Head coach Clark Lea previews Vanderbilt's game at Northern Illinois
• Vanderbilt is set to face Northern Illinois on the road this weekend for its final nonconference matchup on the season. The contest will serve as the final tune-up for the Commodores before they begin conference play.
• Vandy owns a 6-1 record in its past seven road nonconference matchups, including this year’s season-opening win at Hawai’i.
• Senior running back Ray Davis has led the Vanderbilt rushing attack through the first three games. He has 269 rushing yards on the season, averaging 89.7 yards per contest.
• Junior wide receiver Will Sheppard hauled in his fifth receiving touchdown on the season in the matchup with No. 23 Wake Forest. With the score, Sheppard extended his touchdown streak to four games dating to last season.
• Freshman quarterback AJ Swann recorded his first career passing touchdown against Wake Forest. Swann finished 8-of-11 for 146 passing yards with a pair of scores.
• Junior quarterback Mike Wright accounted for a program-record six touchdowns — four passing and two rushing — in the win over Elon. He became the first Vanderbilt quarterback to account for six scores in a single game.
• Freshman wideout Jayden McGowan turned in his first career 100-yard receiving game against Elon. McGowan finished the contest with four catches for 116 yards and a touchdown, and was named SEC Freshman of the Week. He became the fifth Commodore to earn SEC Freshman of the Week honors since it was instituted in 2004.
• The Commodores’ 63 points in the season opener at Hawaii marked the most for the program since Vanderbilt defeated Davidson, 63-8, in 1969. The 53-point win was the program’s largest since a 58-0 win over Presbyterian on Sept. 17, 2012.
• The Dores picked up a pair of defensive touchdowns against the Rainbow Warriors, returning two fumbles for scores. It marked the first time that Vanderbilt has had multiple defensive scores since the Commodore defense scored twice against LSU on Sept. 21, 2019.
• Vanderbilt chose eight team captains for the 2022 campaign: Ethan Barr, Ben Bresnahan, Daevion Davis, Jaylen Mahoney, Elijah McAllister, Anfernee Orji, Gavin Schoenwald and Mike Wright.
