Nov. 14, 2015
By Jerome Boettcher
NASHVILLE, Tenn.  Vanderbilt took flight under Kyle Shurmur’s command. Then Ralph Webb steered the ground game.
A balanced offense – fueled early by big plays from the defense – propelled the Commodores to a 21-17 victory over Kentucky on Saturday night at Vanderbilt Stadium.
Shurmur, a true freshman, threw the first two touchdown passes of his career to give the Commodores a halftime lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Then Webb found his groove in the second half, running into the record books as the program’s all-time leading sophomore rusher.
“It is balance. I think it is critical,” Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason said. “I thought the offensive line protected Shurmur well. Shurmur had a clean pocket most of the night so in that belief that the young guy could stand in the pocket and throw the football was huge. But I thought he made some on-target throws.”
Shurmur played for the first time since suffering a concussion against Houston on Oct. 31 and provided a boost to the passing game. In his third career start, Shurmur completed 10 for 16 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.
Just one play after defensive end Caleb Azubike forced a fumble to give the Commodores the ball at the Kentucky 7-yard line, Shurmur threw Vanderbilt’s first passing touchdown since Oct. 17.
He tossed his first career touchdown pass to fullback/tight end Kyle Anderton at the end of the first quarter. He also threw a 37-yard touchdown to receiver Caleb Scott on a trick play with 37 seconds left in the first half.
It marked just the second time this season that the Commodores (4-6, 2-4 SEC) have had multiple passing touchdowns in a game. The 21 points are also the most Vanderbilt has scored against an FBS foe. The Commodores put up 47 points against FCS opponent Austin Peay.
“The whole receiving corps has been super hungry,” Scott said. “We know our struggle in the passing game lately. We came out today ready. Kyle did a great job. Our offensive line protected very well. That is a team stat.”
Shurmur finished with 166 yards on 13-of-26 passing. Shurmur has started in both of Vanderbilt’s SEC wins this season.
“Right when he stepped on the field he was ready to go,” Pulley said. “I think everybody can see that he makes throws. Stuff you can’t see, he is great on the sidelines and in the huddle. He can take control and be a leader out there.”
In the second half, the Commodores turned to Webb to grind it out.
The 5-foot-10, 202-pounder carried the ball 23 times after halftime for 96 yards. He finished with 113 yards on 33 rushes for his third 100-yard game of the season and second straight.
Webb’s consistency helped the Commodores hold onto a 21-17 lead in the fourth quarter and nearly run out the clock at the end of the game.
With two regular-season games remaining, he now has 924 rushing yards this season. On Saturday, he surpassed Jermaine Johnson (877) for the most rushing yards in a season by a sophomore. Webb’s 907 rushing yards last year were the most by a freshman in school history.
“It is always great to celebrate with my teammates – most importantly we got the win,” Webb said. “The offensive line is doing a great job at getting push at the line of scrimmage. Credit to those guys, because without them I wouldn’t be in the position I am today. Those guys do a great job at establishing the run for us.”
Sneaky Pete: If the play fooled coach Derek Mason’s stellar defense in practice he thought why not run it in a game.
And, on Saturday, the Commodores ran Sneaky Pete to perfection.
With 37 seconds left in the second quarter, wide receiver Caleb Scott hauled in a 37-yard touchdown pass down the sideline in which he was left wide open.
Why was he left so open? Because the defense didn’t realize he was on the field. Out of a timeout, the team headed back to the field. Scott started trotting with them, then discretely turned around and headed back to the sideline. He stopped right before going out of bounds and squatted down.
By crossing the yard numbers on the near sideline, he became eligible. He then stayed still near the sideline as no one for Kentucky accounted for him. With the team lined up on the opposite side of the field, Shurmur sailed a pass over to Shurmur, who raced to the end zone to give the Commodores a 21-10 lead.
“That ball felt like forever to get there. I looked it in and took off,” Shurmur said. “When we first ran it in practice, my first job is to cross the numbers because if I don’t I’m ineligible. I didn’t do that. So I’m glad that happened in practice and not in a game. Me and Kyle would stay after and rep it like 10 times. Practice makes perfect. It worked out.”
Mason said the play, Sneaky Pete, was run against the defense in practice on Tuesday. Offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig drew it up and communicated with officials before the game to make sure it was a legal play.
“The whole schematic of it was outstanding,” Mason said. “Andy did a great job of talking to the referees before the game. It is a legal play… They never paid attention to whether or not (Scott) lined up. And it actually taught our defensive backs something – always look outside to make sure there is nobody on the boundary so that we can get lined up and play football.”
Red-zone defense strikes again: Vanderbilt’s nearly impenetrable red-zone defense was once again on display.
Twice, the Commodores were given short fields to defend due to fumbles. Both times, they prevented Kentucky from scoring.
In the first quarter, the Wildcats had first and goal at the 1-yard line after a 38-yard run. Vanderbilt’s defense stood tall, though. They stopped Stanley Williams twice on runs up the middle, sandwiched around an errant throw by Patrick Towles. Then on fourth down, Towles tried a quarterback sneak but Vanderbilt’s Stephen Weatherly and Darreon Herring smothered him up for no gain to force a turnover on downs.
A fumbled punt gave Kentucky another great chance in the second quarter with first-and-goal at the 2-yard line. But on second down, Torren McGaster made an acrobatic play in the corner of the end zone. The junior cornerback tipped it away from a Kentucky receiver and Oren Burks dove for an interception – his first of two on the day.
Vanderbilt entered the game second in the SEC and eighth in the country in red-zone defense, allowing teams to score on just 71 percent of possessions inside the 20-yard line.
“Those guys have been great all year long at just being able to stand up and anchor down,” Mason said. “That is who we are. That is what we want to be here at Vanderbilt. We want to be a defense that is stingy. We leaked a little oil tonight. But that is OK, because we will come back and fix it. But these guys are prideful about that, about what that red-zone defense looks like. I’m proud of those guys.”
Burks’ big day: Oren Burks snagged a pair of interceptions and scored his first career touchdown to spark the Commodores.
The sophomore safety scored the team’s first defensive touchdown in more than a year. Burks notched a pick six when he intercepted Drew Barker in the second quarter and raced 30 yards to the end zone. Vanderbilt last scored a defensive touchdown on an interception return by Darrius Sims on Oct. 27, 2014 – also against Kentucky.
“I was reading the quarterback’s eyes,” Burks said of his pick six. “It is a routine play. You just have to make the play. I was determined to get to the end zone. There was only one guy between me and the end zone.”
Freshman-to-freshman: A pair of true freshmen with the same first name connected for the first touchdowns of their career.
On first and goal from the 7-yard line with 36 seconds left, freshman quarterback Kyle Shurmur used a play-action fake to throw his first touchdown pass. Fullback Kyle Anderton rolled out of the backfield, got open and registered his first career reception – a 7-yard touchdown to start the Vanderbilt scoring.
