Vanderbilt vs Virginia Tech Game Recap: Dores Secure Massive Road Win
On a night marred by self-imposed mistakes and unforced errors, Vanderbilt teams of old likely would have given into what was a motivated Virginia Tech team and raucous Lane Stadium. Not Diego Pavia and Clark Lea’s Vanderbilt, though.
The resilient Commodores battled back from a 10 point halftime deficit to score 34 unanswered points in the second half, eventually winning by a score of 44-20.
Vanderbilt thrived due to their balanced production on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Diego Pavia was elite once again, accounting for 193 passing yards while completing 12/18 throws while adding another 61 yards on the ground. Sedrick Alexander and MK Young formed a two headed monster in the backfield. Alexander went for 73 yards on 10 attempts and scored 2 touchdowns, Young was the game’s leading rusher with 95 yards on 8 attempts and a score. Both Brycen Coleman and Tre Richardson had 54 receiving yards and a touchdown, though Richardson added another 32 yards on the ground and had two highlight reel grabs.
Defensively, Vanderbilt was led by Nick Rinaldi and CJ Heard. Rinaldi led the team in tackles with 6 and had 2.5 TFLs along with a sack. Heard was 2nd in tackles with 5 and also had a sack. Khordae Sydnor also added a sack and Miles Capers, although his stats do not stand out, was a menace to the depleted VT O-line all night.
Game Recap
Things got off to a very rough start for the ‘Dores, as Kyron Drones and the Hokies led a 14 play drive that took them into the red zone. Vanderbilt consistently allowed Tech to get into 3rd and short before surrendering a first down. In the red zone they were able to hold strong and force a field goal, in part thanks to an underthrow by Drones that could have easily been a touchdown.
When Vanderbilt got the ball they started moving down the field well thanks to some strong running and a clutch 3rd and long grab by Junior Sherrill, but a broken play led Pavia to make an uncharacteristic bad decision and throw a deep ball into double coverage. That throw ended up being Vanderbilt’s first turnover of the season and an indication of what was to come in the remainder of the first half.
With the ball and all of the momentum, Drones and the Hokies marched promptly down the field, scoring an easy touchdown on a Drones throw to his tight end who had slipped free in the endzone.
Desperately needing a response, Vanderbilt got one. Vandy only needed 2 plays to get into the end zone thanks to a strong catch by Sherrill and a busted coverage that got Brycen Coleman free on a wheel route, making the game 10-7 VT. The 54 yard touchdown reception was the first score of Coleman’s young but promising college career.
Vanderbilt then got its first stop of the night as they forced a 3 and out from Virginia Tech and got the ball with solid field position. In a fitting outcome for the first half, though, Sedrick Alexander fumbled on the first play of the drive, giving Tech the ball back on the Vanderbilt 28 yard line. Tech once again capitalized on the Vanderbilt turnover as they scored a touchdown and reopened the VT lead to 10. The final 3 plays of that drive were all Kyron Drones running it through the heart of the Vanderbilt defense.
Once again desperately needing a response, Vanderbilt relied on the run game this time. They went 64 yards in 11 plays, only throwing it once (a completion to Martel Hight for 14 yards). The drive would eventually stall at the VT 11, though, as a fade to Hight in the end zone on 3rd and 4 ended up incomplete. Brock Taylor hit the field goal to make it 17-10 VT.
Tech closed the half the way it started, though, as they drove 65 yards in 13 plays in order to score a field goal as time expired. This drive was aided by an unneeded hold in the secondary on a 3rd and long where Drones had to throw the ball away due to pressure by Capers and Zaylin Wood. The score at half was 20-10 in favor of Virginia Tech.
The second half opened in the most polar-opposite way possible. Vanderbilt got the kickoff and started running through the Virginia Tech D-line as if it was not even there. The ‘Dores chewed almost 7 minutes of game clock as they went 75 yards in 12 plays, primarily behind the running backs and Pavia’s legs. The one explosive play of the drive was when Tre Richardson ran a sweep for 21 yards down to the 2 yards line, in part thanks to a crucial block that Diego Pavia provided. With that touchdown Vanderbilt narrowed the margin to 17-20.
On Virginia Tech’s next possession arguably the most crucial play of the game occurred. After 5 and 4 yard gains on 1st and 2nd down, respectively, Drones threw a ball into the flats and it looked like the Tech receiver would easily get the first down, but Martel Hight recovered his position and made an outstanding open field tackle to stick him for no gain. Brent Pry then made the controversial decision to not go for it on 4th and inches, giving Vandy the ball back with all of the momentum.
With this momentum Vanderbilt did exactly what they needed to, mostly thanks to the heroics of Tre Richardson. Vanderbilt took the ball 75 yards in 7 plays, highlighted by two ridiculous Tre Richardson grabs. The first was a 25 yard snag where Richardson managed to shake his man at the last second and make an off balance grab, the second was an off balance, twisting, one-handed grab that Richardson somehow managed to secure while falling over the pylon in the end zone. If there is one takeaway many got from this game, it is that Vanderbilt found a gem in Richardson. That grab gave Vanderbilt their first lead of the game at 23-20, but Brock Taylor missed the extra point after a questionable penalty moved the attempt backwards 5 yards.
The Vanderbilt defense picked up right where they left off having finally figured out the book on Drones. The ‘Dores brought blitzes on almost every play as they forced two incompletions, two penalties, and a sack as they forced Tech backwards 13 yards. The punt gave Vandy the ball at their own 44.
Once again, Vanderbilt used the run game to cut through the Hokie defense, this time featuring Alexander more than any other back. In 8 plays Vanderbilt went the full 56 yards, capping it off with an 18 yard Alexander TD run right up the middle of the Tech defense giving Vanderbilt a 30-20 lead.
At this point, despite there being a full quarter left to play, the game felt over. A demoralized Virginia Tech offense got the benefit of yet another questionable penalty called against Vanderbilt, but after that they went backwards. 2 runs for no gain followed by a 16 yard sack put a quick end to the drive, and most of the hope that the Hokies had left.
With the ball and all of the momentum in the world, Vandy kept pounding the rock. On the first play of the drive, MK Young blew through a gap in the Tech defensive line and took the ball 62 yards, all the way to the VT 10 yard line. That 62 yard sprint was twice as long as the ‘Dores longest run by a running back last season. After that explosive play, a Diego Pavia carry got Vanderbilt to the 6 and then Sedrick Alexander punctuated the drive with a 6 yard TD carry where he went untouched into the end zone. The 37-20 lead Vanderbilt took seemed insurmountable at this point.
Virginia Tech once again gave up a big sack, threw an incompletion, and then out of desperation went for it on 4th and 10 where they did not come close to converting. Vanderbilt then trotted out Blaze Berlowitz and many of the second teamers after Brent Pry elected to use his timeouts instead of letting the clock run out. The second team unit scored a touchdown, highlighted by a 26 yard screen pass caught by walkon Jamezell Lassiter and then a 9 yard TD pass on 4th and goal from Berlowitz to Stowers. Vanderbilt was up 44-20 after scoring 34 unanswered points in the 2nd half.
Virginia Tech elected to also put in backups for their final drive of the game. On this drive they got their first non-penalty aided 1st down of the second half before Jaylon Stone forced a fumble to put the game on ice. Vanderbilt came out in victory formation to end the game.
