FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Vanderbilt didn’t simply come close to a win against Arkansas on Saturday. The Commodores finally closed the deal — with authority.
Running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn ran for 172 yards and three scores and Vanderbilt scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to escape Fayetteville with a 45-31 win over the Razorbacks. The win is the Commodores’ first SEC victory of the year.
Here’s how it went down:
WHAT HAPPENED: Arkansas struck first on the game’s opening drive with a 75-yard series capped by a five-yard rush from Rakeem Boyd. But the Commodores quickly rebounded with a pair of touchdowns, one on a Ke’Shawn Vaughn run and another on a Jared Pinkney catch to make it 14-7 Vanderbilt. The two teams traded scores in the second quarter to send Vanderbilt into halftime leading 21-14. But the Commodores put the game away with three fourth-quarter touchdowns, cementing the win for the visiting squad.
TURNING POINT: Arkansas made it a one-score game, 31-24, on a Ty Storey touchdown pass to Tyson Morris with 9:25 to play, forcing Vanderbilt to answer on the ensuing drive. That’s exactly what the Commodores did. Vaughn capped a nine play, 75-yard drive to push Vanderbilt ahead, 38-24.
HELMET STICKERS
RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn
The redshirt junior returned after missing last week’s game vs. Kentucky and was a difference-maker for the Commodores. He ran 26 times for 172 yards and a trio of scores, including a 63-yard scoring run. Vaughn set a new single-game high at Vanderbilt with his 172 rush yards.
TE Jared Pinkney
The sturdy tight end hauled in a team-high five catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Pinkey’s second score went from 40 yards out.
DL Louis Vecchio
Vecchio had a nice day filling up the box score. He chipped in a sack, two pass breakups and a fourth-quarter interception that all but put the game out of reach for Arkansas.
GIVE ME THE NUMBERS
250
Rushing yards recorded by Vanderbilt. Led by Vaughn’s 172 yards, the Commodores found paydirt on the ground all afternoon long in Fayetteville. Khari Blasingame (46 yards), Jamauri Wakefield (22) and Ja’Veon Marlow (22) joined Vaughn to give Vanderbilt a team effort in the running game.
24
Points scored in the second half by Vanderbilt, including 21 in the fourth quarter. The Commodores led 21-14 at half but kept their foot on the gas for a full four quarters.
3
Number of 2,000-yard passing seasons for quarterback Kyle Shurmur. The senior surpassed the 2,000-yard plateau for the third straight season on a 23-yard pass to Khari Blasingame in the fourth quarter. He joins former VU standout Greg Zolman as the only Commodore quarterbacks to accomplish the feat.
WORTH NOTING: The win was Vanderbilt’s first in Fayetteville since 2005.
WHAT’S NEXT: Vanderbilt is off next week but returns to action on the road against Missouri on Nov. 10.
Zac Ellis is the Writer and Digital Media Editor for Vanderbilt Athletics.
