NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Quarterback Diego Pavia scored three touchdowns and posted 294 total yards of offense to lead the Vanderbilt Commodores to a 34-27 win over RV/RV Virginia Tech in overtime in its 2024 season opener at FirstBank Stadium.
The Commodores won their third-straight season opener, as Vanderbilt collected its first victory over a team receiving votes since Nov. 12, 2022, when the Dores knocked off RV/24 Kentucky at Kroger Field.
Pavia, the 2023 CUSA Player of the Year, was spectacular in his Vandy debut. The transfer from New Mexico State threw for 190 yards and added 104 yards on the ground. Pavia went 12-of-16 and threw for two scores, while rushing for a third. He is the first Commodore to have over 100 passing yards and 100 rushing yards in a game since Mike Wright against Kentucky on Nov. 12, 2022.
Senior Quincy Skinner Jr. hauled in four catches for a team-best 72 receiving yards and a touchdown. Junior Langston Patterson paced the Vandy defense with 10 tackles, leading the Commodores in tackles for the fifth-straight game. Junior Linus Zunk collected two sacks, while freshman Glenn Seabrooks III added an interception.
With the Commodores trailing 27-20 late in the fourth quarter, sophomore Sedrick Alexander hauled in a pass from Pavia and tip-toed into the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown reception that made it 27-all with 1:51 remaining in regulation.
Vanderbilt received the ball first in overtime and marched 25 yards down the field in four plays to take a 34-27 lead, capped off by Pavia’s 4-yard touchdown run.
The Commodore defense rose to the challenge in overtime. With Virginia Tech facing a 4th-and-11 from the Vanderbilt 12-yard line, the Dores forced a rushed pass up the middle that came up incomplete to secure the season-opening victory for Vandy.
Vanderbilt returns to action Saturday for a home contest against Alcorn State. Kickoff from FirstBank Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. live on ESPNU.
Vandy scored on its first three offensive possessions to take a 17-0 lead. It marked the first time since 2017 that the Dores scored on their first three possession to open a campaign.
An interception by Seabrooks III off a tipped pass by sophomore Bryan Longwell set up the Commodores at the Virginia Tech 27-yard line after a 15-yard return from the freshman defensive lineman. Graduate student Diego Pavia threw a 14-yard dart to Skinner Jr. in the corner of the end zone to give Vandy a 10-0 advantage six seconds into the second quarter.
Vanderbilt extended its lead to 17-0 with 5:18 remaining before halftime after a 7-yard touchdown from Alexander. It was the first score of the 2024 campaign for the running back after he hit paydirt four times a season ago.
Vandy’s defense was just as efficient as the offense during Saturday’s first two quarters. The Commodores held the Hokies scoreless for the first 29 minutes of the first half, only allowing a 40-yard field goal with 52 seconds remaining before halftime. It was the first time Vanderbilt did not allow a touchdown to an FBS opponent in the first half since Sept. 28, 2019, against Northern Illinois.
Virginia Tech scored the first points of the second half with a 24-yard touchdown from senior Bhayshul Tuten that cut the Commodore lead to 17-10 at the 12:42 mark of the third quarter. Vanderbilt responded with a 53-yard field goal from sophomore Brock Taylor to push its lead back out to 20-10 with 7:07 remaining in the third. Taylor’s 53-yarder tied him with Joseph Bulovas for the fifth-longest field goal in school history.
The Hokies pulled even with the Dores early in the fourth quarter, as Tuten hauled in an 11-yard score from redshirt junior Kyron Drones to tie the game up at 20-all with 10:12 left to play. Virginia Tech got the ball back at the 7:38 mark after a Vanderbilt punt. The Hokies went 97 yards on six plays to take a 27-20 lead with 4:21 remaining in regulation.
Vanderbilt knotted the game up at 27-all after Pavia’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Alexander to head to overtime and set the stage for the season-opening victory.
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