Watch Auburn football, Vanderbilt land pregame penalties in chippy coin toss

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It didn’t take long for Auburn football and No. 16 Vanderbilt to scrap in their matchup Saturday, Nov. 8. The programs nearly cleared their benches for the pregame coin toss, and both were assessed offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

Auburn linebacker Xavier Atkins was in the thick of it from the Tigers’ sideline, but team captain Keldric Faulk had to be pulled back by coaches shortly after heading back to the benches.

The Tigers entered Saturday’s contest a 6.5-point underdog, needing an upset result to provided interim head coach DJ Durkin with a debut win in his new role after Hugh Freeze was fired following last weekend’s loss to Kentucky.

Auburn enters with a 4-5 record overall, going 1-5 against the SEC. Vanderbilt’s the first of its final three games. The Tigers have an off week following Saturday’s contest, then they’ll host FCS Mercer and No. 4 Alabama.

Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at acole@gannett.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter.To support Adam’s work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football, Vanderbilt land pregame penalties in chippy coin toss

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