NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 25-ranked Vanderbilt football team was denied its second top-five win of the season, as No. 5-ranked Texas knocked off the Commodores, 27-24, Saturday at FirstBank Stadium.
The Commodores attempted to erase a 10-point deficit late in the fourth quarter, as the Longhorns were clinging to a 27-17 lead after making a 23-yard field goal with 1:57 remaining in the game.
No. 25 Vanderbilt would not go down without a fight. The Dores went 75 yards down the field in eight plays, capped off by an 8-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Diego Pavia to tight end Eli Stowers, to make it a 27-24 contest with 46 ticks left on the clock. Vanderbilt lined up for the onside kick, but the No. 5 Longhorns corralled the ball and the three-point victory.
The loss brought Vanderbilt’s three-game winning streak to an end. The Dores are now 5-3 overall and 2-2 in SEC play, while Texas improved to 7-1 on the year and 3-1 in SEC games.
Pavia posted 210 total yards and collected three touchdowns against the Longhorns, throwing two scores and adding another on the ground. It is the fifth-straight game that Pavia has scored two or more touchdowns, while it is the second time he has totaled three scores in a game at Vanderbilt.
Stowers and wide receiver Junior Sherrill hauled in a touchdown in the loss, as each player now has a team-leading three touchdown receptions on the year. Sherrill added a season-high 62 yards on five catches to his stat line, while Stowers collected 33 yards through the air on three catches.
Kicker Brock Taylor converted a 54-yard field goal to end the first half and cut Vandy’s deficit to 21-10 going into the locker room. It was his fifth field goal of 50 or more yards this season, which sets the school record for most 50-yard field goals in a season.
Linebacker Bryan Longwell paced the Dores with 11 tackles, just one short of his career-best performance. The Commodore defense had a pair of interceptions for the second game this season, with razor Miles Capers and cornerback Martel Hight picking off one pass each. Star Randon Fontenette had three of Vanderbilt’s six pass breakups, one of which led to Capers’ third-quarter interception that set up a Commodore touchdown.
Trailing 24-17 midway through the fourth quarter, Vanderbilt forced Texas into a punt that gave the Commodores the ball at their 17-yard line with 8:09 remaining in the game. Vandy was stalled at its 35-yard line, as an interception on 4th-and-2 gave the ball to the Longhorns at the Vanderbilt 29 with 5:05 left on the clock. Texas drilled a 23-yard field goal on its ensuing possession to push its lead to 27-17 just after the two-minute timeout.
The No. 25-ranked Commodores head out on the road Saturday, as Vanderbilt heads to The Plains to battle with Auburn. Kickoff against the Tigers is set for the early window from 11 a.m. to noon CT. Check back with VUCommodores.com for full game details against Auburn.
For more information and exclusive content on the Vanderbilt football team, follow @VandyFootball on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter/X.
