Sept. 24, 2016
By Zac Ellis
VUCommodores.com
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The final moment of Vanderbilt’s 31-30 win over Western Kentucky on Saturday night happened fast — so fast, in fact, that the Commodores head coach even had trouble keeping up.
“All I know is, I looked up and our guys were jumping up and down,” Derek Mason said. “So I started jumping up and down.”
What Mason saw were his Commodores pouring onto the field Houchens-Smith Stadium, the reality of a euphoric victory washing over them. Seconds earlier, at the end of overtime, Vanderbilt had spoiled the hometown Hilltoppers’ shot at a game-winning, two-point conversion. The result was a favorable one to the ‘Dores: a 31-30 win on the road, which pushed Vandy back to .500 (2-2) as it preps for its full SEC schedule.
The victory made last week’s loss – a deflating 38-7 setback at Georgia Tech — seem like a distant memory. But a win over Western Kentucky was important for another reason. For seemingly the first time this season, Vanderbilt proved it wasn’t a program that lays down when the going gets tough; instead, these ‘Dores know how to fight, even in ugly games.
“It wasn’t pretty,” Mason said. “It didn’t necessarily go the way we’d have scripted it. But I’ll tell you what, we won, and that’s all that matters.”
The game-winning sequence was a prime example of Vanderbilt’s resiliency. After rallying from an early 14-0 deficit, the Commodores scored on the first possession of overtime to go up, 31-24. Western Kentucky quarterback Mike White then hit tight end Shaquille Johnson on the ensuing possession to bring his team within one, 31-30. With an extra point, the Hilltoppers would force overtime.
But WKU head coach Jeff Brohm had other plans. Western Kentucky, which finished with 501 yards of offense, wanted to win right then and there. Thus, Brohm called for a two-point conversion.
That didn’t sit well with the Commodores.
“We kind of took it as a smack to our face,” defensive lineman Nifae Lealeo said, “like there was no respect given.”
So Vanderbilt decided to do something about it. In front of a WKU record 23,674 fans, White dropped back and flung a pass to the end zone, but Lealao got a hand on the ball. VU safety Ryan White then scooped up the deflected pass to secure the win. The program snagged just its second road victory under Mason in dramatic fashion.
Given Vanderbilt’s most recent performance against Georgia Tech, this matchup with Western Kentucky could have easily gone the other way. The Commodores could have folded in the face of an early double-digit deficit. They could have accepted that history isn’t kind to this roster away from Nashville. That, after all, would have been the easy way out.
But the ‘Dores had other plans, and now they head into the teeth of their SEC schedule with renewed confidence. That’s exactly what Mason wanted to see from his roster. “I thought this team just kept grinding,” Mason said. “This team never felt like they were out of the fight.”
That’s good news for Vanderbilt, because this program isn’t out of the fight yet. Next week the ‘Dores host Florida, which is certainly miffed after it allowed 38 straight points in a loss to Tennessee on Saturday. After that Vandy must venture to Kentucky and Georgia. All that is to say, the road gets tougher from here on out for Vanderbilt. Western Kentucky is the least of its problems.
But one week ago, when this squad sputtered against Georgia Tech, the Commodores’ immediate future wasn’t so bright. The prospect of a bowl game that had defined expectations for much of the offseason seemed far-fetched. Now, after a telling performance against the Hilltoppers, Vanderbilt doesn’t look so vulnerable after all.
In the end, the details of the game didn’t matter as much to Mason. “All I know is that Vanderbilt won tonight,” Mason said. “We’re 2-2 heading into the month of October.”
October is when the rubber hits the road for Vanderbilt. Now, we know the ‘Dores are ready for a fight.