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. It was all lost against Vanderbilt in a 17-7 loss.

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

Here’s how we graded the loss to Vanderbilt:

Offense

Grade: F

Losing a game when you hold your opponent under 250 total yards takes a special level of bad on offense. Auburn did that on Saturday and getting held to seven points by Vanderbilt warrants a failing grade.

It wasn‘t a turnover-filled mess like some of Auburn‘s earlier losses, but the offense is starting to look almost incapable of scoring 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. That‘s not a bad day on paper, but through seven starts this season, he‘s yet to show an ability to take over games and put Auburn over the hump.

The more concerning and puzzling part of Saturday‘s loss was Auburn’s lack of a rushing attack. After going 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 half, a questionable decision from Freeze and the coaching staff to not lean on their best player more.

Teams are who they are at this point in the season and that seems to be the case with 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 isn’t enough.

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

Auburn essentially took him out of the game, and did a great job limiting him as a runner and containing the option looks Vanderbilt continually showed.

Through the air, Auburn didn’t allow a completion during the second and third quarters. Freshman corner Jay Crawford is slowly becoming a star on the outside, making multiple nice pass breakups down the field.

It‘s hard to find anything negative to say about Auburn’s defense in this game. Unfortunately for those players, their efforts went to waste again.

Special Teams

Grade: D

Special teams were almost just as responsible for this loss as the offense.

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

Towns McGough has had a rough season, but was back on field goal duties for Auburn after Alex McPherson was ruled out prior to the game. His misses came from 44 and 52, and the decision by the staff to attempt the 52-yarder in the fourth quarter was a questionable one.

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 postgame press conference, but that doesn’t change the result.

If Auburn was 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 the decider.

Coaching

Grade: D

DJ Durkin and the defensive staff deserve plenty of praise for their gameplan to limit Pavia and Vanderbilt‘s offense. Outside of them, there‘s nothing else positive to say about Auburn’s coaching staff in this game.

The offense doesn‘t seem to be improving at all and it’s starting to seem like more than just a quarterback issue. Straying 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 play calling has come into question.

The concerns have become big enough to warrant Freeze being asked whether or not he was considering changing who calls the plays and the play calling structure. Freeze said “no,” but did say he’d consider “limiting the scope of what we’re trying to do.”

Overall

Grade: D

This game felt like a new low for Auburn.

It has had plenty of lows this season, but losing by double digits at home as an eight-point favorite when your opponent puts up 227 total yards is as bad look. It’s an even worse look when the opponent is Vanderbilt, even if Vanderbilt is having overachieving.

The season now feels all but loss with wins over both Texas A&M and Alabama required 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 last three games.

At least it’s basketball season now, right?

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