Auburn 21-15 Vanderbilt (Sep 26, 2026) Final Score

Team pages: Vanderbilt · Auburn

Vanderbilt3-115

Auburn3-121Final

Sat, Sep 26 · Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Ala. · Crowd 88,043

Auburn beat Vanderbilt 21-15.

We had Vanderbilt favored. Auburn won.

Next: Vanderbilt lost to Georgia 38-14, Sat Oct 3

Next: Auburn lost to Tennessee 24-14, Sat Oct 3

Top comment in the game thread

I know why they do it, but I do find it weird that a player can be on the ground in agony and their head coach will just stand on the sideline with their arms crossed. It's such a…

Q2 9:39 · r/CFB game thread · Sat, Sep 26

How it swung

Before kickoff, our ratings gave Auburn a 46% chance, and the closing betting line (Auburn was a 10-point favorite) put it at 79%.

Favored the whole way: Auburn never fell below 72%.

Vanderbilt never had better than a 28% chance.

Punt return TD

Auburn · Q2 8:56Blocked field goalQ2 0:55

FinalAuburn 21-15 VanderbiltAuburn wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.

The play that swung it

1Q2 8:56Special teamsPunt blocked and returned for a TD, Auburn leads 14-3Auburn 83% → 94% (+11)

The play that swung it

1Q2 8:56Special teamsPunt blocked and returned for a TD, Auburn leads 14-3Vanderbilt 17% → 6% (−11)

What fans said, play by play

The line in bold above each quote is written by our model from the thread’s comments and the play-by-play.

Q1 11:28Auburn fans curse as Brown throws interception to Vanderbilt's CapersMILES CAPERS IS THE GOATr/CFB game thread
Q2 14:55Auburn fans criticize the offense's disorganized three-and-out driveHow do you come out of a timeout that disorganized?r/CFB game threadI hate that our offense drives are either a speed run 3 and out or a 4 play td driver/CFB game thread
Q2 9:39Quoted at the top of the page.Why is this the darkest broadcast of all time? Someone tell the truck they need to up the exposure!r/CFB game thread
Q2 8:56Auburn blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown.Thank God he picked that up and scored because that was about to be a field goalr/CFB game thread
Q2 0:44Auburn fans demand benching Brown after sack and out-of-bounds frustrationDUDE! THROW IT OUT OF BOUNDS!r/CFB game thread
Q4 8:35Officials overturn targeting call on J.Curtis pass to J.Sherrillat this point, does anyone anywhere have any idea what targeting is, isn't, or ought to be?r/CFB game threadI think rtp w/o targeting was correct therer/CFB game thread

Auburn’s chance to win after every play.

How to read this chart

Starts from the pregame line (Auburn -10), at 82% for Auburn (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores. Outlined diamonds mark rare plays. Under the scores, r/CFB comments per minute from fans with a Auburn or Vanderbilt flair (528 and 111); both sides share one scale, regulation only. A gold diamond marks a play fans were reacting to.

Watch the plays

The bar and the arrow show Auburn’s chance to win after each play; the logo is the team the play helped.

Every drive

Auburn scored on 2 of its 10 drives; Vanderbilt on 4 of its 11.

Auburn’s drives are teal, Vanderbilt’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.

“Make the whole plane out of Omar”

An Auburn fan

How fans reacted

Steady

Fans saved their loudest stretch for the second quarter.

Jump to the loudest stretch

The jump was steady; the crowd was quiet.

What it cost

Vanderbilt’s chance to make the playoff fell from 6% to 4%.

Make the playoff

Vanderbilt · lost6% → ▼4%

Auburn · won2% → ▲3%

Before the game (September 25, 2026) → after this result, in our model.

Box score

Auburn 21, Vanderbilt 15

Vanderbilt covered +10 by 4. The total, 36, stayed under 54.5.

Team totals	Vanderbilt	Auburn
Total yards	311	279
Passing	22 of 34, 199 yds	18 of 27, 140 yds
Rushing	41 for 112 yds	31 for 139 yds
First downs	22	15
Third down	4 of 17	7 of 15
Fourth down	4 of 5	0 of 0
Turnovers	1	1
Penalties	8 for 43 yds	5 for 44 yds
Time of possession	37:32	22:28

Vanderbilt leaders

Passing Jared Curtis 22 of 33, 199 yds, 1 INT
Rushing Makhilyn Young 10 for 46 yds; Jared Curtis 18 for 46 yds
Receiving Junior Sherrill 6 for 95 yds; Makhilyn Young 3 for 21 yds

Auburn leaders

Passing Byrum Brown 18 of 27, 140 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Jeremiah Cobb 8 for 58 yds; Byrum Brown 10 for 57 yds, 1 TD
Receiving Chas Nimrod 5 for 52 yds, 1 TD; Keshaun Singleton 5 for 38 yds

No rain through the game

81° at kickoff · no rain recorded

September game-day temperatures at Jordan-Hare Stadium

Drag along the chart, or step through the game.

