Auburn, AL--Vanderbilt clinched a bowl game on Saturday as it took down Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium for the first time in program history.

Here’s a breakdown of its offense in that game.

What went right

Vanderbilt didn't look pretty offensively on Saturday, but it was good enough to win. Perhaps the biggest resounding positive from Vanderbilt's offense on Saturday was that it made the timely drive to put the game away when it needed to.

As things were up for grabs, Vanderbilt's offense went down for a 14-play touchdown drive that ran 8:53 off the clock and all but sealed this one. That was a testament to the ability of Tim Beck's offense to make plays when it matters most.

That was a difference on Saturday.

A bright spot in Vanderbilt's stagnant offensive day against Auburn came in the form of Diego Pavia's 28-yard touchdown pass to AJ Newberry.

It feels as if Newberry's usage as a deep threat has been a tremendous use of personnel by the Vanderbilt offensive staff.

Vanderbilt ran for under 100 yards on Saturday and was inefficient throwing it, but found a way to win on Saturday. That's what matters most.

What went wrong

Auburn showed Vanderbilt what looked to be the most box-heavy defensive approach that it has seen all season and gave it a difficult time as a result of that.

As Vanderbilt adjusted to the look that Auburn gave it, the Commodores ran for just 29 yards in the first half on 2.4 yards per carry. That was also largely due to starting running back Sedrick Alexander playing through an apparent knee issue.

The blueprint to stop Vanderbilt may be out if you have a good enough secondary. In broad, simple terms load the box, put a body or two on Eli Stowers at all times and make the downfield passing game beat you. Auburn's defensive backs were good enough to properly execute that strategy on Saturday and as a result Vanderbilt's offense was largely limited.

Pavia threw for just 143 yards on 22 attempts and ran for just 26 while Vanderbilt was held to 17 points.

Vanderbilt's best offense in the third quarter and for much of the afternoon came as a result of field position and its defense creating opportunities for it. That was evident as Tim Beck's offense was held to just a field goal after getting the ball at the Auburn 21 in the third. That drive was almost derailed by a fumble, but it was ruled that the Vanderbilt runner Moni Jones was down.

Vanderbilt ran for just 87 yards on Saturday and threw for just 143.

Grade: C

Vanderbilt did enough to win, like Pavia alluded to; but it wasn’t pretty.

At some point it’ll have to find itself again offensively.

MVP: Tim Beck’s emphasis on turnovers

Nobody stood out for Vanderbilt offensively, but in a week following a three-turnover performance against Texas, Beck’s offense played a turnover-free game.

That made up for where it fell short on third down and in the run game.