Quarterback Chris Nickson started the game for Vanderbilt but aggravated an injured right shoulder he hurt two weeks ago at Mississippi. Adams, who led the Dores to a win at then-No. 6 South Carolina last October, came in cold.

“We knew we had two good quarterbacks,” Johnson said. “Mackenzi’s already ready to go, and he’s a gamer.”

But the Commodores held Auburn to a mere 25 yards in the second quarter. They stopped Tate on two carries for losses, and D.J. Moore nearly picked off a Todd pass. That forced Clinton Durst to punt from his own end zone, and Moore caught the ball near midfield and ran it back 25 yards to the Auburn 30.

Adams completed all four of his passes for 41 yards, the last a 15-yarder to Justin Wheeler for a touchdown with 39 seconds left in the first half for a TD — the first allowed in the first half this season by Auburn. Bryant Hahnfeldt added the extra point to pull Vandy within 13-7, and Adams, who held for the kick, jumped up and down as he ran off the field.

Auburn opened the third quarter by trying to throw and went three-and-out on its first three possessions. Vandy missed a 40-yard field goal on its opening drive, but Adams drove the Commodores 68 yards in eight plays helped by a couple Auburn mistakes with a defensive pass interference and a face mask.

Adams found Brandon Barden on a 1-yard TD pass to tie the game, and Hahnfeldt’s extra point made it 14-13 with 7:09 left in the third.

Vandy got greedy and tried a 50-yard field goal, and Jake Ricks blocked it for the Tigers. Burns came in for Todd, and he found Mario Fannin for a 24-yard pass down to the Vandy 29. But the Tigers were called for holding, then illegal touching by Montez Billings of a pass after going out of bounds and Burns was incomplete on his next two passes.

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