Nov. 25, 2017
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Vanderbilt Postgame Notes
Vanderbilt at Tennessee
Saturday, Nov. 25, 2017
Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tenn.
VU-UT Series Notes
– The victory was Vanderbilt’s second consecutive win in the cross-state series.
– It marked Vanderbilt’s fourth win in the last six games in the series.
– It was Vanderbilt’s largest margin of victory in the series since a 41-18 Commodore home win in 2012.
– It was Vanderbilt’s largest victory margin in Neyland Stadium since a 20-0 win in 1920.
– It was second win in the last three appearances for Vanderbilt in Neyland Stadium.
Pregame Notes
– The Tennessee game concludes Vanderbilt’s 128th regular season of organized football.
– The Commodores wore black helmets, white jerseys and black pants for their regular season finale.
– Vanderbilt won the toss and deferred to the second half. Tennessee received the opening kick.
– Attendance was 83,117.
– Vanderbilt captains for the game were Oren Burks, Trent Sherfield and Ryan White.
Individual Notes
– Quarterback Kyle Shurmur established a new team record for touchdown passes in a single season when he connected with wide receiver C.J. Duncan for a 9-yard touchdown with 6:13 left in the first quarter. It was his 23rd touchdown pass of the year, surpassing Whit Taylor’s previous record of 22 touchdown passes set in 1982.
– Running back Ralph Webb broke the team’s career record for rushing touchdowns on the team’s second possession, scoring on a 1-yard plunge. It was Webb’s 31st career rushing touchdown, breaking the record he shared with Zac Stacy (2009-12).
Offensive Notes
– The Commodore offense tallied touchdowns on three of four possessions in the first half.
– Besides breaking the team’s career record for rushing touchdowns, Webb moved up the SEC all-time charts for rushing yards during the game. Webb jumped former LSU back Charles Alexander into eighth place in career rushing yards with a 5-yard rush at the end of the opening stanza, then bypassed former LSU standout Dalton Hilliard for seventh place all-time with in 5:42 left in the second quarter.
– The Commodores used a flea flicker to take their first lead of the game just before halftime. Shurmur connected with Kalija Lipscomb for a 30-yard score on what looked like a rush by Ralph Webb. After getting the handoff, Webb pitched the ball back to Shurmur, who threw to Lipscomb.
– The Commodore offense combined for 529 total yards – 246 rushing and 283 receiving. It was the team’s highest offensive total of the season.
– The Commodores owned a 28:15-21:45 advantage in time of possession.
– Most of Vanderbilt’s scoring drives were long possessions. Five of the six touchdown drives were 75 yards or longer.
– The offense converted on 11 of 15 third-down attempts.
– Shurmur finished the game 20-of-31 for 283 yards and four touchdowns. He ended the season with 2,823 passing yards, the third highest single-season total in Commodore history. It also marks the second highest passing yardage total ever by a Commodore junior. Shurmur also finished with 26 touchdown passes, the highest single-season total in team history. It was Shurmur’s third four-touchdown performance this season.
– Webb matched a season high with 163 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. It was his third game this year with more than 100 rushing yards – and the 16th of his Commodore career. Webb has 4,178 career rushing yards, ranking No. 6 all-time in the SEC. He passed three former SEC standouts on the Top 10 list in the effort – Charles Alexander of LSU, Dalton Hilliard of LSU and Erric Rhett of Florida.
– C.J. Duncan and Trent Sherfield topped the Commodore receivers. Duncan had 99 yards and a touchdown on six receptions; Sherfield had 81 yards and two touchdowns on six receptions.
Defensive Notes
– The VU defense stiffened after allowing scores on UT’s opening two possessions. The Volunteers registered just eight total yards of its last 10 plays of the first half.
– The Volunteers were limited to 238 total yards, and just 78 total yards after the first quarter.
– The Commodores limited UT to just two conversions on eight third-down attempts.
– The VU defense held Tennessee to 55 rushing yards on 21 carries.
– Outside linebacker Charles Wright contributed a team-leading ninth quarterback sack in the closing minutes before halftime. Linemen Jonathan Wynn and Dayo Odeyingbo followed up Wright’s sack with another, forcing a UT punt with 1:49 left.
– Dare Odeyingbo contributed a key 7-yard quarterback sack to help force a punting situation on Tennessee’s first drive after halftime.
– Safety LaDarius Wiley and linebacker Jordan Griffith paced the defense with four tackles each.
– The Commodores registered three sacks. Besides sacks by Dare Odeyingbo and Wright, Daro Odeyingbo and Jonathan Wynn combined for the third sack.
– Cornerback Taurean Ferguson came up with the Commodores’ only turnover, an interception in the fourth quarter that led to Vanderbilt’s final touchdown.
Special Team Notes
– Jamauri Wakefield posted a 30-yard return on his lone kick return.
– The Commodore offensive attack allowed Sam Loy to punt just once, a season low. His only attempt went for 37 yards.
