NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Stanford quarterback Tanner McKee threw for 218 yards and two touchdowns and the Cardinal used a 13-point blitz at the end of the first half to pull away from Vanderbilt 41-23 on Saturday at Vanderbilt Stadium.
The Commodores (1-2) were outscored 27-9 after having tied the game at 14-14 in the second quarter. They now look ahead to the start of conference play when No. 2 Georgia (3-1, 1-0 SEC) comes to Nashville at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Vanderbilt got 107 rushing yards from Rocko Griffin and 247 as a team. Quarterback Ken Seals finished 16 of 37 for 120 yards and a touchdown, but was also intercepted once. The Dores were 5-for-18 on third down.
The Cardinal averaged 7.5 yards per play in the victory.
Stanford wasted little time finding the end zone a little more than 2 1/2 minutes into the contest. A 61-yard run by Austin Jones set up the Cardinal inside the 10 before McKee took an option keeper to the right and scored untouched from seven yards out.
Vanderbilt countered immediately with a 14-play drive that resulted in a Re’Mahn Davis 1-yard touchdown run on a 4th-and-goal call. Davis was hit at the line but spun and twisted across the goal line to knot the score at 7-7 with 7:35 left in the opening quarter.
Another angle of our early touchdown. 🔥#AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/yhiln65f4M
— Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) September 19, 2021
The Cardinal needed just 4 1/2 minutes to retake the lead and went ahead 14-7 on Nathaniel Peat’s 21-yard touchdown sprint through the left side of the line.
Vandy’s defense stood tall early in the second quarter by stuffing a 4th-and-goal run that could have put the Cardinal up two scores.
That momentum shift led to the Commodores marching 98 yards down the field with precision and poise on 14 plays, the last of which was a Seals 3-yard pass into the left corner of the end zone for Devin Boddie. That tied the game at 14-14 with 4:19 to go in the half.
First career touchdown for Devin Boddie. 🔥#AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/hvpQqvYGrn
— Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) September 19, 2021
Stanford (2-1) got a 46-yard field goal from Joshua Karty with 1:53 left in the quarter – and then the Cardinal defense caught a break.
Jimmy Wyrick picked off a Seals pass at the Vandy 31 and, one play later, McKee hit Brycen Tremayne with a 5-yard jump ball into the left side of the end zone.
The Cardinal weren’t quite done either. A 3-and-out from the Vandy offense followed by a long Casey Filkins punt return set up Karty for a 35-yard field goal. His kick was true as time expired making it 27-14.
Stanford scored 13 points in the final 1:53 of the half, a half in which it averaged 8.9 yards per play.
After the Cardinal defense forced a punt to start the second half the Stanford offense quickly put another touchdown on the board with a four-play, 55-yard drive that was polished off by McKee’s 5-yard touchdown pass to fullback Jay Symonds. The score read 34-14 after 3 1/3 minutes of the third quarter.
Joseph Bulovas helped Vandy cut into the deficit with a 34-yard field goal three minutes later.
Neither team scored again until E.J. Smith punched in a 1-yard touchdown run with 1:44 to go. Quarterback Mike Wright found Cam Johnson for a 26-yard touchdown pass as time expired.
Davis finished with 76 yards rushing and a touchdown on 12 carries before leaving the contest in the third quarter with an injury. Jones totaled 80 yards on the ground for the Cardinal.
The final TD of the night for the Commodores pic.twitter.com/7Z23Hnwphh
— Chad Bishop (@MrChadBishop) September 19, 2021
• Vandy’s 98-yard scoring drive in the second quarter was its longest since going 98 yards Oct. 13, 2018 against Florida.
• Vanderbilt has had seven first-time starters so far this season.
• Vandy is now 0-2 against current members of the Pac-12 Conference.
• Attendance on Saturday was announced as 21,124
Team 1 Falls to Cardinal by Vanderbilt Athletics on Exposure
