Vanderbilt Holds Off Delaware 35-26 After a Back-and-forth First Half
Both teams scored on a blocked punt, and only one of them did it with a lead to protect. Vanderbilt beat Delaware 35-26, and the Commodores' return touchdown in the third quarter was the one that mattered.
Vanderbilt started quickly with Jared Curtis and Sedrick Alexander touchdowns to go up 14-0 after one. Delaware fought back with a 37-yard field goal, a 1-yard Viron Ellison Jr. run, and then Bryson Graves returned a blocked punt for a touchdown with 0:17 left in the half to take a 17-14 lead, the only time Vanderbilt trailed. Curtis ran in from a yard out in the third to retake the lead, and 1:35 of game clock later Austin Howard returned a blocked punt of his own for a touchdown to make it 28-17. Curtis threw a 19-yard touchdown to Walter Taylor on the last play of the third, so it was 35-17 entering the fourth.
Delaware made it uncomfortable. Tucker Smack kicked a 40-yard field goal, and Da'Wain Lofton caught a 43-yard touchdown from Nick Minicucci with 6:37 left, but the two-point try failed and it stayed 35-26. The yardage was a coin flip, 344 for Vanderbilt and 343 for Delaware, but Vanderbilt sacked the quarterback six times and Delaware threw two interceptions. Vanderbilt lost one fumble and did not throw a pick. Special teams decided more than the scoring summary shows. Of the 61 total points, 14 came off blocked punts, and Vanderbilt's six sacks kept Delaware from threatening more often. That is how you win after trailing 17-14 with a team that gained exactly one yard more than the opponent.
Vanderbilt is 2-0 and Delaware 1-1. Curtis and Lofton were the fantasy stars, each with a big day for opposite reasons.