AUBURN, Ala. (Interstat) — Byrum Brown accounted for two touchdowns and Auburn’s defense and special teams made pivotal plays as the Tigers defeated Vanderbilt 21-15 in a Football Bowl Subdivision game Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Brown completed 18 of 27 passes for 140 yards and one touchdown and ran 10 times for 57 yards and another score for Auburn, which improved to 3-1. Vanderbilt fell to 3-1. The Commodores moved the ball well at times but could not finish enough drives against an Auburn defense that produced a key interception and a blocked punt return for a touchdown. Auburn led throughout the second half and held off Vanderbilt’s late field-goal attempts.

Vanderbilt opened the scoring in the first quarter when Brock Taylor connected on a 39-yard field goal. Auburn answered later in the quarter when Brown found Chas Nimrod deep left for a 33-yard touchdown, and Alex McPherson’s extra point gave the Tigers the lead. In the second quarter, Vanderbilt’s Tyler Ebel had a punt blocked by Omar Mabson II, and C. Carlson recovered at the Vanderbilt 10 before returning it for a touchdown. McPherson added the extra point as Auburn extended its advantage. Vanderbilt’s Taylor had a 48-yard field-goal attempt blocked by Cody Sigler before halftime, and McPherson missed a 61-yard try as time expired in the second quarter. In the third quarter, Vanderbilt cut into the deficit when Sedrick Alexander rushed middle for a 3-yard touchdown, but Jared Curtis’ pass on the two-point attempt failed. Auburn responded with Brown’s 2-yard touchdown run, and McPherson’s kick restored a two-score cushion. Taylor made fourth-quarter field goals from 47 and 45 yards, but Vanderbilt could not complete the comeback.

Brown led Auburn’s offense and also had help from Jeremiah Cobb, who ran eight times for 58 yards and caught two passes. Omar Mabson II ran three times for 24 yards and returned a punt 28 yards. Bryson Washington ran seven times for 12 yards. Chas Nimrod caught five passes for 52 yards and a touchdown. Keshaun Singleton caught five passes for 38 yards. Jeremiah Koger caught two passes for 29 yards. Jake Johnson caught two passes for 8 yards. Arlis Boardingham caught one pass for 7 yards. Christian Neptune caught one pass for 6 yards. Bryce Cain returned two punts for 3 yards. Xavier Atkins led Auburn with eight tackles and a sack. Kaleb Harris made six tackles. Elijah Melendez made five tackles. Jourdin Crawford made five tackles and half a sack. Chris Murray made four tackles, and Cody Sigler made four tackles. Hudson Kaak punted five times for 197 yards. McPherson handled kicking duties. Brown had passed for 271 yards and three touchdowns in Auburn’s previous game against Florida.

Bryan Longwell led Vanderbilt with eight tackles and a sack. Jared Curtis completed 22 of 33 passes for 199 yards and ran 18 times for 46 yards. Tyler Ebel punted three times for 134 yards. Makhilyn Young ran 10 times for 46 yards and caught three passes for 21 yards. Sedrick Alexander ran 11 times for 13 yards and caught two passes for 13 yards and a touchdown. Jamezell Lassiter ran twice for 7 yards and caught two passes for 12 yards. Junior Sherrill caught six passes for 95 yards. Cole Spence caught two passes for 18 yards. Ja’Cory Thomas caught three passes for 18 yards. Walter Taylor caught one pass for 8 yards. Cole Adams and Tristen Brown each caught one pass for 7 yards. Blaze Berlowitz caught one pass for no gain. CJ Heard made nine tackles. Ricardo Jones made six tackles. Mason Lewis made five tackles. Nick Rinaldi made four tackles. Bradley Mann and Martel Hight each made three tackles. Miles Capers made two tackles and intercepted a pass. Bryce Cowan, Hayden Bray, Jailen Ruth, Glenn Seabrooks III, Jaylon Stone, Jordan Matthews, Edwin Kolenge and Jalen Gilbert each made one tackle. Brock Taylor made field goals of 39, 47 and 45 yards and had a 48-yard attempt blocked.

Vanderbilt entered the game after wins over North Carolina State, Delaware and Austin Peay. Auburn had beaten Baylor and Southern Mississippi before losing to Florida in its previous game. The Commodores will visit Georgia in their next game. Auburn will travel to Tennessee. The game was played at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama, and both teams remained 3-1 on the season after the result.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Auburn 34, Vanderbilt 15. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Vanderbilt with a 62.3 percent probability to win. Vanderbilt had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of +10. The total score of 36 and the over/under line of 54.5 were part of the pregame market information.