Oct. 13, 2014
By Jerome Boettcher
Johnny McCrary thought he misfired when he unleashed his first pass in six weeks.
But the Vanderbilt quarterback then remembered who was on the receiving end – speedy C.J. Duncan.
“When I threw it up, in my head, I was like, ‘I think I threw the ball too far and I’m going to miss him,'” McCrary said. “But I forgot it is C.J. I threw it and he caught the ball and it was amazing. It is breathtaking when you see the ball caught by one of your best wide receivers.”
Duncan caught the pass in stride, sprinted down the sideline, dove for the end zone and extended the football over the pylon for a 65-yard touchdown to spark the Commodores in a 21-20 victory over Charleston Southern on Saturday night at Vanderbilt Stadium.
The catch and run was a career-long for Duncan on a career day as he continued to establish himself as one of Vanderbilt’s go-to receivers. Duncan set career highs with seven receptions for 119 yards. In doing so, he became the Commodores’ first 100-yard receiver since Jordan Matthews racked up 143 yards in the BBVA Compass Bowl against Houston in January.
After Saturday’s breakout performance, Duncan, a redshirt freshman from Montgomery, Ala., leads the team with 20 receptions, 322 yards and two touchdowns. He is a frequent target, catching passes from all four Vanderbilt quarterbacks used this season. The 5-foot-11, 195-pound speedster, has caught a pass in six of seven games this season.
Against Charleston Southern, he caught two passes from freshman Wade Freebeck before snagging five catches from McCrary. The seven receptions nearly doubled his previous single-game high of four catches.
More importantly, Duncan displayed his knack for big plays in what he believes can be a big-play offense.
“I think the offense has a lot of potential to do a lot of things well, not only in the run-game but the pass-game,” Duncan said. “If you look back on it, it’s the little things that need to be corrected. This offense, the way it’s set up and the way (offensive coordinator Karl) Dorrell has coached us and the way he calls the plays, there are opportunities like tonight for big plays at all times. It’s up to us as a team and as players to execute once we get out there on the field.”
Stepping up on third-down defense
A weakness early in the season, the Commodores continued to show improvement in third-down defense.
Charleston Southern converted just two of 14 third-down opportunities, which resulted in four punts and four fourth-down gambles (two of which the Buccaneers converted). In the last three games, Vanderbilt’s opponents have converted just 30.7 percent (12 of 39) of third-down opportunities.
This is vast improvement from a three-game stretch against Ole Miss, Massachusetts and South Carolina. Those three teams moved the sticks 56.8 percent (25-of-44) of the time on third down.
“The biggest thing our coaches preach to us – get off the field on third down,” inside linebacker Nigel Bowden said. “Stop them right here, get the offense on the field and let them make plays. That put a lot of pressure on our back and that is all we want when it comes down to it.”
Rivers scores again
For the second straight game, Dallas Rivers found the end zone.
The true freshman from Stone Mountain, Ga., scored from eight yards out in the second quarter to give Vanderbilt a two-touchdown lead. Rivers also set career-highs with 11 carries and 48 yards – by far his biggest workload of the season. Over the first six games, he picked up carries in only three games and had 15 rushes for 60 yards.
On Saturday, he complemented starter Ralph Webb well as the duo combined for 110 yards – Vanderbilt’s fifth 100-yard rushing game.
“Dallas Rivers came out of nowhere and ran like he was a vet and he’s a true freshman,” Duncan said. “So having so much talent across the board, you’ll have opportunities. And you got to just take advantage of them when you they come.”
Bowden morphs into tackling machine
Redshirt freshman Nigel Bowden continues to trend up and swarm to the ball on defense.
The inside linebacker leads the team with 54 tackles and has been a model of consistency. In his last four games, he’s made at least eight tackles and on Saturday he recorded a career-high 10 tackles (five unassisted). The 6-foot-1, 245-pounder from Macon, Ga., has 17 more tackles than the next closest Commodore (cornerback Torren McGaster).