Upon Further Review: Vanderbilt 55, Utah State 35

NASHVILLE – That is how a team wants to close out nonconference play.

Vanderbilt survived a slow start to move to 5-0 on the season with a win over Utah State. It may not have been the best game it has played, but it battled through adversity for the first 20 minutes of the game and came out on top 55-35.

Utah State had a 14-7 lead midway through the second quarter before Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia and the rest of the Vanderbilt offense woke up. Perhaps the early kick had something to do with the start, but once a rhythm was established in the game, it was all Commodores.

As fans wait to see where Vanderbilt is in the next AP Top 25 poll, here is the play of the game, player of the game, stat of the game and 10 things you may not have noticed.

Play of the Game: Play of the game goes to Diego Pavia’s scramble with 15 seconds to go before halftime. Utah State had just cut the lead to 28-21, but Pavia’s scramble allowed Brock Taylor and Vanderbilt to steal three points right before half to make it a two-score lead going into the locker room. A big change in momentum in my mind.

Player of the Game: It is Diego Pavia. Forget the interception late in the second half, Pavia led this team back from what was the team’s slowest start of the season. Pavia finished 26-for-34 with five touchdowns through the air. He also led the team in rushing with 79 yards and a touchdown.

Stat of the Game: Vanderbilt’s offense went off again, posting 561 yards total compared to just 393 from Utah State.

10 things you may not have noticed

1. 2nd Quarter Explosion: Vanderbilt scored 24 points in the 6:20 of the second quarter after scoring just 7 the other 23 minutes in the first half. The offense coming alive helped Vanderbilt stop the bleeding on its slow start and take the momentum back.

2. Junior Sherrill: Sherrill played like the top receiving target that he is. Sherrill wasted no time making an impact on the game as he had six catches for 91 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone. Going into Saturday’s game, Sherrill’s best game this season was 55 receiving yards against Georgia State.

3. Plenty of Yards Early: Vanderbilt averaged 11.2 yards per play on its 18 plays in the second quarter, good for 201 yards of offense in the quarter. At halftime Vanderbilt outgained Utah State 279-190 yards.

4. Pavia Climbing the Heisman Odds…Maybe: Diego Pavia put on a star performance for Vanderbilt Saturday. He had a season-high five passing touchdowns on his 321 passing yards along with another touchdown on the ground.

5. Plenty of 1st Downs: Almost half of Vanderbilt’s plays on offense resulted in first downs. On 69 plays, the Commodores have 30 first downs.

6. Big Rushing Plays: Vanderbilt had six rushing attempts go for at least 10 yards. Once again, it was Jamezell Lassiter who put up another long run of 48 yards in the second half. Lassiter has created a bigger role for himself than preseason expectations.

7. Long Passes: Vanderbilt had seven Pavia passes go for at least 15 yards down the field. None bigger was Richie Hoskins’ 53-yard touchdown that helped pour on the offense.

8. Defensive Participants: 27 different members of the defense go in on the action in the game, each recording at least one tackle.

9. Redzone Efficiency: Vanderbilt’s effectiveness in the red zone continued once again Saturday as the Commodores scored in all seven trips inside the 20-yard line. The seven scored included six touchdowns and one field goal.

10. Passing Efficiency: Pavia and the offense was feasting on medium-yardage situations. Pavia completed 12 of his 14 passing attempts between 5 and 14 yards down the field.

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