From start to finish, the once under achieving Auburn offense was as dominate a force as the Tigers’ defense. The Tigers’ first four offensive drives went 80, 74, 51 and 92 yards, all resulted in touchdowns. That’s a total of 297 yards and 28 points in the first half of their game against the Vanderbilt Commodores. While the offense would only score once after the half, they ended with 404 total yards and just one turnover.
While the Tigers’ offense was scoring at will, the defense was putting on a clinic of their own, allowing just 66 total yards and forcing Vandy to punt six straight times. While the defense didn’t pitch the shut out they were looking for, they only allowed Vandy to gain 221 total yards. This marks the first time all season the Tigers’ defense has held an opponent to just a touchdown. They also managed to keep the Commodores star receiver, All-American Earl Bennett, to four catches for 31 yards and no touchdowns.
While there was no one player responsible for the Tigers’ offensive dominance, all three running backs were key. Junior Brad Lester’s return was a good one, he finished with 77 yards and two TD’s on 12 carries, Ben Tate finished with 99 yards and a TD on nine carries, Mario Fannin finished with 87 all-purpose yards and a TD. Senior quarterback Brandon Cox continued his hot play by completing 83 percent of his passes. He was 14-17 for 165 yards wit a TD and an interception.