Nov. 27, 2016
By Zac Ellis
VUCommodores.com
On campus in Nashville -Vanderbilt entered Rivalry Week looking to notch a sixth win in a season for the first time under head coach Derek Mason. On Saturday night, it reached that goal in impressive fashion – all against a longtime rival.
The Commodores (6-6, 3-5 SEC) survived a shootout against Tennessee (8-4, 4-4 SEC) to the tune of 45-34, reaching bowl-eligibility for the first time since 2013. Here are three thoughts from Vanderbilt’s victory in its regular-season finale:
1. Vanderbilt’s offensive surge continued.
For the second week in a row, Vanderbilt looked like one of the best offenses in the SEC. The Commodores hung 45 points and 608 yards of offense (8.3 yards-per-play) on Tennessee one week after amassing 38 points and 481 yards in a win over Ole Miss. Vanderbilt’s 45 points were its most in an SEC game since 1971, when it piled 49 on Mississippi State.
To Mason, an offense that struggled early in the year found its footing in the season’s final weeks. “All we’ve done these last two games is pile up points against pretty good competition,” Mason said.
There was plenty of success to go around for the Commodores. Quarterback Kyle Shurmur set a career-high with 416 passing yards on 21-of-34 passing; his previous career-high was 279 yards. Running back Ralph Webb ran for 114 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries and became Vanderbilt’s new career rushing leader along the way. Trent Sherfield (nine catches for 184 yards) and Caleb Scott (four for 117) were nearly unstoppable as Shurmur’s targets through the air.
For most of the Commodores, that offensive output couldn’t have come against a better opponent than Tennessee. “It was great to put our best performance on offense out there tonight,” Shurmur said.
2. The Commodores owned the second half.
Tennessee and Vanderbilt enjoyed a back-and-forth first half that ended with the Volunteers holding a 31-24 halftime lead. UT’s offense, which came in averaging better than 55 points per game in its last three games, managed 9.3 yards per play in its first two quarters. In short, the ‘Dores were struggling to stop the Vols’ attack.
But Mason called on his squad to start anew in the third quarter, and the second half belonged to Vanderbilt. It held Tennessee to just three points in the final two periods while piling up 21 of its own. The turning point was a fumble by UT quarterback Joshua Dobbs at the end of the third quarter, when the Vols held a 34-31 lead. Officials originally ruled Dobbs down before the turnover, but they overturned it on review.
Vanderbilt turned that takeaway into a Darrius Sims touchdown run at the end of a seven-play drive. That score pushed the Commodores ahead, 38-34, and they didn’t look back. Despite trailing by two touchdowns early, the ‘Dores stayed focused. “We rally around each other,” safety LaDarius Wiley said. “The big thing is uplifting one another.”
Mason said he challenged the ‘Dores to keep UT scoreless in the second half. Still, he didn’t seem upset with the effort after halftime. “We gave up three [points],” Mason said. “I’ll take that.”
3. Derek Mason is taking Vanderbilt bowling.
Basic math suggested Vanderbilt had a shot at a bowl game even if it had lost to Tennessee. At 5-7, the Commodores’ high Academic Progress Rate (APR) score would have likely slid the program into a bowl game without enough 6-6 teams to fill them. But now, the ‘Dores don’t have to worry about that. They’re headed to the postseason with their sixth win of the year.
Vanderbilt now boasts two more wins than it did last season, with a chance at a seventh victory in its bowl. “That was the goal,” Mason said. “We went into this game fully wanting to win, expecting to win and knowing winning would make us bowl-eligible.”
Vanderbilt fans have watched their program take remarkable strides on at least two other occasions this year. The team’s 17-16 win over Georgia on Oct. 15 was its first SEC road win under Mason. Last week, the Commodores’ offense was downright dominant against Ole Miss. But Saturday’s victory over Tennessee is now Vanderbilt’s biggest victory under Mason. For the Commodores, the scoreboard speaks for itself.
“I won’t say anything,” defensive lineman Adam Butler said. “There’s no need to say anything. For 365 days, we own Tennessee until they do something about it.”
