Upset opportunity in Iron Bowl may slip through Auburn's hands if drops continue | Silva
NASHVILLE — As quarterback Payton Thorne braced for a wallop, he loaded up his arm and lofted a pass deep down the middle of the field intended for an Auburn football receiver who looked to be breaking open.
Thorne's toss, despite Vanderbilt defensive end Linus Zunk planting him into the turf, was just about on the money.
If completed, it would've been the third touchdown of the first half for the Tigers and increased their advantage to 14 points about midway through the second quarter. But as Thorne recovered from the hit and turned his head in the direction he threw the pass, he watched the ball slip through his receiver's hands and fall harmlessly to the ground.
No touchdown for Auburn, which ultimately recovered from the drop to beat the Commodores, 31-15, at FirstBank Stadium on Saturday.
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The issue, however, is that mistake in the second quarter wasn't an isolated incident. Not even close.
The Tigers were officially credited with five drops by the game's scorekeepers, but that's being generous. There were at least seven balls an Auburn pass-catcher should've hauled in, and more than a couple of them could've gone for big plays had they been caught.
That's fine against a team like Vanderbilt − the Commodores have now lost eight straight games by a combined score of 298-162 − but the Tigers have bigger fish to fry coming up on their schedule.
Auburn is only one win away from bowl eligibility, and it has New Mexico State coming to Jordan-Hare Stadium on Nov. 18 in what should be a game that gets the Tigers to six wins. That's not even mentioning the road date Auburn has before that at Arkansas on Nov. 11, which could also serve as a springboard to a bowl game.
But it's the contest after New Mexico State that's circled on everyone's calendars: The Iron Bowl, of course.
Alabama appears to have recovered from an early-season loss to Texas, and the Crimson Tide are unquestionably more talented than Auburn. But the Tigers have the venue on their side this year.
Auburn is 4-4 in home games against Nick Saban since he arrived at Tuscaloosa in 2007.
But there's not enough Jordan-Hare magic to save the Tigers from beating themselves. In addition to the drops against Vanderbilt, Auburn also committed a 15-yard penalty in the red zone for executing a block below the waist right before halftime.
The Tigers had a first down on Vanderbilt's 3-yard line when the infraction occurred. They'd later settle for a 32-yard field goal by Alex McPherson − the redshirt freshman has now made 15 straight − and leave four points on the board that should've been easy to pick up with four tries from three yards away.
Vanderbilt also fumbled three times. Auburn recovered none of them. More missed chances to run up the score versus an inferior opponent that was playing like it.
The Tigers should be happy for winning a second straight SEC victory; they hadn't accomplished that since beating Arkansas and Ole Miss back-to-back in October 2021. But those mistakes that left on points on the board versus the Commodores may come back to bite Auburn against Alabama.
But if they're cleaned up over the next three weeks, the Tigers have a chance for a season-changing win.
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 must tidy drops, mistakes before matchup with Alabama
