Nov. 8, 2008
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Commodore Game Notes
No. 4 Florida at Vanderbilt, Nashville, Tenn.
Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008
Attendance: 39,773
With the loss to No. 4 Florida, the Commodores fall to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in Southeastern Conference play. It marks Vanderbilt’s fourth straight defeat after the Commodores opened the season with five consecutive wins.
First Half
– Nickel back Darlron Spead earned his first start of the year season. It was Spead’s fifth career start. Spead had missed the last six games after suffering a lower leg injury while returning an interception against South Carolina.
– With 8:49 left in the first quarter, Vanderbilt faced another deficit this season when Gator QB Tim Tebow found Louis Murphy open in the Commodore end zone. The Commodores have trailed every opponent this season.
– Florida dominated action in the first quarter, outscoring Vanderbilt 21-0 and outpacing the Commodores 9-1 in first downs. The 21-point deficit is the highest of the season for the Commodores. The largest previous margin was 14 points (14-0) at Georgia.
– With 5:46 left in the second quarter, LB Chris Marve stopped a deep Florida drive by forcing a fumble by Gator WR/RB Percy Harvin. The fumble was recovered in the Commodore end zone by Vanderbilt safety Ryan Hamilton for a touchback. The forced fumble gave Marve a share of the team high. Marve and DE Broderick Stewart have three forced fumbles on the season.
– The Commodores faced their largest halftime deficit (35) since trailing 41-0 at Tennessee on Nov. 22, 2003.
Second Half
Senior QB Chris Nickson provided a spark on the Commodores’ first possession of the second half. Nickson directed the offense 81 yards on 16 plays, concluding the drive with a 2-yard TD pass to WR Jamie Graham. It was Vanderbilt’s longest scoring drive of the season, in terms of plays.
– Nickson closed out the Commodores’ second possession in the half with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Sean Walker. It capped a 14-play, 87-yard drive that took 7:28 off the clock.
– D.J. Moore recorded his fourth interception of the year at the 3:45 mark in the fourth quarter. He now has 11 interceptions in his career, tying him with Christie Hauck (1967-69) and Manuel Young (1980-84) for fifth best in school history.
Postgame
– Ryan Hamilton finished with a career-high 13 tackles, besting the 11 he had against Rice earlier in the season. He had one tackle for loss, one quarterback hurry and a fumble recovery. His 64 tackles on the season are four less than his career high of 68 set last season.
– Myron Lewis made eight tackles including a 12-yard sack, his fifth of the year.
– Chris Nickson finished with a season-high two touchdown passes, his most since throwing two against Eastern Michigan last season.
– Senior running back Jeff Jennings finished with a season high five rushes for 37 yards.
– Senior wide receiver Sean Walker caught a touchdown for the second straight game and now has three on the season, tying his career best set in both 2006 and 2007.