NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt football outlasted Ball State 24-14 on Saturday night in the first meeting between the two programs, giving the Commodores their best start since opening the 2008 season 5-0.
Vanderbilt (5-2, 2-1 SEC) entered the matchup having scored first in each of the last three games. Ball State (2-5, 1-2 MAC) ended that streak on its opening drive, producing a 9-yard rushing touchdown from wide receiver Kiael Kelly to put the Cardinals up 7-0. The Commodores got on the board with 1:42 remaining in the first quarter behind sophomore Brock Taylor’s 27-yard field goal. Moments later, a promising Vanderbilt drive fizzled out in the red zone, allowing Taylor to add another kick with 11:37 to go in the second. Taylor’s two first-half field goals marked the fourth straight game, and sixth total this season, that the Commodore kicker has converted multiple attempts in a contest.
Vanderbilt generated a much-needed spark ahead of the halftime break. Graduate quarterback Diego Pavia dumped a screen pass off to junior Eli Stowers, with the tight end breaking free en route to a 41-yard score. The play is tied for the longest catch of Stowers’ career; he had a 41-yard reception against Virginia Tech earlier this season. The Dores added to the lead with a successful two-point conversion, a pass from Pavia to junior Cole Spence. Vanderbilt held a 14-7 advantage at the half while producing its most first-half yardage this season: 285.
The second half continued to be a low-scoring battle. Ball State evened the score 14-14 with 6:03 remaining in the third quarter, as quarterback Kadin Semonza threw a 7-yarder to tight end Tanner Koziol for the score. Vanderbilt reclaimed the lead 17-14 on its next drive behind yet another kick from Taylor, nailing a 38-yarder for his third make of the contest, a single-game career high. The kick also moved him into a tie for the sixth-most field goals in a single season in program history with 14.
The Commodores scored their first and only touchdown of the second half on a Pavia rush from five yards out. The Vanderbilt quarterback, who entered Saturday leading the SEC in quarterback rushing yards, now has three rushing touchdowns on the season. Pavia’s run extended the lead to 24-14 with 7:48 left in the fourth quarter. Vanderbilt did not allow Ball State to score for the remainder of the game, holding the Cardinals to just 78 rushing yards throughout evening.
Stowers, Vanderbilt’s leading receiver this season, finished at the top of the receiving yardage once again with eight catches for 130 yards on Saturday. The tight end now has three games of 100 receiving yards or more this season, the most by a Commodore since Jordan Matthews in 2013.
The victory marks the Dores’ first three-game win streak in a single season since 2017, and is also the best home start since going 6-0 in 1982. Vanderbilt, who received votes in the most recent polls, hosts No. 1/1 Texas at FirstBank Stadium next Saturday. The matchup comes nearly 100 years after the Longhorns last visited Nashville, a 14-6 Commodore victory in 1925. Kickoff is set for an afternoon time of 2:30-3:30 p.m. CT.
