range, but senior kicker Brock Taylor would just barely miss a 48-yard kick to the right.
Auburn would try their own as time was closing on the half, but senior kicker Alex McPherson would kick the 60-yard attempt too short, sending both teams into the locker room with the Tigers up 14-3.
Out of the half, Vanderbilt took the opening kickoff down the field on a 14 play 75-yard touchdown drive that saw the Dores convert two fourth downs on their way to the end zone but confusingly went for two after as Curtis was incomplete on the try leaving it as 14-9 Auburn.
Auburn would instantly respond, going 75 yards on eight plays with 45 coming on the ground including the two-yard quarterback keeper by Byrum Brown to push the lead to 21-9 with 4:40 left in the third.
Vandy would have two straight scoring drives after this, both only leading to field goals. Auburn would be up 21-15 with six and a half left in the game. They would never get the ball back.
Not only is this Auburn’s first SEC home win in almost two years, it also ends their two-game losing streak to Vanderbilt after Diego Pavia had terrorized them in those two meetings.
The stat differences are quite the story. Vandy had more total yards (311-279), more first downs (22-15), and more time of possession (37:32-22:28) yet could only cross the goal line once.
“It’s hard to put a finger on the offensive start,” head coach Alex Golish said about the slow start to the game for the Tigers offense. “I got to figure it out, we’ve got to figure it out, and we gotta find ways to get going early.”
The blocked punt return was the difference maker. Auburn was only able to put up 14 on offense but the seven they stole on that play ultimately won them the game. The hero of the game, Cade Carlson, spoke about it after the game:
“I was just in the right place at the right time. Omar blocked it, I just saw the ball in the air, locked in on the ball and it just happened to be there.”
The Tigers will play their first road game of the season in Knoxville, TN to take on the #17 Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday. It will be Auburn’s first trip to Neyland Stadium since 2013.
