3 takeaways from Auburn's loss to Vanderbilt

Going into the Auburn-Vanderbilt game on Saturday afternoon, all the hype was surrounding Deigo Pavia's dramatic return to Jordan-Hare Stadium.

However, the Auburn football defense had other plans for the Commodores quarterback and limited him as much as possible. But his two touchdowns led to their 17-7 victory over the Tigers.

After a 7-7 halftime score, Vanderbilt outscored Auburn 10-0 to end the game.

Here are three takeaways from Auburn's loss to Vanderbilt:

Auburn's defense pressured Diego Pavia all game long

In the first half, Diego Pavia completed 5 of 14 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. He had just 11 rushing yards in the first half as Auburn's defense made it difficult for him to extend plays with his legs early in the contest.

Keldric Faulk's three tackles in the first two quarters led the Tigers' defense, which held Vanderbilt, to rushing for just 132 yards in the first half. Jay Crawford was great on third downs, breaking up two Pavia passes that led to punts.

Linebacker Austin Keys was everywhere for the Tigers, finishing the game with two tackles, a pass breakup and a quarterback rush that resulted in a Pavia stop behind the line of scrimmage.

After his touchdown in the first quarter, Pavia did not complete another pass until 9:56 left to play in the fourth quarter. He finished the day completing 9 of 22 passes for 143 yards. He added 26 rushing yards to his final statistics.

The Tigers never have a rushing game because the offense struggles

Auburn failed to gain a third down in the entire first half, resulting in a 7-0 deficit. Despite their 214 yards of offense in the first two quarters, they only had 76 yards on the ground early in the third quarter.

The Tigers averaged 6.0 yards per play in the first half and had to lean on their playmakers to take the lead in the second half. But the Tigers struggled into the second half, totaling just 327 yards of offense.

With just 88 rushing yards all afternoon, Vanderbilt dominated Auburn's ground game and forced them to throw the ball.

Payton Thorne completed 20 of 29 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown to Rivaldo Fairweather. Despite not turning the ball over until the game's final minutes, Vanderbilt's three sacks stopped several key Auburn offensive attempts.

Auburn's kicking game continues to haunt the Tigers

According to the pregame availability report, Auburn kicker Alex McPherson has been ruled out of the matchup against Vanderbilt.

He was originally listed as questionable earlier in the week, but was downgraded to doubtful on Friday evening.

Auburn didn't attempt a field goal in the first half as they opted to try it on fourth down, converting three times and twice.

On the Tigers' first drive of the third quarter, Auburn had a chance to take its first lead. However, freshman Towns McGough was unable to connect on a 44-yard field goal attempt.

Late in the fourth, he missed another shot from 55 yards out, putting him at 5 of 12 field goals this season.

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