Nov. 4, 2017
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Vanderbilt – Western Kentucky Postgame Notes
Nov. 4, 2017
Vanderbilt Stadium
Pregame Notes
- Vanderbilt is in its 128th year of organized football.
- The Commodores wore black helmets, gold jerseys and black pants for the home contest versus Western Kentucky.
- Vanderbilt won the toss and elected to receive the first possession.
- Attendance was 26,350.
- Vanderbilt captains for the game were Oren Burks, Trent Sherfield and Ryan White.
Team Notes
- The Commodores are 4-1 this season when they score first after scoring on their opening drive against Western Kentucky.
- The win marks Vanderbilt’s third straight November victory dating back to last year.
- Commodores improve to 4-0 against non-conference opponents this season.
Individual Notes
- Frank Coppet saw action for the second straight game after making his collegiate debut last week against South Carolina.
- Sam Dobbs posted a career long 18-yard rush in the first quarter.
- Nathan Marcus hauled in a season long 15-yard catch on the Commodores’ third drive in the first quarter.
- Ralph Webb scored his sixth rushing touchdown of the year towards the end of the first quarter. It is his fifth game with a touchdown this season.
- With that touchdown, Webb broke Zac Stacy‘s all-time touchdown record and now has 31 for his career. 28 of those touchdowns are on the ground.
- Webb passed 55 rushing yards in the second quarter and moved into 11th all-time for rushing yards in the SEC, passing Leonard Fournette, Carnell Williams and Sonny Collins. Webb finished with 104 yards on the day.
- Trey Ellis caught his first career touchdown pass late in the second quarter on a 31-yard reception.
- Charles Wright finished with two sacks on the game, marking his third multi-sack game of the season.
- Kyle Shurmur‘s two touchdown passes brought his season total to 20, which is one shy of Jay Cutler’s total from 2005. That mark is second-most in a single season at Vanderbilt.
- Shurmur needs two more touchdown passes to match Whit Taylor’s single-season school record of 22 set in 1982.
- Trent Sherfield matched his career-long rush with a 45-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to give Vanderbilt a 28-17 lead.
- Dayo Odeyingbo brought down Western Kentucky quarterback Mike White on the last play of the third quarter for his first career sack. He added a second sack later in the game.
Offensive Notes
- The Commodores scored on their opening drive for the second consecutive game. The Dores went 75 yards in 11 plays and the drive ended with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Shurmur to Trent Sherfield. Shurmur was 4-for-4 with 41 yards on the drive.
- It is the fourth game this season the Commodores have scored on their opening drive.
- The Dores threw for two touchdowns against Western Kentucky. They now have 21 on the season, the most since 1982 when they had 26 passing touchdowns.
Defensive Notes
- The Commodore defense totaled four sacks against the Western Kentucky. It is the second most in a game this season.
Special Team Notes
- Sam Loy punted five times for an average of 44.8 yards per kick.
- Tommy Openshaw hit his only field goal of the afternoon from 39 yards out in the fourth quarter.
- It was the first field goal made at home this season for the Commodores and just the second made field goal this season.
