Auburn football vs. Vanderbilt: Our scouting report, score prediction for road SEC test

AUBURN — With the all-time record between the two schools tied at 21-21-1, Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze isn't taking Vanderbilt lightly.

But the Commodores look vulnerable. Coach Clark Lea's squad began the season 2-0 with wins over Hawaii and Alabama A&M, but has since dropped its last seven games by a combined score of 267-147. Vanderbilt has allowed opponents to drop an average of more than 38 points per game during the losing skid, though it has had to deal with a few elite offenses such as Ole Miss, Missouri and Georgia.

"This is a scary game to me," Freeze said Monday. "I've always thought playing there is difficult for whatever reason. ... It's a difficult place to play and it's got my full attention."

Here's our scouting report and score prediction for Saturday (3 p.m. CT, SEC Network):

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Ken Seals, Walter Taylor or AJ Swann? Who's playing QB for Vanderbilt?

Quarterback AJ Swann began the season as Vanderbilt's starter, but he hasn't played since he threw three interceptions in a loss to Kentucky on Sept. 23. He had injured his elbow the week prior in a loss to UNLV.

In his place for the next three games, the Commodores leaned on senior Ken Seals, who was Vanderbilt's starter from 2020-21. But against Ole Miss on Oct. 28, Lea elected to play both Seals and sophomore Walter Taylor, who is a native of Jackson, Alabama.

Taylor played 44 snaps, per Pro Football Focus. Seals played 20.

"I certainly do expect for both to play (against Auburn)," Lea said Wednesday. "... I thought there were some flashes with some really good things (for Taylor), and also a lot where we need to clean it up. ... We have two capable people with really distinct skillsets. How do we best position them to be effective in moving the offense and scoring points?"

WR Will Sheppard is Vanderbilt's biggest offensive threat

A three-year starter for the Commodores, senior receiver Will Sheppard is Vanderbilt's best weapon on the offensive side of the ball with 591 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on 40 catches this season.

Sheppard's receiving total puts him at No. 6 in the SEC behind Malik Nabers (981), Luther Burden III (905), Xavier Legette (756), Brian Thomas Jr. (732) and Ricky Pearsall (718). His 14.8 yards per reception is 17th-best in the conference.

Opportunity for Auburn's Payton Thorne, Jarquez Hunter

The Commodores have surrendered an average of 436.8 yards per game this season, which ranks No. 114 in the country and No. 13 in the SEC. Their run defense (174.4 yards per game) ranks No. 105 nationally and the pass defense (262.3 yards per game) is even worse at No. 115.

There's opportunity for both quarterback Payton Thorne and running back Jarquez Hunter to stack big days, as the former threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns against Mississippi State in Week 9 and the latter has 315 total yards over his last two games.

Auburn football vs. Vanderbilt: Score prediction

Auburn 31, Vanderbilt 20: The Tigers earn their first SEC road win since October 2021 and make it two straight victories to get back over .500 with three regular-season games remaining. Thorne has another solid day, giving him momentum as Auburn heads into the home stretch of its schedule.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football, Vanderbilt: Score prediction, scouting report