Nov. 26, 2016
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Vanderbilt – Tennessee Postgame Notes
Nov. 26, 2016
Vanderbilt Stadium
Pregame Notes:
- Vanderbilt is in its 127th year of organized football.
- The Commodore captains vs. Tennessee were Zach Cunningham, Andrew Jelks, Ralph Webb and Ryan White.
- Tennessee won the coin toss and chose to defer. Vanderbilt elected to receive.
- Weather was 46 degrees, with clear skies and calm winds.
- Attendance was 38,108.
Team Notes
- Vanderbilt earned its first ranked victory since 2013, when the Commodores defeated No. 15 Georgia 31-27.
- It was the first ranked win for the Commodores under head coach Derek Mason.
- The 45 points is the most for the Commodores against an SEC opponent since Nov. 25, 1971, when they put up 49 against Mississippi State.
- Vanderbilt put up the most yards against a SEC opponent since it tallied 621 on Nov. 11, 2006, against Kentucky.
- Vanderbilt gains bowl eligibility for the first time since 2013 when they appeared in the BBVA Compass Bowl.
- Vanderbilt posted over 400 yards of offense for the third straight game. The last time the Commodores had three consecutive games of 400+ yards was during the 2013 season against Massachusetts, UAB and Missouri.
- The Commodores finished with 608 yards of total offense for the first time since Sept. 15, 2012, when they had 605 yards of offense against Presbyterian.
- It was the most total yards of offense since Sept. 5, 2009, when they recorded 620 yards of offense against Western Carolina.
- Vanderbilt scored 38+ points in consecutive games for the first time since the Commodores scored 38+ in five straight contests to close out the 2012 season.
Individual Notes
- Ralph Webb broke Vanderbilt’s all-time rushing yards record with a 17-yard rush midway through the second quarter.
- Webb finished with 114 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns against the Volunteers. It is his sixth 100-yard rushing this season and 12th of his career.
- Kyle Shurmur broke his career-record passing yards mark with a 16-yard pass to Caleb Scott in the second quarter, which brought his total for the day up to 283 yards for the day. Shurmur finished 416 yards on 21-of-34 passes. His previous career high was 279 yards against Tennessee in 2015.
- Shurmur is the first Commodore passer to throw for over 400 yards since Chris Nickson, who threw for 446 yards against Kentucky on Nov. 11, 2006.
- This was the fourth-consecutive game Shurmur has thrown for 200 yards or more.
- Zach Cunningham was a part of two forced turnovers for the Vanderbilt defense. Cunningham had a forced fumble and a fumble recovery on two separate plays.
- Cunningham finished with 10 tackles (his seventh double-digit tackle game this season), one fumble recovery, one forced fumble and one pass break-up.
- Sophomore linebacker Jordan Griffin made his first career start.
- After an 18-yard touchdown catch with 6:49 remaining in the first quarter, fullback Bailey McElwain recorded a touchdown for the second consecutive week; it was his first-career receiving touchdown.
- Shurmur connected with a diving Caleb Scott for a 45-yard gain early in the second quarter. It was the second-longest reception of Scott’s career.
- Sam Dobbs scored his first-career touchdown off of a 20-yard strike from Shurmur with 10:30 remaining in the second quarter.
- Trent Sherfield’s 76-yard reception in the second quarter was the longest of his career.
- Sherfield finished the game with a season-high 184 yards on nine catches. It was the first 100-yard receiving game for a Commodore receiver since Sherfield eclipsed that mark with 240 yards vs. Austin Peay in 2015.
- Caleb Scott’s 117 receiving yards marked a career high. It is his first career 100-yard receiving game.
- Ryan White set a career high in solo tackles with 10 in the win.
- Khari Blasingame scored on a 12-yard rush with 49 seconds left in the third quarter. It was Blasingame’s ninth touchdown of the season; he has scored in six games this year.
- Dallas Rivers broke off a career long 39-yard run early in the fourth quarter.
- LaDarius Wiley and Jonathan Wynn set career highs in solo tackles. Wiley had seven and Wynn had four in the win.
Offensive Notes
- The 18-yard touchdown pass from Shurmur to McElwain with 6:49 remaining in the first quarter capped off a 75-yard scoring drive. It was the Commodores 22nd 60+ yard scoring drive of the season.
- Kyle Shurmur connected with Trent Sherfield for a 76-yard gain with 8:45 left in the second quarter. It was the longest offensive play of the season and the first 70+-yard pass play since 2012 when Jordan Rodgers completed a 71-yard pass to Jordan Matthews, which was also against Tennessee.
- On the next play following the 76-yard pass from Shurmur to Sherfield, Ralph Webb capped off the two play, 80-yard drive with a 9-yard rushing touchdown.
- Trent Sherfield finished with 184 receiving yards and Caleb Scott finished with 117 yards. It marks the first time the Commodores had two receivers with over 100 yards since September 28, 2013 vs. UAB (Jordan Matthews, 115; Jonathan Krause, 108)
Defensive Notes
- At the 14:28 mark in the second quarter, Charles Wright forced a fumble on the Vanderbilt 21-yardline and Zach Cunningham scooped it up for the Commodores first turnover of the game.
- It was the fourth fumble recovery of the season for Cunningham and the seventh of his career. Cunningham is now tied for second nationally in fumble recoveries.
- Adam Butler sacked Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs for a seven-yard loss during Tennessee’s opening drive of the second half. The sack forced a Volunteer fourth down and also gave Butler the most sacks this season by a Commodore defender. He finished with 1.5 against Tennessee, giving him four on the season.
- On the last play of the third quarter, Zach Cunningham stripped the ball from Tennessee QB Dobbs and it was recovered by safety Arnold Tarpley.
- Ryan White and Zach Cunningham both posted double-digit tackle games with 10 against Tennessee. It was White’s third of the season and Cunningham’s seventh.
Special Team Notes
- Darrius Sims recorded 105 return yards on five kickoff returns. Sims is Vanderbilt’s all-time kickoff return yardage leader with 2,414 yards.
- Tommy Openshaw successfully converted a 31-yard field goal to cap off a seven play, 62-yard drive to tie the game at 24-24 with 3:50 remaining in the second quarter.
- It was Openshaw’s only field goal of the game and he was 6-for-6 on extra points against Tennessee.
- Sam Loy punted two times for 66 yards and an average of 33.0 yards per punt.