First quarter, 14:52 left3:21 p.m.

Vanderbilt 0, Auburn 0 · Auburn 82% to win

no rain · 81°

Cobb 1-yd run

Where this weather comes from

Measured at Auburn-opelika Apt airport, 3.4 miles away. Rain is NOAA's radar-and-gauge estimate at the stadium and wind is an airport reading; neither is measured on the field. Game times come from the play-by-play, good to a minute or two. Source: National Weather Service, through the Iowa Environmental Mesonet; rain radar from NOAA MRMS, through Iowa State University. Field direction from OpenStreetMap contributors.

Before kickoff

Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.

Recent games

Last three games

Vanderbilt · 3-0

Rated 45th in our preseason ratings, 42nd now.

Three straight wins, one over ranked or top-40 competition.

W 35-31 vs NC State #37 of 668

won by 4 as a 3-point favorite

W 35-26 vs Delaware #41 of 668

won by 9 as a 20.5-point favorite

W 28-9 vs Austin Peay #105 of 668

won by 19 as a 29.5-point favorite

Last three games

Auburn · 2-1

Rated 71st in our preseason ratings, 60th now, up 11 spots.

2-1 in its last three, one over ranked or top-40 competition.

L 39-44 vs FloridaTop 25 #17 of 668

lost by 5 as a 2.5-point underdog

W 43-8 vs Southern Miss #59 of 668

won by 35 as a 32.5-point favorite

W 17-16 vs Baylor #36 of 668

won by 1 as a 6.5-point favorite

Week by week

Auburn

Wk 1Wvs Baylor17-16
Wk 2Wvs Southern Miss43-8
Wk 3Lvs Florida39-44

Vanderbilt

Wk 1Wvs Austin Peay28-9
Wk 2Wvs Delaware35-26
Wk 3Wvs NC State35-31

Power rating by week

Vanderbilt is rated 2.4 points ahead as of week 3. Our power rating by week; higher is better.

Matchups

Biggest mismatch: Auburn’s rushing EPA against Vanderbilt, 48 points

Each row ranks the two sides among all teams. The longer the line, the bigger the mismatch.

Auburn’s rushing EPA against Vanderbilt’s defense
Auburn offense, 76th percentile · Vanderbilt defense, 28th
Vanderbilt’s EPA/play against Auburn’s defense
Vanderbilt offense, 30th percentile · Auburn defense, 67th

Season profile, all the rows

Season profile

VanderbiltAuburn

EPA/play, offense

EPA/play, defense

Success rate, offense

Success rate, defense

Explosive-play rate, offense

Explosive-play rate, defense

Rush EPA, offense

Rush EPA, defense

Pass EPA, offense

Pass EPA, defense

The series

Auburn leads the series 21-20-1

42 meetings since 1905 · Vanderbilt has won the last 2

2025Vanderbilt 45-38
2024Vanderbilt 17-7
2023Auburn 31-15
2016Auburn 23-16
2012Vanderbilt 17-13

Each line is Auburn’s chance to win through that meeting. Auburn is 0-2 in the meetings since 2018 that were still close in the fourth quarter. Older meetings have no play by play, so no line.

Line, fans and home field

The betting line, and the fans

Vanderbilt fans are feeling it less than most fanbases this week (24th among FBS fanbases), and the other side is no happier.

Auburn favored by 10 · Total 54.5

How games like this usually go

Auburn by 10, and it went to form

Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game

The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 385 games since 2025 with a favorite of 7.5 to 14.5 points.

The market

The spread moved 1.5 points toward Auburn.

The total rose 4 points.

The books’ cut: 4.2%, the margin built into the odds

Home field

Auburn is worth +5.6 points (±3.8) more at home than on the road since 2018 — top third of FBS, 75th percentile.

56% at home, 37% on the road against FBS opponents (29-23 home, 14-24 away).

Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads -3.1 at home vs. away over 97 games — inside the ±5.2 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.

The visitors travel about 256 miles to get here.

Last meeting in our History pages

Vanderbilt 45, Auburn 38Nov 8, 2025

Where next

Conference standings

Place in the conference, then conference record.

Auburn14th0-1
Vanderbilt9th0-0

Full SEC standings

Auburn beats Vanderbilt 21-15