Vanderbilt football gains bowl eligibility for first time since 2018 with win at Auburn

Posted by Admin November 2, 2024 Football

AUBURN, Ala. — Vanderbilt football is bowl eligible for the first time since 2018.

The Commodores (6-3, 3-2 SEC), defeated Auburn, 17-7, at Jordan-Hare Stadium to pick up their sixth win Saturday.

It was an ugly game, with neither offense getting much done. But the Tigers (3-6, 1-5) committed several penalties and Vanderbilt played a much cleaner game.

It’s the third consecutive win for Diego Pavia against a Hugh Freeze coached team. Pavia won at Auburn as a member of New Mexico State a year ago and led the Aggies to a win over Liberty when Freeze was the Flames coach in 2022.

First-half offensive struggles

Both teams struggled offensively in the first half. Quarterback Diego Pavia completed just five of his 14 pass attempts. The two teams combined for just two third-down conversions in the first half, both by Vanderbilt. Auburn scored its only touchdown on a drive in which it converted two fourth downs.

Neither team got into the red zone in the first half, with both touchdowns coming on big plays.

An off game for Pavia

Pavia posted on his Instagram story before the game, seemingly referencing his win over Auburn with New Mexico State a year ago. “They thought I got lucky last time,” the story read, referencing song lyrics, with a clock emoji.

But Pavia had one of his worst games of the season. He didn’t register a completion in the second or third quarter, and his running wasn’t as impactful as usual.

Despite the struggles, Pavia still did enough to lead Vanderbilt to the win.

Stellar special teams

Vanderbilt’s special teams excelled. Punter Jesse Mirco downed one punt at the 2-yard line and another at the 1.

Martel Hight had a 39-yard punt return to set the Commodores up in field-goal range already, then Brock Taylor made the kick when the drive stalled to give Vanderbilt its first lead of the game late in the third quarter.

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter, @aria_gerson.