Sept. 10, 2016
By Zac Ellis
VUCommodores.com
On campus in Nashville — Vanderbilt (1-1, 0-1 SEC) notched its first win of the season in a 47-24 victory over Middle Tennessee State (1-1, 0-0 C-USA) at Vanderbilt Stadium on Saturday night.
How did the Commodores get past the Blue Raiders? Here are three thoughts from Vanderbilt’s big night on West End:
1. Ralph Webb was a workhorse against MTSU.
Vanderbilt’s junior running back did plenty of heavy-lifting for his offense on Saturday. Webb carried the ball 29 times for a whopping 211 yards and two touchdowns. His 211 yards were the highest single-game total at Vanderbilt since Frank Mordica amassed 321 rushing yards against Air Force in 1978. It was also the third-most in a single game in Commodore history.
Webb was not only productive; he also made quick work of MTSU’s defense. He gained 102 yards and scored both his touchdowns by halftime — on a mere 14 carries. While Khari Blasingame punched in a pair of scoring runs on his own, Webb’s backup carried the ball just six times on the night. Instead, Webb barreled through the Blue Raiders for 29 carries and averaged 7.3 yards with each run.
“The o-line did their job tonight.,” Webb said. “It’s a great feeling to celebrate as a team. Now we take this victory, celebrate tonight and get back to work tomorrow.”
Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason, meanwhile, was more direct in praising his offensive star.
“I’ll take him over any running back in this conference,” Mason said, “because I know who he is. I know what he’s done since I’ve been here…He stands for everything that a Vanderbilt man is.”
2. The Commodores got what they needed from Kyle Shurmur.
Late in the second quarter, Vanderbilt’s passing game looked in trouble for the second consecutive week. Quarterback Kyle Shurmur had misfired on his first seven passes, giving Webb and company very little help on offense. One week after managing just 73 passing yards in a loss to South Carolina, the ‘Dores knew they needed more from Shurmur.
But it wasn’t long before momentum shifted. Officials called a lightning delay with 5:40 left the second quarter with Vanderbilt holding a 19-10 lead. By the time the teams returned to the field, Shurmur and the Commodores had conjured up renewed confidence. The sophomore signal-caller quickly completed eight straight passes and led two scoring drives to send Vanderbilt into the half leading, 33-17.
Shurmur said the ‘Dores used the rain delay almost as an extra halftime, settling down from a slow start. “We just had to play within ourselves,” Shurmur said. “I think we were trying to do too much.”
In the end Shurmur finished 15-of-28 for 113 yards, one touchdown and zero turnovers, a marked improvement from his outing against the Gamecocks in Week 1. Mason said he hopes Shurmur’s rhythm is a sign of things to come for Vanderbilt’s offense.
“We had 10 different receivers catch passes,” Mason said. “I saw tight ends get involved, I saw running backs get involved. That’s what we want it to look like.”
3. Oren Burks did a bit of everything on defense, and it paid off.
This offseason, Mason moved Burks into a hybrid linebacker/safety position called “star,” which served as a nod to the junior’s versatility. On Saturday, Burks proved why that move was a smart one.
Burks was a regular stat-stuffer against Middle Tennessee State. He notched four tackles, one sack, one tackle-for-loss, one interception and three pass breakups. In the second quarter, Burks picked off MTSU quarterback Brent Stockstill and returned the interception 59 yards to the Blue Raiders’ 7-yard line. That turnover set up a Webb touchdown run that pushed Vanderbilt’s lead to 19-10.
Now Burks is a big reason why Vanderbilt’s defense remains stout. Mason said he was not surprised by Burks’s impact, particularly at the “star” position. “It’s a special position, and it takes a special guy to play that,” Mason said.
