Instant Analysis: Vanderbilt Football Comes Back Against Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va. - It did not look pretty, but Saturday night was certainly a statement win for Vanderbilt as it took down Virginia Tech 37-20. It was more so of a statement second half for Vanderbilt in what was a tale of two halves.

In the first half, Vanderbilt trailed 20-10 going into the locker room. The Commodores had played quite a sloppy first half, allowing a 60 percent conversion rate on third down on top of committing a penalty that kept the defense on the field.

To add salt on the wound, Vanderbilt committed two turnovers in the first half that led to 10 Virginia Tech points. Everything pointed to a Vanderbilt loss going into the half…until it did not.

Starting in the third quarter, Vanderbilt went on an onslaught offensively and defensively. It all started with a touchdown drive on offense and then a three-and-out stop on defense to open the half. 

The entire tide of the game shifted fully into Vanderbilt’s hands after wide receiver Tre Richardson came down with two highlight-worthy grabs that led to a touchdown that put Vanderbilt in the lead. After taking the lead, the Commodores never looked back.

The offense continued to score and the defense continued to provide stops for the Vanderbilt offense. Vanderbilt outscored Virginia Tech 34-0 in the second half. The Commodores scored on all five of its possessions in the second half excluding taking a knee in victory formation to run out the clock.

“You know, I'm first, I think, just to say I'm really proud of my team, I'm happy for those guys, and I'm proud of them. That was an ugly game, and, you know, we're not going to be able to get away with playing like that moving forward. But tonight, I think it was a team effort. Obviously, when we played Vanderbilt football, we were able to lock the three phases in position. We were able to manufacture a drive there to start the second half, we were able to generate three and outs on defense and put pressure on the quarterback. And good things happen when you play the right way early in the game. You know, it's almost like they flipped the script on us from a year ago. They were overwhelmingly controlling the game with possession time, two turnovers, I mean, it felt elusive to us. It felt like we couldn't quite grip it,” Lea said. “And the way the guys responded coming out of the half again, I'm really proud of them, and I think we can build on this. Obviously our challenge and really, what excites me is that we have so much better football ahead of us, and if we can clean up the things that we have control over, then we're going to have a chance to continue to celebrate.”

Vanderbilt will look to get a second statement win on the road next week as the Commodores travel to Columbia to take on South Carolina on Sept. 13.

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