Sept. 3, 2011
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Vanderbilt – Elon Post-game Notes
Sept. 3, 2011 Nashville, Tenn.
Pre-game Notes
– Vanderbilt is in its 122nd year of organized football.
– The Commodores wore black pants with black uniform tops
– Elon won the toss and elected to receive.
– The attendance was 27,599
– The Dores made the team’s first-ever trip through Vandyville during Dore Alley 2.5 hours before kickoff.
– Prior to kickoff Vanderbilt’s freshmen class of approximately 1,600 students participated in the Freshmen Run led by Chancellor Nicolas Zeppos.
– One hour prior to kickoff The Admiral, the Vanderbilt Stadium foghorn, was sounded for the first time this year.
– Joining team captains Kyle Fischer, Casey Hayward, Chris Marve, Larry Smith, and Carey Spear were game captains Udom Umoh, Tim Fugger and Ryan Fowler.
Team Notes
– Head Coach James Franklin became the 27th coach to lead the Commodores into game action.
– Vanderbilt is 78-40-4 all-time in season openers and has won five of the last six.
– Coach Franklin became the first Vanderbilt head coach to win his debut since Woody Widenhofer in 1997 and the first coach since Bobby Johnson in 2002 to win his debut at home. With the win Franklin became the 13th VU coach to win his first game at the helm.
– The Dores improved to 26-4 against the Southern Conference and 9-0 against FCS opponents in the last 10 years.
– The win snapped a losing streak dating back to last season and was the team’s first win since beating Eastern Michigan on October 9 last year.
– Since the start of the 2007, Vanderbilt is 10-8 against non-conference opponents.
– Over a 14-second span in the second quarter, the Dores scored 14 points on Smith’s rushing touchdown and Wilson’s pick six.
– At halftime the Commodores led 21-7, the halftime lead was the first since VU led at Kentucky November 13 last season.
Individual Notes
– Tristan Strong, Chase Garnham and Javon Marshall all made their first career starts on the defensive side while Mylon Brown earned his first start on the offensive side.
– Jerron Seymour, Andrew East, Chris Boyd, Kyle Woestman, Spencer Pulley, Trent Pruitt, Robby Barbieri, Joe Townsend and Thomas Ryan all made their debut for the Commodores.
– Fitz Lassing’s touchdown reception in the first quarter was his first career touchdown and the longest reception (15 yards) of his career.
– Carey Spear’s extra point following Lassing’s TD was the first of his career.
– Jordan Matthews’ 44-yard catch in the second quarter set a career-long.
– Larry Smith’s 16-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter was his seventh rushing TD of his career. The rushing score marked the second time in his career that he had passed and rushed for a score in a game.
– Chase Garnham established a career-high with six tackles.
– True freshman Jerron Seymour took his first collegiate carry 14 yards in the third quarter for a first down.
– Carey Spear’s 33-yard field goal in the third quarter was his first career field goal.
– Tim Fugger set a career mark with two tackles for loss.
– Chris Marve passed Jonathan Goff for 12th all-time on the Vanderbilt tackles list finishing the night with 12 tackles to equal his season-high from last year. Marve also matched his career-best with two tackles for loss.
– Chris Boyd’s 11-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter was his first career reception and touchdown.
– Smith’s two passing touchdowns matched a career-high and were his first since the Eastern Michigan game last year. Smith threw a pair of TDs and ran for a score in the win over EMU.
– Casey Hayward’s interception in the fourth quarter was his ninth of his career. Hayward needs one more interception to join the all-time top ten. His 22-yard return set a new career-high.
– Wesley Tate scored on a 23-yard reverse in the fourth quarter for his first career touchdown.
– Jordan Rodgers’ 30-yard touchdown pass to Boyd in the fourth quarter was his first career pass attempt and first touchdown pass.
– With 125 yards passing on the night Smith moved into 11th place all-time and needs 110 yards to move into 10th place all-time.
– Hayward has now started 25 straight games for the Dores, the most on the team.
– Boyd’s two touchdown receptions were the most by a Commodore since D.J. Moore in 2008 against Kentucky.
Defense
– Vanderbilt forced the team’s first turnover of the year when Tim Fugger forced a fumble from Elon QB Thomas Wilson, which was recovered by Walker May. The fumble recovery was the first of May’s career and the sixth forced fumble of Fugger’s career.
– Trey Wilson’s interception returned for a touchdown was his first career interception and the first interception returned for a TD since Eddie Foster took a pick to the house last year at Ole Miss.
Offense
– Casey Hayward had his first career rushing attempt and took it 23 yards on an option play that featured running back Zac Stacy at quarterback.
– On the Commodores’ second possession, the team went for it on fourth down with Larry Smith completing a 14-yard pass to Brandon Barden to pick up the first down.
– The Dores’ first touchdown of the year came on a 15-yard pass from Larry Smith to Fitz Lassing with 2:38 left in the first quarter. The TD capped a nine-play, 67-yard drive.
– Vanderbilt’s second fourth down conversion came in the second quarter on Smith’s rushing TD. The Dores finished the night with three fourth down conversions. VU had four fourth down conversions all of 2010.
– Smith and Rodgers combined for three touchdowns to mark the first time since the Eastern Michigan game last year the Commodores had thrown for three scores.
Special Teams
– Richard Kent extended his streak to 13 games with a punt inside the 20-yard line with a 46-yard punt in the third quarter.
