BLACKSBURG, Va. – Vanderbilt football took Virginia Tech off to never-never land on Saturday night, as the Commodores made the light exit out of Lane Stadium in the second half, shutting out the Hokies over the final 30 minutes to mount a 44-20 come-from-behind victory.
Vandy scored on five-straight possessions in the second half, while holding Virginia Tech scoreless over the final two quarters to turn a 20-10 halftime deficit into a 44-20 win. It is the first time that Vanderbilt has won a game when trailing by 10-plus points since Sept. 17, 2022, at Northern Illinois, and it is the largest margin of victory when trailing by 10 or more points in 80-plus seasons.
Vanderbilt moves to 2-0 for the second-straight season, while the Hokies fall to 0-2 to open the 2025 campaign.
The Commodores collected 490 total yards, rushing for 262 yards against the Hokies. Junior Makhilyn Young paced Vanderbilt’s ground attack with a career-high 95 yards on eight carries, finding the end zone once. Junior Sedrick Alexander ran in a pair of touchdowns in a game for the third time in his career while collecting 73 rushing yards.
Graduate Diego Pavia amassed 256 total yards, throwing for 193 while adding another 63 yards on the ground. The quarterback tossed for two touchdowns in the win, marking the 10th game that Pavia has thrown for two-plus scores, while it is his seventh contest at Vanderbilt with 250-plus total yards.
Senior Nick Rinaldi had a team-high six tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack, his first of 2025. Graduate Marlen Sewell, junior Bryan Longwell and sophomore CJ Heard each had five tackles, while Heard posted his first sack of the season.
It is Vandy’s first win over Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, as the Dores are now 5-6 all-time vs. the Hokies. Coupled with last year’s season-opening 34-27 overtime victory in Nashville, Vanderbilt collects back-to-back wins over Virginia Tech for the first time since winning the first two games in the 11-game series during the 1930 and 1965 campaigns.
The victory at Virginia Tech marks the Dores’ first nonconference road win over a Power 4 foe since knocking off Wake Forest 41-7 on Nov. 26, 2011. The last time the Dores shut out an opponent in the second half was on Nov. 2, 2024, when Vanderbilt blanked Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium in a 17-7 win.
The Hokies built a 10-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, as Virginia Tech held the ball for 12:16 of the opening frame.
The Commodores opened the second stanza with a 54-yard touchdown from Pavia to sophomore Brycen Coleman to make it a 10-7 game just nine seconds into the quarter. It is Coleman’s first career touchdown reception, while the 54-yard dart from Pavia to the tight end is the longest play by the Commodores thus far this season.
Virginia Tech answered with 10 consecutive points after the Vanderbilt score, as the Commodores trailed 20-10 at halftime.
Vandy reclaimed a 23-20 advantage in the third quarter, as the Dores found the end zone twice. Vanderbilt opened the third with an 11-play, 75-yard drive, capped off with a 1-yard rushing touchdown from Young to cut Virginia Tech’s lead to 20-17. The Dores hit pay dirt again late in the third frame, as junior Tre Richardson hauled in a 26-yard pass from Pavia with one hand and tumbled into the end zone, giving Vanderbilt its first lead of the night.
The Dores scored on their next three possessions to take a commanding 44-20 advantage. Junior Jaylon Stone forced a fumble on Virginia Tech’s last possession of the contest, as junior Jailen Ruth pounced on the loose ball to seal the second-half shutout for the Vandy defense.
Vanderbilt remains on the road for its next contest, as the Commodores head to South Carolina on Saturday to battle the No. 10/11-ranked Gamecocks. Kickoff from Williams-Brice Stadium is set for 6:45 p.m. CT and airs live on SEC Network.
For more information and exclusive content on the Vanderbilt football team, follow @VandyFootball on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter/X.
