Vanderbilt Turns a Defensive PAT and a Punt Return into a Win
Austin Peay led Vanderbilt 6-3 early, and then a conversion try went the other way. After Denver Harper's 24-yard touchdown catch from Chris Parson, Martel Hight scored two points for the Commodores on the defensive end of the extra-point try, which made it 6-5 and still an Austin Peay lead for a few more minutes.
Brock Taylor's second field goal, a 37-yarder at 14:19 of the second quarter, put Vanderbilt ahead 8-6, and it stayed ahead. Blaze Berlowitz ran in from 7 yards at 6:21 for 15-6, and Hamilton DiBoyan's 51-yard field goal trimmed it to 15-9 before the half. That was Austin Peay's last score.
Sedrick Alexander added an 18-yard touchdown run in the third (the two-point try failed) for 21-9, and Josiah Broxton's 27-yard punt return at 14:50 of the fourth made it 28-9. Neither team scored again, so that is where it ended.
Vanderbilt finished with 396 yards (209 passing, 187 rushing) on 38 rushes, no turnovers and five sacks. Take away the punt return and it is 21-9, a twelve-point game, which is closer than a 28-9 score suggests. Berlowitz was 11 of 16 for 149 yards and ran 11 times for 45.
Vanderbilt is 1-0 and Austin Peay is 0-1. In fantasy terms, Berlowitz's 16.5 points led a modest group and Alexander (13.4) and Junior Sherrill (11.3) rounded out the top three. Neither side scored in the last 14:50, so the Commodores spent the rest of the fourth quarter running out the clock on a 19-point win.