It’s no secret most teams open a game with a script of offensive plays. And more times than not, that script means throwing everything but the kitchen sink at an opposing defense.

“The stuff you’ve been studying? They not going to run that,” said Auburn veteran defensive back Jaylin Simpson. “They going to run something completely different.”

And Auburn’s defensive coaching staff emphasizes the script – or better yet, surviving the script.

Vanderbilt’s offense – still without starting quarterback AJ Swann – came out swinging Saturday afternoon in Nashville as backup quarterback Ken Seals helped pilot a quick, 40-yard drive on nine plays that put the Auburn defense on its heels.

Seals completed four straight passes in the opening drive, while the Commodores dialed up three run plays and averaged 6.6 yards per carry.

The Vanderbilt offense was moving quick, and it was making it look easy against Auburn’s defense.

But the Tigers’ defense did what it does best – it bent, but never broke. Or, as head coach Hugh Freeze puts it, they “bowed their neck.”

The Commodores went on to settle for a 43-yard field goal try, only for it to sail wide right to keep the game scoreless with just over 10 minutes to play in the first quarter.

The Auburn defense had survived the script.

“Once we get through the script, we’ve pretty much got what we’re doing,” said Auburn defensive back DJ James. “And we’ll just adjust on the sideline.”

And whatever adjustments that needed to be made against the Commodores’ offense, the Tigers made them.

Following Vanderbilt’s field goal attempt to end its first drive, the Commodores were forced to punt on their next eight drives in a row. And of those eight drives, six of them were three-and-outs.

When asked the success of Auburn’s defense on third down, Simpson couldn’t believe he and the Tigers kept the ‘Dores from converting a third down for as long as they did. But he was awfully impressed with himself and his teammates when he found out.

“That’s elite,” Simpson said. “That’s elite.”

Through the course of those eight consecutive drives, Auburn allowed Vanderbilt to tally just 50 yards of offense, meaning the Commodores were held to an average of just 6.25 yards per possession after their first drive and up until their third drive of the third quarter.

Vanderbilt finally found a bit of offensive success later in the third quarter on a four-play, 44-yard drive that was bolstered by a pair of big pass plays from Seals – one for 24 yards and another for a 30-yard touchdown to Junior Sherrill.

“We kind of looked like we were asleep at the wheel a little bit on that drive,” Freeze said. “But other than that, I mean, I tell you, Marcus Harris and Keionte (Scott) and those guys, they take it – it’s personal to them that they play well and that they hold each other to that standard.”

Auburn was successful in getting to the backfield Saturday afternoon.

With Zykeivous Walker leading the way with a pair of tackles for a loss, the Tigers’ defense tallied nine tackles behind the line of scrimmage, five sacks and a pair of quarterback hurries.

“They was in their bag tonight. But that’s what we always want. That’s what they can do,” Simpson said of the guys along the defensive front. “They just need to show up and do it from here on out, really.”

Meanwhile, Auburn’s secondary held up on its end of the bargain on Saturday.

James led the Tigers’ tackling efforts against the Commodores with seven tackles – of which one came behind the line of scrimmage.

“Seven tackles for D.J. is pretty impressive cause he’s not one… he’s not a tackling machine, typically,” Freeze said.

With the help of senior defensive back Nehemiah Pritchett, Auburn was able to even Saturday’s turnover battle as Pritchett intercepted Seals late in the game, giving Pritchett his first pick of the season.

And with Pritchett’s interception, all that’s left is to help Keionte Scott get an interception of his own, Simpson says.

“We got one more. Keionte gotta get a pick and then that’s the whole starting backend right there,” Simpson said. “We got an incredible backend, man. I feel like we’re the best in the world, best in the SEC.”

With Saturday’s 31-15 win over Vanderbilt, the Auburn defense has held all but one of its SEC opponents below their current scoring average, with the exception being LSU.

Heading into Saturday, the Commodores were averaging 25.4 points per game and the Tigers’ defense held them to just eight points – a touchdown and a two-point conversion. Vanderbilt’s first score of the day came via a pick-six thrown by Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne.

And like any game, Saturday’s success started with step one: surviving the script.

“We survived that, man,” Simpson said. “We haven’t been starting off too hot almost every game, but we survive that script and I feel like nobody can mess with us. That plays a big role.”