Vanderbilt is 1-0. The post-Diego Pavia era is officially underway, and it ended the only way that mattered… a win, in front of a fifth straight sold-out FirstBank Stadium, on a sweltering Nashville night that a lightning delay eventually cut two minutes short. The final was 28-9, the box score reads like a comfortable win, and Vanderbilt outgained Austin Peay 396 yards to 178. But anyone who actually watched the first quarter knows this one had a few uncomfortable stretches before it settled into what it was always supposed to be. Let’s break it down.
The Good
Sedrick Alexander looked like Sedrick Alexander. The senior ran for 60 yards and an 18-yard touchdown in the third quarter - the 22nd rushing score of his career, which moved him past Ke’Shawn Vaughn into fourth on the program’s all-time list. As a team, Vanderbilt rushed for 187 yards on 38 carries, a 4.9 yards-per-carry clip that’s exactly the identity this offense wanted to establish in Week 1 regardless of who was playing quarterback.
The defensive front also showed up. Vanderbilt sacked Chris Parson five times, with Issa Ouattara getting home twice and Brian Allen Jr. picking up his first sack in a Vanderbilt uniform. Nick Rinaldi came up with a fourth-down sack to end an Austin Peay drive in Commodore territory in the third quarter, exactly the kind of play a veteran linebacker is supposed to make against a team trying to steal momentum.
And give the special teams unit its flowers: Martel Hight blocked an extra point and returned it for two points in the first quarter, and Josiah Broxton turned a botched Austin Peay punt snap into a 27-yard touchdown return to open the fourth quarter and put the game away for good.
The Bad
The first quarter was shakier than anyone wanted. Vanderbilt’s opening drive went 13 plays and produced only a field goal after a holding penalty wiped out an Alexander touchdown run. Then Austin Peay, an FCS team, marched right down the field on the ensuing possession and Chris Parson hit Denver Harper for a 24-yard score, and for a few minutes this had the feel of a track meet instead of a statement game.
Blaze Berlowitz’s first career start was solid, not spectacular: 149 yards passing to go with 45 yards and a touchdown on the ground. That’s a fine line for a first start, but it’s also a reminder that the passing game still has some rhythm to find before SEC play starts. Junior Sherrill’s headline stat line from the box score was modest - this passing game didn’t look like one that’s found its top gear yet.
The Ugly
Nine penalties for 73 yards is not the kind of clean football Clark Lea wants to see, especially against a UAC opponent Vanderbilt should be beating comfortably in every phase. The holding call that erased Alexander’s touchdown on the opening drive set an early tone, and a personal foul on Hight the play before Austin Peay’s only touchdown didn’t help either. Playing down to a lesser opponent’s level, even for a quarter and a half, is exactly the kind of habit that gets punished in October against Georgia or Ole Miss.
The Real
This was always going to be a game about answering questions, not padding a highlight reel, and Vanderbilt got real answers. Berlowitz proved he can be trusted to run the offense without turning the ball over… Lea called him “an absolute pro” postgame… and then Jared Curtis came in before halftime and looked every bit like the five-star talent everyone’s been talking about since spring, going 7-of-9 for 60 yards and adding 22 yards on the ground, including an impressive on-the-run throw to Ja’Cory Thomas on his very first collegiate snap. Lea confirmed Vanderbilt will keep playing both quarterbacks as long as it makes sense to, which means the QB story isn’t over… it’s just getting started with real live data behind it instead of camp buzz. Which, we all know is going to cause some frustration and aggravation within the fanbase.
The bigger picture: Vanderbilt is 1-0, the run game looks like a strength, the front seven can get after the passer, and both quarterbacks did enough to keep the plan flexible. Was it always clean? No. But 10-win teams don’t need to be perfect in Week 1 against an FCS opponent… they need to find a way to win and walk away with more good tape than bad. Vanderbilt did both.
Delaware comes to FirstBank Stadium on Saturday at 3:15 p.m. If you’ve got a number in mind for how big that one gets, or you like the Blue Hens to hang around, our partner Underdog is the place to put that opinion to work: https://play.underdogsports.com/vgwg/p-ttvandy
As always Commodore Nation, Anchor Down.