Oct. 9, 2010
Vanderbilt – Eastern Michigan Postgame Notes
Oct. 9, 2010 Nashville, Tenn.
Pregame Notes
– Vanderbilt is in its 121st year of organized football.
– The Commodores wore all black uniforms for the first time this season.
– The attendance of the game was 33,107.
Team Notes
– This is the second meeting between the two schools. The Commodores knocked off Eastern Michigan 30-7 in 2007 in Nashville.
– The Commodores are 10-3 all-time against current members of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) … Vanderbilt has won five straight games against MAC affiliates dating back to a 33-30 loss to Miami (Ohio) in 2000.
– The 52 points scored by Vanderbilt was its most since scoring 58 points against The Citadel in 1999.
– Vanderbilt is 10-7 in its last 16 games against non-SEC opponents.
– Vanderbilt earned its first win against a non-conference opponent this season … Vanderbilt will play one more non-conference foe on Nov. 27 against Wake Forest.
– The Commodores snapped their streak of losing nine straight games in the month of October … The streak dated back to a 14-13 win over Auburn on October 4, 2008.
– The 558 yards of offense were Vanderbilt’s most since racking up 620 yards against Western Carolina in the 2009 opener.
– Vanderbilt went over 300 yards passing for the first time since Nov. 24, 2007 when they had 333 against Wake Forest.
– The win snapped a seven-game home losing streak.
– Vanderbilt built a 7-0 lead in the game following a touchdown run by Larry Smith … The lead marked the second time this season (Ole Miss) the Commodores scored first in a game.
– Vanderbilt has scored first only four times in 17 games – against Eastern Michigan Saturday, Ole Miss Sept. 18 and Western Carolina and Rice in 2009 … All were wins.
– Vanderbilt’s 31 first-half points were the most by the Commodores since Sept. 6, 2003 when Vanderbilt built a 41-6 halftime lead against Chattanooga.
– Vanderbilt scored a season-best 24 points in the second quarter … Vanderbilt has now scored 45 points in its last two second quarters after scoring 21 second quarter points against UConn last week.
– The 24 second quarter points were the most by VU since scoring 28 second quarter points Aug. 30, 2001 against MTSU.
– Vanderbilt’s first quarter score was its first since the final game of the 2009 season at Tennessee.
– Vanderbilt tied a season low with six penalties for 39 yards … It was the third straight game the Commodores have been flagged six times.
Individual Notes
– With Chris Marve having his team-best consecutive games started streak come to an end at 29 games, Casey Hayward became the team’s active leader with his 17th consecutive start.
– Jamie Graham made his second start of the season after missing the first three games of the season due to injury.
– Javon Marshall made his 2010 debut after missing the previous games due to injury.
– Defensive tackle Colt Nichter started for the second straight game and second time of his career in place of the injured T.J. Greenstone.
– Walk-on sophomore Linebacker Bobby Jewell made his Commodore debut on special teams.
– Freshman defensive tackle Jared Morse made his Commodore debut … Morse is the 12th true freshman to play this season.
– Running back Kennard Reeves made the first career start of his career.
– Defensive tackle Jared Morse became the 12th true freshman to play this season.
Defense
– Defensive back Jamie Graham earned his second start of the season as the Commodores began the game with five defensive backs with Chris Marve out.
– Tim Fugger forced his fourth fumble of the season in the second quarter … His four forced fumbles lead the SEC … He forced a fumble in the first three games of the season.
– Defensive end Walker May recorded the first sack of his career in the third quarter.
– Cornerback Casey Hayward picked off his fourth pass of the 2010 season … It was the seventh interception of Hayward’s career.
– Rob Lohr and Walker May led the team with six tackles.
Offense
– Quarterback Larry Smith had the fourth rushing touchdown of his career to give the Commodores a 7-0 lead … Smith’s rushing touchdown was his second of the season (Ole Miss).
– Warren Norman rushed for two touchdowns of 19 and 11 yards … Norman now has four rushing touchdowns this season and seven in his career, which leads the team.
– Udom Umoh’s 65-yard reception from Larry Smith with 4:21 to play in the second quarter was the longest of his career … His previous long was 54 yards at Rice in 2009.
– The 65-yard pass by Larry Smith to Udom Umoh was also the longest of his career … Smith’s previous long was in 2009 when he hit Udom for 54 yards at Rice.
– Warren Norman’s 24-yard reception in the first quarter tied a career long … He also had a 24-yard catch against Georgia in 2009.
– Turner Wimberly’s 33-yard reception in the second quarter was the second longest of his career … He had a 37-yard catch in Vanderbilt’s season-opener against Northwestern.
– Wimberly finished with a career-best 61 yards receiving on three catches.
– Mason Johnston’s 1-yard touchdown reception with 22 seconds to play in the first half marked the first career catch for Johnston.
– Larry Smith’s 253 yards passing were the second most of his career … His previous high was 268 yards passing at Rice in 2009.
– Zac Stacy’s 67-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was a career-long … His previous best was 62 yards against Georgia Tech in 2009.
– Quarterback Jared Funk tossed the first touchdown pass of his career when he hit John Cole for a 57-yard touchdown pass with 13:20 to play in the fourth quarter.
– The pass was the first completion of Funk’s career.
– The 57-yard catch by John Cole was the longest of his career.
– John Cole finished with a career-best 103 yards receiving … He became the first Commodore to top 100 yards since Sean Walker had 138 yards against Duke on Oct. 25, 2008.
Special Teams
– John Cole’s 54-yard punt return to open the game was Vanderbilt’s longest since D.J. Moore returned a punt 91 yards against Miami (Ohio) in 2008 … Neither returns were touchdowns … Vanderbilt’s last punt return for a touchdown was Sept. 11, 1999 when Jimmy Williams returned a punt 65 yards against Northern Illinois.
– Ryan Fowler’s 22-yard field goal with 6:59 to play in the second quarter gave Vanderbilt a 17-3 lead.
