Blocked punt keys Auburn's 21-15 Homecoming win over Vandy

AUBURN, Ala. – A special teams touchdown, two timely quick-strike scoring drives and a defense that held Vanderbilt to only one touchdown carried Auburn to a 21-15 win over the Commodores Saturday at sold-out Jordan-Hare Stadium, the Tigers’ 35^th consecutive Homecoming victory.

“I told these guys, for as not pretty as it was at times, for you to go finish, I’m really proud of it,” Auburn coach Alex Golesh said. “For you to go find a way to win, this is twice now this year where you found a way to go finish. The ability to show up, go to work and perfect your process, your craft, one day at a time. Can that be us? That’s the challenge ahead of us.”

After Vanderbilt kicked its third field goal to pull within six points with 6:26 left in the game, Auburn ran out the clock, picking up a vital first down on 20-yard pass from Byrum Brown to Keshaun Singleton on third-and-5.

After another Auburn first down, Jeremiah Cobb gained 21 yards to get to the two-minute timeout, and the Tigers ran out the clock from there with Vanderbilt out of timeouts.

“It’s awesome to see the team come together,” said Cobb, who led Auburn with 58 rushing yards on eight carries. “It’s something we’ve worked on for a long time, fourth quarter finishing. I’m glad to see that we could do that. It was crazy walking off the field. This is what I want to feel like every day. It was very exciting and I want to continue to do that and help this team do that.”

With Auburn leading 14-3 at the half, Vanderbilt opened the third quarter with a 14-play, 75-yard drive that consumed 7 minutes and 53 seconds, converting twice on fourth-and-1 with quarterback runs and scoring on Sedrick Alexander’s 3-yard touchdown run.

Auburn forced an incompletion on Vanderbilt’s two-point attempt, giving Auburn a 14-9 lead with 7:07 remaining in the third quarter.

Auburn answered with its own 75-yard touchdown drive, converting on third-and-7 with a 19-yard completion from Brown to Jeremiah Koger.

Cobb picked up 21 yards on the next play, then after a defensive pass interference penalty, Brown scored from the 2 to give Auburn a 21-9 lead with 4:40 to play in the third quarter.

Vanderbilt followed with another time-consuming drive that covered 16 plays and chewed up seven and a half minutes. Auburn held the Commodores to a field goal that preserved the Tigers’ two-score lead at 21-12 early in the fourth quarter.

“This Auburn family thing is real,” Golesh said. “Our students and this fanbase are incredible, and I know they deserve a reward. Hopefully they understand that we’re working our tails off to bring them that. It was electric. Our players are beyond grateful for that.”

The teams traded three-and-outs on their first possessions, with Xavier Atkins making a third-down sack, one of seven Auburn tackles for loss in the first half. Atkins led the Tigers with eight tackles, including three TFL.

An Auburn interception led to a Vanderbilt field goal for an early 3-0 Commodores lead.

On Auburn’s third drive, Brown found Chas Nimrod over the middle for 11 yards on third-and-5 for the Tigers’ initial first down.

One play later, Omar Mabson II rushed for 19 yards, Auburn’s longest run of the half. On the next play, Brown tossed a 33-yard touchdown pass to Nimrod for a six-play, 75-yard drive that put the Tigers on top 7-3 midway through the first quarter.

On the first play of the second quarter, Auburn foiled Vanderbilt’s fake punt, forcing an incomplete pass from Tyler Ebel that gave the Tigers possession on the Commodores’ 46-yard line.

Auburn went three-and-out, but the Tigers’ punt pinned the Commodores at their 10-yard line.

Vanderbilt picked up two first downs, but the Tigers forced a punt that Mabson blocked and Cade Carlson scooped up at the 10-yard line and returned for a special teams touchdown and a 14-3 halftime lead for Auburn.

