SZVETITZ COLUMN: Tigers should have lost to Vanderbilt

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt beat Auburn.

That’s right.

Nineteenth-ranked Vanderbilt — the same program that just hosted ESPN’s College GameDay for the first time ever and is ranked for the first time in 24 years — beat No. 13 Auburn.

Read it again. And again.

Still bumfuzzled?

So’s Auburn.

Blank stares, blank answers and a blank second-half scoreboard. Auburn lost, again. This time to Vandy. VANDY!

Oh, the horror!

Wait, let’s save that for the offense.

The same offense that after scoring the first 13 points of the ballgame, could only manage six more first downs. The same offense that entered into Vanderbilt territory only twice in the second half. The same offense that totaled a whopping 4 yards rushing in the final two quarters.

That same offense? You betcha.

It was so bad, offensive coordinator Tony Franklin wasn’t made available to the media after the game.

It was so bad, the head coach seemed halfway pleased with scoring two offensive touchdowns.

“That’s about half of what we scored the first three games,” Tuberville said.

It’s true. Sad, but true. It’s also sad that that’s a highlight.

“We’ve got to turn it around,” Tuberville added.

You think?

After opening the game with 14 consecutive runs, Auburn’s “spread” offense looked more like a throwback. But it worked. At least until it didn’t anymore.

But why didn’t the run — which led to those two precious touchdowns and a 13-0 lead — continue to have success?

Why? Because, just like Auburn does with everything else that seems to work, it stopped doing it.

Auburn controlled the game and the clock by running the ball down Vanderbilt’s throat in the first half. Then, in the second half, 11 out of the first 16 plays were passes. Guess how many the first seven gained? Sixteen yards. Yep.

Did we mention Franklin wasn’t made available for comment?

Ladies and gentlemen, the “Auburn Offense.”

The spread? Spread what? Oh, the news? OK, Auburn’s not very good.

And they have the 2-2 SEC record to prove it. That, and the blank stares of the players who still can’t believe they just lost to Vanderbilt.

“It’s real frustrating,” said AU backup quarterback Kodi Burns, whose role in this offense is still up in the air, but that’s a whole other column.

“This isn’t Auburn football,” Burns continued. “We’re supposed to win these games. We’re supposed to be better than this.”

Reality tells a different story.

Sure, on paper, Auburn beats Vandy 10 out of 10 times. But games aren’t played on college-ruled loose leaf. They’re played between the lines. And between the lines, what you saw Saturday night in Nashville is Auburn.

And, yes, that team was supposed to lose to Vanderbilt.

Even when the Tigers tried everything — power football, finesse football, under-center running, shotgun passing … everything — it didn’t work.

“We kept reaching for something and couldn’t find anything,” Tuberville said.

Instead, they were handed a loss.

To Vandy.

That’s right, Vandy. Which, as it turns out, is a pretty good football team.

Unlike Auburn.

MIKE SZVETITZ is sports editor of the Opelika-Auburn News. He may be reached at mszvetitz@oanow.com | 737-2513.