POSTGAME NOTES
Vanderbilt Commodores vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs | Starkville, Miss. | Nov. 7, 2026
Vanderbilt 25, Mississippi State 23
TEAM NOTES
- Vanderbilt’s four captains – Issa Ouattara, Nick Rinaldi, Cole Spence and Makhilyn Young – represented the Dores for the coin toss
- Vanderbilt won the toss and elected to defer
- Outtara’s second-quarter sack marked the eighth game this season Vanderbilt has recorded a sack
- The Commodores held Mississippi State scoreless in the first half, Vandy’s first first-half shutout since Charleston Southern last season
- The win marked Vanderbilt’s first in Starkville since 1971
- Vanderbilt put together an 18-play, 87-yard scoring drive spanning 10:19 in the first half. That drive marked the most plays by Vandy on a scoring drive since 2015 and most time of possession on a scoring drive since 2013
- Vandy held possession for 39:55, the sixth-highest total since 1996 and most since Vanderbilt’s win over Alabama in 2024
PLAYER NOTES
- Brock Taylor converted a school-record six field goals in the win to give him 44 career makes, moving him into third on Vandy’s all-time list
- Taylor connected on a 55-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, his longest of the season
- He also hit a field goal from 54 yards out, marking his first game with multiple 50-plus yard makes. He now has eight field goals from 50-plus yards for his career
- Mason Lewis led the defense with 10 tackles. He also tallied 1.5 TFLs, both career highs
- Lewis’ two pass breakups matched his career mark
- Bryan Longwell totaled nine stops, surpassing 250 career tackles
- Jared Curtis totaled 168 yards through the air, becoming the second Vanderbilt freshman to surpass 1,500 yards in his first campaign
- Junior Sherrill made it 46 straight games with a catch, which remains the longest active streak in the FBS and the longest for a Dore since at least 1996
- He also holds a streak of 10 consecutive games with at least four receptions, tied for the longest stretch in the SEC
- Sherrill hauled in seven catches for 41 yards, moving into seventh on Vanderbilt’s all-time list for receiving yards
- Davin Chandler made his first collegiate start, totaling seven tackles with a career-high two pass breakups
- Sedrick Alexander went over 2,500 all-purpose yards for his career
- With a rushing touchdown in the win, Alexander took sole possession of eighth place on Vandy’s all-time scoring list
- Tyler Ebel launched a 64-yard punt in the second quarter, matching his season-long
- Ouattara earned his third sack of the season by pressuring Mississippi State quarterback AJ Swann into an intentional grounding call in the second quarter
- Two plays later he notched his first pass breakup of the season and fifth of his career to end the Bulldogs’ drive
- Ouattara registered a career-high 2.5 TFLs to reach 10 for his career. His two sacks matched his career mark
- Jordan Matthews grabbed his first collegiate interception, Vandy’s sixth as a team this fall
- Makhilyn Young rushed for 63 yards, his highest total on the season