“I was just in the right place at the right time,” Carlson said. “Omar blocked it, I just saw the ball in the air, locked in on the ball and it just happened to be there. That’s what you dream of growing up playing football, getting to play in this awesome stadium, they pack it out every weekend. It’s awesome.”

After concluding its three-game homestand, Auburn (3-1, 1-1) plays its first SEC road game next Saturday at No. 14 Tennessee (3-1, 2-1) at 2:30 p.m. CT on the Auburn Sports Network with the TV network to be determined between ABC and ESPN.

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer

GAME NOTES

GENERAL

• Captains: Byrum Brown, Cole Best, Elijah Melendez, Cody Sigler, Sylvester Smith-Reed
• Coin Toss: Vanderbilt won the toss and deferred. Auburn to receive and Vanderbilt to defend the north goal.

TEAM NOTES

• First career starts: WR DeShawn Spencer; DT Walter Mathis Jr.
• First start at Auburn: RG Kenneth McManus
• Auburn has scored in a school-record 170 consecutive games, dating back to the first game of 2013. 
• Auburn has an 812-486-47 record in 133 seasons of football, the 14th most wins among FBS programs.
• Today’s game marked the first time an Auburn team has a blocked punt and kick in the same game since Alabama State in 2021 and the first time in an SEC game since the 2013 Iron Bowl. 
• Auburn is now 88-8-4 in Homecoming games and has won 35-consecutive Homecoming games dating back to 1993.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES - OFFENSE

• QB Byrum Brown made his 36th career start. He leads the SEC in career starts by a QB; fifth-most nationally.
• OL Cole Best started his 26th consecutive game dating back to the 2024 season at USF.
• WR Keshaun Singleton with his 23rd consecutive start dating back to the 2024 season while at USF. 
• OL Jacob Strand started at left tackle for the first time in his Auburn career. 
• WR Chas Nimrod recorded his second TD of the season in the first quarter and the sixth of his career.
• Singleton finished with five catches on the day, extending his streak to 19 games with at least one reception
• Brown recorded his third rushing score of the season in the third quarter – the 34th in his career. 
• Brown now has had a hand in 103 career touchdowns (67 passing, 34 rushing, 2 receiving). 
• Today’s game marked the 20th of Brown’s career with at least one rushing TD and one passing TD, which leads all active QBs
• RB Bryson Washington tied a season best with seven carries on the day. 

INDIVIDUAL NOTES - DEFENSE

• Senior Champ Anthony started at corner for the first time in his Auburn career.
• LB Xavier Atkins recorded the 12th sack of his career in the first quarter and finished with season-best three TFLs in the game. He also finished with a team-high eight tackles to mark a season high. 
• Vanderbilt’s three-and-out in its opening drive marked the first for the Auburn defense this year. 
• The Tigers have kept their opponents scoreless on the first drive in three of four games so far (Baylor fumble, Southern Miss INT)
• DL Darrion Smith with the first tackle for loss in his career in the first quarter.
• DL Jourdin Crawford recorded the first half sack of his career, coming in the first quarter. He finished with a career-high five tackles.
• DL Cody Sigler was credited with a field goal block late in the second quarter. 
• DT Walter Mathis Jr. picked up the first sack of his career in the second quarter. 
• S Sylvester Smith-Reed with his first INT since 2024 vs. Arkansas. 
• DB Kaleb Harris tied a season high with six tackles on the day. 

INDIVIDUAL NOTES - SPECIAL TEAMS 

• Alex McPherson now has 233 career kicking points and moved into a tie for eighth in Auburn program history and is for 10th overall scoring.
• McPherson is a perfect 101-for-101 in his career on PAT attempts and is solo eighth in Auburn program history. 
• Auburn’s blocked punt for a TD in the second quarter led to a score for S Cade Carlson, the first score of his career. 
• It was the first scoop and score for Auburn since Malcolm Simmons scored vs. Alabama A&M in 2024 and was the first in an SEC gam since Barton Lester vs. Arkansas in 2020.