Oct. 11, 2014
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Vanderbilt – Charleston Southern Postgame Notes
Oct. 11, 2014
Vanderbilt Stadium
Pregame Notes
• Vanderbilt is in its 125th year of organized football.
• The Commodores wore gold pants and helmets with black jerseys for the first time this season.
• Charleston Southern won the toss and deferred to the second half, Vanderbilt elected to receive in the first half.
• Attendance was 26,738.
• Saturday’s game served as the Commodores’ homecoming game.
• Vanderbilt captains for the game were Andrew East, Joe Townsend, Kyle Woestmann and Nigel Bowden.
Team Notes
• The Commodores played Charleston Southern for the first time on Saturday night.
• Vanderbilt is now 18-1 all-time vs. FCS opponents.
• The Dores are now 27-38-3 in homecoming games dating back to 1946.
Individual Notes
• Johnny McCrary threw his first career TD pass with a 65-yard pass to C.J. Duncan in the second quarter.
• C.J. Duncan’s 65-yard TD catch was his longest reception of his career and the longest offensive play of the season for the Commodores.
• Taurean Ferguson recorded his first career interception with a pick in the second quarter.
• Dallas Rivers rumbled eight yards for his second career touchdown to cap the Commodores’ second scoring drive of the second quarter.
• C.J. Duncan’s 20-yard catch at the end of the first half set up Tommy Openshaw’s 42-yard field goal and put Duncan over the 100-yard receiving mark to make him the first Commodore to go over 100 yards receiving in a game this season.
• C.J. Duncan set career-highs in catches (6) and receiving yards (113) in the first half.
• Nathan Marcus caught his first pass as a Commodore with a 25-yard grab in the fourth quarter.
• Johnny McCrary set numerous career-highs completing 10 of his 16 passes for 169 yards.
• Dallas Rivers carried the ball a career-high 11 times for 47 yards.
• C.J. Duncan finished the game with seven catches for 119 yards, both career-bests and both team season-bests.
• Nigel Bowden recorded a career-high 10 tackles to become the first Commodore this season to notch 10 stops in a game. The redshirt freshman now has 35 tackles in his last four games and leads VU with 54 on the season.
•Ja’karri Thomas made a career-best nine tackles in the game.
• Darrius Sims received his first carry on offense with a five-yard gain out of the backfield.
Offensive Notes
• Vanderbilt took the team’s opening possession 39 yards for a 39-yard field goal from Tommy Openshaw to mark the first time this season the Dores have scored on the opening drive.
• C.J. Duncan’s 65-yard TD catch was his longest reception of his career and the longest offensive play of the season for the Commodores.
• Vanderbilt gained 132 total yards in the second quarter and 178 total yards in the first half.
• Vanderbilt’s 21 points in the first half is the most this season.
Defensive Notes
• Taurean Ferguson’s interception in the second quarter gave Vanderbilt their third pick of the year and third straight game with an interception and seventh straight game with a turnover.
• Dating back to last season, the Commodores have forced at least one turnover in 14 straight games.
• Vanderbilt held CSU to 0-for-7 on third down in the first quarter. The Buccaneers entered the game converting 52% on third down.
• The Commodores finished the game holding the Bucs to 2-for-14 on third down.
Special Teams Notes
• Tommy Openshaw booted a then new career-best with a 39-yard field goal to cap the Commodores’ opening scoring drive.
• Vanderbilt converted its second two-point conversion of the season with Taylor Hudson hitting Andrew East in the end zone for two points in the second quarter.
• Tommy Openshaw surpassed his career-best for the second time on the night with a 42-yard kick as time expired in the first half.
• For the second time this season the Commodore converted on two field goal attempts with Tommy Openshaw kicking a pair of field goals.
• Colby Cooke averaged 42.4 yards per punt on his five kicks including a career-long 68 yard boot.
