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Auburn report card: Evaluating Tigers’ 17-7 loss to Vanderbilt
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Auburn report card: Evaluating Tigers’ 17-7 loss to Vanderbilt

An already disappointing season is only getting worse for Auburn football.

After a 24-10 road win over Kentucky where there seemed to be hope again. All was lost against Vanderbilt in a 17-7 loss.

It was such a slow game that Vanderbilt only gained 227 total yards and still won. Auburn continues to find ways to lose games it shouldn’t and is now one more loss away from missing a bowl game for the second time in three years.

Here’s how we rated the loss to Vanderbilt:

Offense

Rating: F

Losing a match when you hold your opponent to less than 250 total yards takes a special level of bad attack. Auburn did it on Saturday and being held to seven points by Vanderbilt warrants a failing grade.

It wasn’t a turnover mess like some of Auburn’s previous losses, but the offense is starting to look almost incapable of putting up points. Auburn can’t finish drives and in every close game, that has been part of the difference.

Payton Thorne threw for 239 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. Not a bad day on paper, but after seven starts this season, he has yet to show the ability to take over games and put Auburn over the hump.

The most concerning and confusing part of Saturday’s loss was Auburn’s lack of a rushing attack. After rushing for 278 yards against Kentucky, Jarquez Hunter was held to 50 yards against Vanderbilt on just 12 carries.

He only carried the ball twice in the second halfa questionable decision by Freeze and the technical staff not to rely more on his best player.

Teams are what they are at this point in the season and that seems to be the case for Auburn. When Hunter can get going, the offense is good, but otherwise the unit is hardly a threat in the Southeastern Conference.

Defense

Grade: A-

Life isn’t fair for Auburn’s defense. Every week the unit performs well and keeps Auburn in games, but almost every week it’s not enough.

With all the talk about Diego Pavia and his return, Auburn shut him down. Pavie threw for 143 yards on 9-of-22 passing and rushed for just 26 yards on 12 carries.

Auburn basically took him out of the game and did a great job limiting him as a runner and containing the options that Vanderbilt continually showed.

Through the air, Auburn was unable to finish the second and third quarters. Freshman corner Jay Crawford is slowly becoming a star on the outside, making several nice passes down the field.

It’s hard to find anything negative to say about Auburn’s defense in this game. Unfortunately for these players, their efforts were once again in vain.

Special teams

Grade: D

The special teams were almost as responsible for this loss as the offense.

With two missed field goals and a critical leverage penalty on Vanderbilt’s field goal in the fourth quarter, only good punts from Oscar Chapman kept this from being a failing grade.

Towns McGough had a rough season, but was back on the field for Auburn after Alex McPherson was ruled out before the game. His misses came from 44 and 52, and the staff’s decision to go for the 52-yarder in the fourth quarter was questionable.

The leverage penalty on Vanderbilt’s field goal attempt led to the Commodores’ touchdown that made it a 10-point game. Freeze disagreed with the call when asked during his post-match press conference, but that doesn’t change the outcome.

If Auburn were a better team overall, the special teams issues wouldn’t stand out as much. But when you’re a team with little margin for error, special teams mistakes can be game-changing.

Training

Grade: D

DJ Durkin and the defensive team deserve a lot of praise for their game plan to limit Pavia and Vanderbilt’s offense. Other than them, there is nothing else positive to say about the Auburn coaching staff in this game.

The offense doesn’t seem to be improving at all and it’s starting to look like more than just a quarterback problem. Moving away from Hunter as much as Auburn did after his performance last week is hard to understand and it’s not the first time this season the play has been called into question.

The concerns became significant enough to warrant Freeze being asked whether or not he would consider changing who calls plays and the play calling structure. Freeze responded “no,” but said he would consider “limiting the scope of what we’re trying to do.”

Overall

Grade: D

This game felt like a new low for Auburn.

There have been a lot of lows this season, but losing by double digits at home as an eight-point favorite while your opponent puts up 227 total yards is just as bad. It’s even worse when the opponent is Vanderbilt, even if Vanderbilt overperforms.

The season now appears all but lost with wins over Texas A&M and Alabama needed for Auburn to reach bowl eligibility. Now, as the Tigers enter their second bye week, the focus will be on what — if anything — Auburn can take from the final three games.

At least it’s basketball season now, right?

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on @peter_rauterkus or send him an email to [email protected]m