NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It was all black and gold on Saturday night at FirstBank Stadium as Vanderbilt shut out Alcorn State 55-0, the first for the Commodores since beating East Tennessee State 38-0 in 2019.
The Commodore offense got started with a 35-yard field goal by Brock Taylor midway through the first quarter before quickly picking up on the following drives. A tight end-to-tight end reverse pass from Eli Stowers to a wide-open Cole Spence set him up for his first reception and touchdown in black and gold.
Quarterback Diego Pavia continued his hot start with the program, putting Vandy up 17-0 with a tip-toeing 5-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
The Vanderbilt defense shut down any attempt by Alcorn State to get its offense going in the first half, limiting the Braves to just 28 total yards. CJ Taylor came down with the fourth interception of his career in the middle of the first quarter, setting up the eventual touchdown by Spence. That pick made it seven of the last eight games where Vanderbilt’s defense has had at least one interception.
A rushing touchdown by Sedrick Alexander—his second of the season—came with five minutes remaining in the half. Alexander now has consecutive games with a rushing touchdown for the first time in his career. Taylor nailed a 46-yard field goal as time ran down in the half to make the Vanderbilt lead 27-0 heading into the locker room.
In the third quarter, AJ Newberry found himself in the end zone for the first time in his career following a 20-yard rush up the middle.
The fourth quarter saw a trio of scores by the Dores. Junior quarterback Nate Johnson took a keeper 58 yards for his first touchdown at Vanderbilt. The Commodores then struck twice within six seconds of game time—first off a 57-yard punt return by Martel Hight, followed by a pick-six by Alan “Taco” Wright on the first play of the ensuing Alcorn State drive. Hight’s house call was the first punt return touchdown for Vanderbilt since Jonathan Krause took one back on Nov. 24, 2012, at Wake Forest.
Vanderbilt’s 55 points are the most scored in a game since last season’s win against Alabama A&M and the most in a shutout since a 58-0 victory against Presbyterian on Sept. 17, 2012. The Commodore defense kept the Braves at bay with only 71 total yards in the game. The last time Vandy held its opponent under 100 yards was when the defense limited Chattanooga to just 93 yards in 2003.
Vanderbilt heads to Atlanta to take on Georgia State at 6 pm C.T. next Saturday. The Commodores look to go 3-0 for the first time in the Clark Lea era.
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