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Auburn has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will take on the Vanderbilt Commodores at 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at FirstBank Stadium. Auburn will be strutting in after a victory while Vanderbilt will be stumbling in from a loss.
Last Saturday, Auburn strolled past Mississippi State with points to spare, taking the game 27-13. The over/under was set at 40 points, so nice work oddsmakers; you were right on the money.
Auburn's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Jarquez Hunter, who rushed for 144 yards while picking up 8.5 yards per carry, and Payton Thorne, who threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns while completing 76.9% of his passes. Hunter was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 50 yards.
Meanwhile, Vanderbilt's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Saturday after their seventh straight loss. They found themselves the reluctant recipients of a 33-7 punch to the gut against Ole Miss. Vanderbilt was surely aware of their disadvantage in the point spread, but the foreknowledge did nothing to prevent the result.
The win got Auburn back to even at 4-4. As for Vanderbilt, their defeat was their fourth straight on the road, which dropped their overall record down to 2-7.
Looking forward, Auburn is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by 12 points. Bettors picking them against the spread have some confidence (to put it mildly), as the team is sitting on a three-game streak of failing to cover when playing on the road.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Saturday's matchup: The Tigers have been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 186 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for the Commodores , though, as they've been averaging only 92.8 per game. How will Vanderbilt fare against such a dominant running game?
