Nov. 1, 2014
Vanderbilt 42, Old Dominion 28 | 
McCrary’s 5 TDs | McCrary Interview
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – When Johnny McCrary watches Jay Cutler on Sundays, he takes notes on how to be a better quarterback.
On Saturday night, McCrary etched his name alongside Cutler in the Vanderbilt record book.
McCrary, making his second career start, tied a school record with five touchdown passes in a 42-28 victory over Old Dominion at Vanderbilt Stadium. The redshirt freshman joins Cutler (2005) and Bill Wade (1950) as the only Commodores to throw five touchdowns in a game.
“I look at Jay Cutler all the time,” said McCrary of the current Chicago Bears quarterback who was on hand Saturday night. “Really any quarterback in the NFL, I try to learn as much as I can from them. When you go out there and execute, and you have a line like I did and wide receivers make plays like they did, of course you’re going to break some type of record eventually. That’s what we were trying to do all season long, try to have a really cohesive, efficient offense. And that’s pretty much what we did tonight and get a win like that.”
McCrary set career-highs with 281 yards and 20 completions – and spread the wealth in the process.
He threw passes to eight receivers and five caught touchdowns – Nathan Marcus, Steven Scheu, Latevius Rayford, Davis Dudchock and C.J. Duncan. McCrary and the offense also kept pace with coach Derek Mason’s comments earlier in this week that Vanderbilt “will be a tight end school.” The tight end trio of Marcus, Scheu and Dudchock combined for eight catches and 84 yards and three touchdowns.
“It’s what we’ve been looking for all year,” Mason said of the balance. “We’ll continue to move forward. It’s about our ability to balance the run and pass. It’s about our ability to give guys the ball in different spots.”
Vanderbilt finished with season-highs in points, yards (524) and time of possession (45:17). McCrary now has eight touchdowns in the last three games since he entered in the first half against Charleston Southern three weeks ago.
“Same old Johnny to me, except he’s on the field now,” cornerback Taurean Ferguson said. “Same old Johnny.”
McCrary set the tone right from the start with an 11-play, 75-yard drive as the Commodores (3-6) scored on their opening drive for the first time this season. He capped it off by rolling to his right and hitting a wide-open Marcus for a 7-yard touchdown in the back right corner on fourth down.
He then conducted back-to-back scoring drives to end the first half with a 28-14 lead. He hit Scheu in the middle of the end zone for a five-yard score with two minutes to go in the half. After a quick strike from Old Dominion, the Commodores answered back by scoring in 66 seconds. After a long run by Ralph Webb, who set a VU freshman record with 166 yards, McCrary hooked up with Rayford twice. He slotted his second pass just inside a window for a 20-yard touchdown – the first TD reception of Rayford’s career – with two seconds left.
In the second half, McCrary tacked on two more touchdowns thanks spectacular individual efforts. Early in the fourth quarter, McCrary lofted a pass toward Dudchock. The 6-foot-4 tight end used his height to his advantage, reaching up and making an impressive one-handed grab. He then turned and eluded two Old Dominion defenders and raced down the field, diving into the end zone for a 50-yard touchdown. It was Dudchock’s first touchdown at Vanderbilt since transferring from Stanford.
“Johnny did the work – he got the ball out,” Dudchock said. “Steven Scheu threw a great block for me. I needed that to get there.”
Duncan added a huge insurance touchdown with 4:49 left. He pushed the lead to 42-21 when he tipped McCrary’s pass to himself and tight-roped down the sideline for a 30-yard touchdown.
For McCrary, the 20-year-old from Decatur, Ga., who he shared the field with on Saturday is just as important, if not more important, than who he now shares a school record with.
“For me, it was just being out there with my guys,” McCrary said. “That is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
