Vanderbilt had to dig deep, but it earned a 17-13 victory over Middle Tennessee State on Saturday in Murfreesboro. The Blue Raiders are better than advertised (their two previous losses were to Alabama and Illinois), and it was an important win for the Commodores, which faced the prospect of a 1-11 season with a loss.

5 Takeaways

  • Better late than never. Vanderbilt’s offense showed stamina after not being able to put points on the scoreboard early. The Commodores scored 14 in the fourth quarter to win the game. Vandy rushed for 178 yards in the second half.
  • The Vanderbilt run defense is anchored down. The Commodores held MTSU to only 34 yards on 23 attempts.
  • Trent Sherfield is a playmaker who needs the ball more. The Vandy receiver caught six passes for 63 yards with most of those yards coming after the catch. He also ran once for 34 yards.
  • Zach Cunningham can play football. The Vandy defender had a career-high 15 tackles, 12 of them solo and 2.5 tackles for loss.
  • Why is this not a yearly rivalry? Murfreesboro is an outlying suburb of Nashville, so it would make sense these two should play each season. It is a little more respectable for Vandy now that the Blue Raiders moved from the Sun Belt to Conference USA, but there is no reason this game should not be a staple to the schedule each season. Besides, after the game, Vandy reacted in the locker room as if it had just beaten Tennessee or Florida.

Report card

Offense: B. The Commodores moved the ball well at times (419 total yards), but had trouble scoring. Ralph Webb’s 39-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter was the offensive highlight for Vandy.

Defense: A-. Vanderbilt showed a swarming defense between the 2os and were almost immovable in the red zone. But the Commodores still have lapses when they tend to give up the big play.

Special teams: B. Tommy Openshaw made a 40-yard field goal and missed a 40-yard field goal. Vandy only averaged 31.4 yards per punt, but placed the Blue Raiders inside their own 20 twice.

Coaching: A-. The grade went up in the fourth quarter as Derek Mason seemed to rally his troops to spark the comeback. But the defensive staff clearly did a better job than their offensive counterparts.

Overall: B. The Commordores were dormant for most of the game, then suddenly came to life to score 14 points in the final quarter. The offense did what it had to when it had to, and the defense was solid all night.

Game Plan

The defensive game plan was great — stop the run and control the pass. The Commodores executed it well. Offensively, it seemed the plan was to get what it could when it could. That turned out well too.

Game Balls

  • Zach Cunningham. He amassed 15 tackles, one on a goalline stand. He had 2.5 tackles for loss, he forced a fumble and broke up two passes.
  • Ralph Webb. He ran for 155 yards and his last 39 accounted for the game-winning touchdown.
  • The defense. Vandy held the MTSU running game in check. It did not intercept a pass, but broke up nine.

Injury Update

  • Wide receiver C.J. Duncan, tight end DeAndre Woods and offensive lineman Andrew Jelks are all out for the season with injuries.
  • LB Nigel Bowden (concussion) missed the game, his third straight.