Showdown Looming

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A showdown is coming.

Vanderbilt handled its business at FirstBank Stadium on Saturday in a 42-31 win over visiting Elon, setting up what promises to be a memorable day on campus next weekend. The Commodores didn’t play their crispest ballgame and, on the surface, took some steps back in a sloppy victory.

But in the end they were victorious.

“I just don’t think that we played to our identity. We touched that power versus Hawai’i and lost control of it during this game,” Vanderbilt senior defensive end Michael Owusu said. “It’s not really a wake-up call, but it’s about playing to our highest level each and every game. If we do that then the outcome is going to be in our favor.”

Vandy, 2-0 for the first time since 2018, hosts No. 22 Wake Forest at 11 a.m. next Saturday, a game which will be televised live by SEC Network and preceded by the live show SEC Nation. And on the field Vandy will battle against the 2021 ACC runner-up Demon Deacons, a team that went 11-3 last season and dismantled Rutgers in the Gator Bowl.

If Vanderbilt has made any sort of statement thus far, that statement would pale in comparison to what a win over Wake Forest (1-0) would do to rewrite the narrative of what Vandy was, is and could become.

“Look, we’re happy to be 2-0 to have a chance to play this (Wake Forest) game. And I’m excited for our team,” Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea said. “Wake Forest has become a standard-bearer, winning through differentiation and (head coach) Dave Clawson, who is a friend of mine and who I have a ton of respect for, has built a great program there and it’s going to be a fun team to compete against.

“I know our guys are excited for that. We’ve got to healthy. We’ve got to see how many guys we can get ready to play and then we’ve got to grow a lot from tonight, too. There’s too much that we left on that field that certainly Wake will be set up to make us pay for that. It’ll be an exciting week for this program and we’re excited to play that game in our stadium.”

Vandy quarterback Mike Wright had an epic night for the Commodores in becoming the first Vanderbilt player in history to account for six touchdowns in a single game. He threw touchdown passes of 75, 6, 26 and 9 yards, respectively, and ran in scores of 5 yards in the first quarter and 44 yards in the third quarter.

The junior quarterback is now 31 of 50 passing for 391 yards and eight touchdowns (with no interceptions) this season to go along with 247 rushing yards and four scores on the ground.

“That’s a beautiful thing to see,” Vandy senior Elijah McAllister said. “Honestly it’s just funny because it’s not surprising to me. He does it every day in practice. To see him do it on Saturdays, I’m just so happy and blessed to be a part of that. And be on that same team that allows him to show his talents is amazing.”

Mike drop 🎤🫳#AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/27EueoSNPf

— Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) September 4, 2022

Vanderbilt picked up right where it left off in Hawai’i by putting up 21 points in the first quarter Saturday against the visiting Phoenix. Those three scores came in a span of 8:43 of game clock and was highlighted by Wright’s 75-yard bomb down the right sideline to a streaking Jayden McGowan.

The only mistake in the period was a costly one when a blown coverage turned into a 75-yard Elon touchdown pass. And Elon actually got within 21-10 just before halftime, but Wright executed a crisp, 1:57 scoring drive and went up 28-10 thanks to a 26-yard touchdown pass to Will Sheppard.

Vanderbilt built a 35-10 lead early in the third quarter thanks a 44-yard run on a quarterback draw by Wright.

Two scores by Elon before the start of the fourth period made things a little uncomfortable for those in the stands wearing black and white. The Phoenix outscored Vandy 21-14 in the second half, but a turnover and two fourth-down stops by the Vanderbilt defense allowed the Commodores to be able to sing the fight song in a triumphant locker room.

“We know how hard winning is. We’re not going to miss an opportunity to celebrate a win,” Lea said. “But our stated goal for the season is to find our highest level as a team. We certainly didn’t do that.

“There’s a lot of learning in this game. We had opportunities in this game to separate. But we love learning from good results. I don’t want to take that away from this team. This team fought for that.”

Saturday’s matchup with Wake Forest will present Vanderbilt the chance to move to 3-0, a record the program hasn’t had since 2017 when it beat Middle Tennessee, Alabama A&M and Kansas State, respectively, to start that campaign. The Demon Deacons are coming off a 44-10 victory over the Virginia Military Institute on Thursday and won four times on the road in 2021.

It will undoubtedly be the toughest challenge of the season for the Commodores thus far. Saturday’s win won’t lead to complacency, Owusu said, but even more hunger.

“We’re motivated, we’re inspired by what we see on the field and we have great leadership that pushes us every day,” he said. “I know we’ll have a great week of practice and, hopefully, a great Saturday.”

• Sheppard became the first Vanderbilt wide receiver to record multiple touchdown catches in back-to-back games since Earl Bennett did so in 2005.
• Wright became the first Vanderbilt quarterback to complete four touchdown passes since Kyle Shurmur did against Tennessee on Nov. 25, 2017.
• Wright is the eighth player since 1996 to rush for a touchdown of at least 75 yards and throw for a touchdown of at least 75 yards in the same season.
• Wright became the first Vanderbilt quarterback to have multiple rushing touchdowns in back-to-back games since Greg Zolman did so during the 1999 season.
• The Commodores last began a season 2-0 in 2018 and last began a season 3-0 in 2017.
• Vanderbilt’s 105 points through its first two games of the season is its most since scoring 128 in the first two games of the 1916 season.
• Vandy is now 2-0 against Elon and 9-0 all-time against current members of the Colonial Athletic Association.
• Saturday’s contest was delayed by 22 minutes due to inclement weather.
• Vanderbilt running backs Rocko Griffin and Patrick Smith, center Julian Hernandez and wide receiver Quincy Skinner were among the Commodores not available to play Saturday.
• Attendance on Saturday was announced as 20,120.

— Chad Bishop covers Vanderbilt for VUCommodores.com.
Follow him @MrChadBishop.