After a much-needed victory in Lexington Ky, Auburn returns back to Jordan-Hare Stadium Saturday against Vanderbilt.

The Commodores shocked the world earlier this month knocking off the then No. 1 Alabama. After a victory over Kentucky, Vanderbilt dropped its last conference matchup against Texas 27-24.

Vanderbilt currently sits at 5-3 creating a highly competitive matchup against Auburn, as both teams look to start November in the win column.

Here’s a closer look at Vanderbilt:

The team

A win for Vanderbilt would make the Commodores bowl eligible for the first time since 2018. Three losses this season have come by a combined 10 points.

After a double overtime, 30-27 loss to Missouri in Week 4, Vanderbilt won three straight games before falling to the Longhorns. Vanderbilt has scored a touchdown on its opening drive for four straight games averaging 32.0 points per game.

Vanderbilt has the SEC’s second-best red zone offense (96.9), fifth-best in FBS. With an average time of possession of 32:29, leading the conference and are 12th in FBS.

On Defense, they have picked off three opponent’s opening drives this season (Virginia Tech, Alabama, Texas). Vanderbilt picked off its opponent in every game this year but two.

The staff

Head coach Clark Lea is in his fourth season at helm of the Commodores football program. He’s 0-1 in against Auburn while at Vanderbilt, the most recent game being a 31-15 Auburn win in 2023.

The most significant Hugh Freeze connection on Vanderbilt’s staff is Chris Klenakis, Serving as the team’s offensive line coach. Klenakis spent the 2022 campaign at Liberty as offensive line coach ranking among the top 50 in FBS in rushing offense.

“He’s doing a heck of a job, he’s one heck of a coach. And is doing a great job with their offensive line and in the run game,” Freeze said Monday during his press conference. “I’ve got respect for [Jerry Kill], of course, and [Tim Beck]. And obviously Clark, I think, is one of the best head coaches in the game.”

Beck, serving as the offensive coordinator, joined the Vanderbilt football staff in December 2023 as the after spending the previous two seasons in the same role at New Mexico State. The 2023 season saw New Mexico State reach 10 wins for the first time since 1960.

Jerry Kill joined Vanderbilt as chief consultant to the head coach and senior offensive advisor in 2024. Kill served two seasons as the head coach at New Mexico State, where he engineered one of the best turnarounds in the country leading the Aggies to a pair of bowl games and berth in the Conference USA championship game.

Players to watch

Four current Commodore players were part of the New Mexico State program that upset Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium last season (Diego Pavia, Eli Stowers, Blaze Berlowitz and Moni Jones).

Diego Pavia has 1,534 yards through the air and ranks top 10 in the conference with 537 rushing yards. He has 13 touchdowns on the year completing 64.5% of his passes.

Tight end Eli Stowers leads the team with 36 receptions and 496 yards. On defense, Bryan Longwell has a team-high 56 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Nicholas Rinaldi leads the team with four sacks followed by Khordae Sydnor’s three sacks.

Kickoff for Auburn hosting Vanderbilt is set for 11:45 a.m. at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Jerry Humphrey III covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X @Jerryhump3 or email him at [email protected]