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Rapid Reaction: Vanderbilt beats UConn on last-second field goal in surprisingly exciting game
By Adam Spencer
Published:
It was an afterthought. One of the worst games of the year, many fans and analysts called it. Ticket prices were as low as $1.
But, after the early part of the day featured a few blowouts — Georgia over Arkansas, Tennessee over Mizzou, Alabama over Ole Miss — Saturday night’s UConn-Vanderbilt game was at least entertaining, if nothing else!
After falling behind 6-0, Vanderbilt took a 10-6 lead thanks to this strike from Ken Seals to Will Sheppard:
Seals to Sheppard for a Commodore touchdown. ⚓️⬇️#AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/hu4IHh93XO
— Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) October 3, 2021
After that score, the Commdores’ flag person jumped the gun a bit with the celebration:
I somehow didn't catch this the first time around… But Vanderbilt Flag Guy, what are you doing? pic.twitter.com/Sbpp7dh6Sm
— Simon Gibbs (@SimonGibbs26) October 3, 2021
Now, it wasn’t all good. In fact, it got downright ugly at certain points. After dropping what should have been an easy interception earlier in the game, Max Worship finally got his pick. However, he immediately fumbled it back to UConn:
You wanted Vanderbilt-UConn?
Vanderbilt’s Max Worship intercepts the UConn pass, only to fumble it immediately.
UConn ball, carry on! pic.twitter.com/JRdT0F4P4t
— Simon Gibbs (@SimonGibbs26) October 3, 2021
UConn also missed what should have been a chip-shot field goal:
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) October 3, 2021
Sheppard wasn’t done scoring yet. He added this impressive 38-yard touchdown:
https://twitter.com/FTBVids_YT/status/1444492553303126020
Late in the fourth quarter, though, UConn didn’t go away. This touchdown cut Vanderbilt’s lead to 27-22:
https://twitter.com/FTBVids_YT/status/1444494755761582080
On a 4th-and-18 play, UConn WR Kevens Clercius somehow came down with this miracle catch:
4th and 18 — UConn QB Steven Krajewski heaves this one to Kevens Clercius pic.twitter.com/CswWsT7ktQ
— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) October 3, 2021
And then QB Steven Krajewski did the scoring himself on this 15-yard scamper:
https://twitter.com/FTBVids_YT/status/1444496780763144192
The 2-point conversion play failed, meaning UConn only led 28-27. That left Vandy with 2 timeouts and just over a minute to play.
The Commodores made their way down the field quickly, thanks to some big plays and a couple of costly penalties by the Huskies. That set up Alabama transfer K Joseph Bulovas with a chance to win the game from 31 yards out:
https://twitter.com/FTBVids_YT/status/1444499188952141825
Vanderbilt escaped with the 30-28 win. It was Bulovas’s second game-winning kick of the year.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 14 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
