​AUBURN — After its first loss, it was difficult not to be disappointed in what Auburn football’s offense had delivered. The defense, somehow, managed to be of greater concern.Florida ran wild on the Tigers in an SEC-opening loss, scoring on eight of its 11 possessions. That was far from indicative of a DJ Durkin defense. The unit had been Auburn’s strength since Durkin joined Hugh Freeze’s staff as defensive coordinator in 2024. Could that entire side of the ball really have lost its luster?One week later, the Gators beat a top-five opponent. The Tigers also won, albeit against an SEC middleweight, beating Vanderbilt 21-15 on Saturday, Sept. 26, at Jordan-Hare Stadium with what head coach Alex Golesh described as a “gutsy” defensive performance.That didn’t mean it was dominant. If anything, Auburn’s defense was simply dependable, holding the Commodores to a single touchdown despite being on the field for nearly 40 minutes of game time.”That was a little bit of the story defensively,” Golesh said. “Kept fighting, kept swinging. Kept fighting, kept swinging.”Facing Vanderbilt’s offense wasn’t poised to be the same as facing the Gators. On paper, that proved to be true. Running back Sedrick Alexander didn’t present Jadan Baugh-level problems, and neither did the Vanderbilt run game.Auburn kept the Commodores to 112 rushing yards, averaging out to just 2.7 yards per carry, and Vanderbilt quarterback Jared Curtis, a freshman and former five-star, couldn’t do much to alleviate those struggles.It was Curtis who helped Vandy come back against NC State a week prior, but he posted a fair-weather line on the Plains, completing two-thirds of his passes and rushing for 46 yards. Most importantly, Auburn didn’t let him get hot late. Curtis entered the fourth quarter 17-for-22 passing with 151 yards through the air. He went 5-for-12 in the fourth quarter, posting just 48 passing yards.”At the beginning of the game, I felt like we weren’t keeping him in the pocket as much and forcing him to make some throws,” Auburn defensive lineman Cody Sigler said. “It was just keeping him in the pocket. That was the biggest thing. When we kept him in the pocket, I feel like we did a great job of it.”Still, a glaring issue remained for the unit, even if it was a moot point when the game clock hit zeroes. It could not get off the field, certainly as the game went on.Auburn ultimately lost the time-of-possession battle by nearly 15 minutes — 37:28 to 22:32. However, Vanderbilt wasn’t moving at will like Florida did. Only four of the Commodores’ 11 possessions resulted in points, and they were 4-for-17 on third downs. That was improved from the 7-for-15 line Auburn surrendered to the Gators.The Commodores simply held on to the ball. Five of their final eight possessions lasted at least three minutes of game time, including back-to-back drives that lasted more than 15 combined minutes to begin the second half.”It was bend-but-don’t-break defense, and to get all the way down