⚡ CFB Dashboard

You never want to call a game a "must-win" this early in the season, but considering the way Auburn's October schedule looks, this Saturday probably qualifies in that category. The Tigers (2-1, 0-1 SEC) close out their three-game home stand with Vanderbilt (3-0, 0-0 SEC), which owns two straight wins in the series against Auburn. c. The Tigers are closing as 9.5-point home favorites late in the week. Kickoff is set for approximately 3:15 p.m. CT on SEC Network. Be sure to keep it locked at Auburn247 for full coverage from Jordan-Hare Stadium, including pregame video and notes, our game thread, postgame reaction and interviews, and more. QUIT THE MISALIGNMENTS Auburn's defensive meltdown against the Gators was a perfect storm of issues, but as both Alex Golesh and DJ Durkin pointed out, everything started with "misalignments." The Tigers never felt comfortable before the snap, and as a result, it was a lot easier to be out of position and missing tackles — which Auburn did a whopping 24 times. Some of that has to do with the fact that Florida OC Buster Faulkner is a wizard with his pre-snap movement and confusion. But this week, Golesh said Vanderbilt will use a lot of misdirection, too, under Tim Beck, the former New Mexico State offensive coordinator who's had plenty of success against Auburn over the last few years. The Gators' personnel should be a good bit more talented than what Vanderbilt presents, but someone like slot receiver Junior Sherrill — who already has 272 yards this season — could present problems, much like Baylor's Gavin Freeman did in Week 1. Those kinds of breakdowns, particularly in the secondary, were highly frustrating on third-and-long settings. Through two Power Four games, opponents are 7-of-13 on third-and-long. Auburn was No. 118 nationally in that category last season. It was obviously a group effort for Auburn to have the catastrophe it did against Florida, leading to the most points scored in Jordan-Hare Stadium by an opponent in seven years. Given Durkin's success in his role at Auburn over two-plus years, that game was an anomaly.  AFFECT CURTIS EARLY A former Georgia commitment who made waves in the college football world when he flipped to Vanderbilt, Curtis has all the ability in the world. He's already shown early this season he can make some stellar throws, but he's also made some mistakes. Last week was his first career start, and this is his first start on the road.  Auburn has to make that inexperience count for something. The obvious way would be to get after Curtis with a strong pass rush and make him feel Auburn's pressure early. But that's easier said than done, and Curtis' numbers have been fairly solid against the blitz so far. More important for this defense will be keeping Curtis and Vanderbilt's offense from finding confidence right away. Florida was clicking on all cylinders, sure, but the Gators also had a 41-yard field to score on their first drive. While Auburn was sputtering out of the gates, its defense was on the field way too much, and Florida got comfortable. That can't be a word that applies to Curtis on Saturday. Before Michael Hawkins Jr. and Oklahoma won in 2024, Auburn had beaten six straight true freshman quarterbacks at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Curtis is as talented as they come, and keeping him from being the story of the game Saturday will be key for a win.  GET BROWN INTO HIS GROOVE Speaking of quarterbacks, few in college football have a higher usage rate than Byrum Brown. He leads the Power Four in total plays accounted for. Now, part of that stems from an unreliable running game, which we'll touch on later, but for the most part, Brown has performed admirably while serving as the launch pad for everything Auburn wants to do.  But as the Florida loss showed, Auburn has to find a way to get Brown playing his style of football earlier. As offensive coordinator Joel Gordon said this week, "that's the whole offense." Brown has shown he's better when working outside the pocket and putting pressure on a defense with the threat of his legs. While that may not be conducive to a successful game plan for four quarters, it's what's working for Auburn right now, plain and simple. Brown and this offense looked dreadful at the start of the Florida game. He was uncomfortable, holding onto the ball a long time, taking sacks and throwing ill-advised passes. After three drives, though, the Tigers were humming — but at that point they were playing from behind the whole game. Auburn's scripted drives will be under the microscope in this one — both at the start of the game and out of halftime — as Golesh needs to be playing to Brown's strengths and harnessing what has actually worked for this offense. Because when Brown has been clicking, the Tigers have scored points. The passing game has a decent bit of explosion, and Brown can create with his legs — even if a lot of that comes on "broken" plays or scramble drills.  (Butch Dill, Getty) SHOW SOME GROWTH ON THE O-LINE Obviously, part of the reason Brown has had to create outside of the framework of this offense — going back to the opener against Baylor — is that Auburn's offense line has been, to be blunt, quite bad. The Tigers have not created consistent running lanes, and they're dead-last in college football in sacks allowed. Baylor's defensive tackles looked much too good, and then Florida whipped Auburn on the edge.  So it goes without saying that this group remains a work in progress, as we all knew it would be before the season. Golesh said this week that the competition has continued in practice, but will there be any changes in the starting five this week against the Commodores? That probably doesn't matter as much as just getting a more cohesive performance under their belt, regardless of who's playing which spot. Even if Auburn wanted to try some more combinations, the numbers are getting thin. Kail Ellis sounds like he's out of the mix, with Golesh saying he needs to be more consistent in practice, and Jack Leyrer listed as questionable on this week's availability report. Tai Buster remains out for at least another few weeks.  Vanderbilt will be no slouch. The Commodores rank top five nationally in sacks, though all but one of those came against Austin Peay and Delaware. It's an aggressive defense that will occasionally be out of position, Golesh said, with the tradeoff of creating negative plays.  A useful way to offset some of that aggression would be for Auburn's offensive line to finally make some headway in the running game. In two Power Four games, Auburn's running backs are averaging 0.6 yards before contact per carry, according to Pro Football Focus. Jeremiah Cobb, Bryson Washington and Omar Mabson II are not getting any help. For an offense that wants to be run-oriented — and finds a lot more success when it can pick up a first down and start chugging along with tempo — the offensive line has to find a way to get more push at the line of scrimmage.  FIND A FASTER START Golesh said before the Florida game that a fast start was going to be key, and the Tigers did the exact opposite. Brown threw a pick on the third play of the game, Florida's offense was off to the races, and the Jordan-Hare Stadium crowd was instantly deflated. A strong opening stanza is important for any team, in any game, but Golesh and his staff spoke a lot this week about the way the Tigers didn't handle their emotions well when facing the Gators. They were too hyped up and became unfocused, and they found themselves a step behind — not just on the scoreboard.  This team needs to feel a confidence boost early on against Vanderbilt, especially on defense. The Commodores have not been on fire to start games this season — trailing after the first quarter against both Austin Peay and NC State — and that goes back to the importance of keeping Curtis from getting into a rhythm throwing the football. On the other side of the ball, whatever worked over the final three quarters against Florida — and some of the second half against Baylor — has to be harnessed for Auburn's offense. This group has been highly inconsistent, and Golesh admitted that's been bugging him.  On top of it all, Auburn has lost nine of its last 10 SEC home games, and this fanbase left last weekend feeling defeated in more ways than one. Vanderbilt is not the toughest game on the schedule, but it's certainly one where the Tigers have to deliver at home.