The Auburn Tigers are looking to get a bounce-back victory on Saturday when they host the Vanderbilt Commodores. It is too early for a must-win, but an 0-2 SEC start would be hard to recover from for Alex Golesh in his first season on the plains.
Auburn has had their issues with Vanderbilt over the last two seasons, losing both games. The Tigers did win in 2023, 31-15 on the road, and hopes to get back on the winning side of this series. The overall record with Vanderbilt is a lot closer than most would imagine. The Commodores lead the all-time series 23-22-1, and a win for Auburn would even things up.
The Tigers are the favorite entering this installment between the two schools. The ESPN Matchup Predictor gives Auburn a 74.9% chance at victory
on Saturday. It is one of three games the Tigers are currently favored to win the rest of the season according to ESPN FPI. DraftKings also favors Auburn in the game as a 9.5-point favorite to win the game.
Auburn will need to play better defensively than they did versus Florida. The Tigers committed 22 missed tackles against the Gators, according to Pro Football Focus. This will be the second start for Vanderbilt quarterback Jared Curtis. In the miracle win over NC State, Curtis was 20-for-34 passing for 277 yards and three touchdowns. He showed all the reasons why he was rated as a five-star prospect coming out of high school. He also showed his inexperience by throwing two interceptions. Auburn will need to put him in uncomfortable situations. The Auburn offense will also need to do a better job of protecting Byrum Brown and getting the running game going.
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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: ESPN predicts outcome of Auburn's Week 4 matchup vs Vanderbilt
