Game 1: Vanderbilt (0-0) vs. Charleston Southern (0-0)
When: Saturday, Aug. 30 • 6 p.m.
Where: FirstBank Stadium • Nashville, Tenn.
Watch: ESPN+/SECN+ (Kevin Fitzgerald and Charles Arbuckle)
Listen: 102.5 The Game (Andrew Allegretta, Norman Jordan and Kevin Ingram)
OPENING ON A ROLL
• Vanderbilt kicks off its 136th season of football on Saturday, hosting Charleston Southern at FirstBank Stadium.
• The Commodores have won three-straight season openers, matching the longest string of season-opening wins since capturing six in a row from 1970-75. Vandy’s longest streak of opening victories is 35 from 1904-38.
• The Dores are 83-48-4 all-time in lid lifters.
HOME NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD
• Saturday marks another new milestone at FirstBank Stadium as the south end zone facility makes its debut.
• The state-of-the-art facility features living room boxes, loge boxes, club seating, field-level seating, founders’ suites, club suites and open-air tailgate suites.
• The south end zone building also houses a new football game day locker room, and will also feature a student-athlete training table and dining facility for all varsity teams.
THE BECKONING
• Vanderbilt’s offense has been transformed under second-year offensive coordinator Tim Beck’s watch.
• Vandy’s ESPN FPI offensive efficiency (67.5) ranked 28th in FBS in 2024. It was Vanderbilt’s best finish in offensive efficiency since 2005 when the Dores ended up 25th in the metric’s first year. Prior to Beck’s arrival, Vanderbilt’s best finish during Clark Lea’s tenure was 76th in 2022.
• The Commodores were the best in the nation at protecting the football, finishing with an FBS-low seven turnovers on the season.
• Vanderbilt also led the SEC and finished third in FBS in red zone offense, getting points on 93.3% of its red zone trips (42-for-45).
• Beck was named a semifinalist for the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach.
NEW SEASON, NEW HIGHT
• No need to blink, that is junior Martel Hight split out at wide receiver this season. The veteran corner will play both ways for the first time in his collegiate career.
• Hight finished the 2024 campaign tied for the team lead with two interceptions, tied for second with four pass breakups and added 33 tackles.
• Hight’s explosiveness with the ball in his hands was also on display as he averaged 14.7 yards on 18 punt returns and made a 57-yard house call against Alcorn State.
CAPTAINING THE SHIP
• Vanderbilt named eight veterans as team captains for the 2025 season. Commodore captains are voted on and selected by the team.
• Richie Hoskins, Langston Patterson, Diego Pavia and Marlen Sewell were all selected as captains for a second-straight season. Randon Fontenette, Yilanan Ouattara, Eli Stowers and Khordae Sydnor join the leadership group for their first season as captains.
PRESEASON ACCOLADES
• Eli Stowers has dotted preseason All-America lists this season, garnering first team picks by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Associated Press, The Athletic, The Sporting News, Athlon and Phil Steele.
• Stowers is also one of two Commodores who picked up All-SEC recognition from league coaches in advance of the 2025 seaso, being tabbed preseason first-team All-SEC while Martel Hight landed a spot on the third team.
• Stowers’ first team prognostication is the first for the Dores since the 2013 season when Jordan Matthews, Andre Hal and Casey Spear all earned preseason honors.
