It was the battle between two teams with the worst records in their respective conferences. The Vanderbilt Commodores (2-5), had just as high hopes of winning Saturday's game as the Duke Blue Devils (0-7, 0-5).
These high hopes turned into reality for Vanderbilt, as the Commodores took advantage of mistakes and forced turnovers in their 42-28 defeat of Duke.
"We have to eliminate the critical errors--all the missed tackles, interceptions, blown assignments, wrong alignments," Duke coach Carl Franks said.
The first quarter was the strongest for the Blue Devils. Duke came out with a powerful opening drive against the Commodores. After using running back sophomore Chris Douglas almost exclusively in the first quarter, the Blue Devils capitalized on the second drive in the first quarter when Alex Wade dove into the endzone for a one-yard touchdown. Douglas tallied 83 yards on 12 carries before the touchdown and 169 yards on 29 carries for the game.
"We ran the ball well, it wasn't a good day to throw with the wind," Franks said.
Vanderbilt scored two touchdowns in the first half on Duke before the Blue Devils tied it up at 14 in the second quarter. Bryant connected with Nick Brezinski for a four-yard touchdown pass. After that, it was pretty much the Commodores' game.
Even though hope was still alive for the
Turnovers were a big part of this game for Duke. Aaron McWhorter from Vanderbilt intercepted a Bryant pass on the fifth play of the third quarter. McWhorter returned it 48 yards to the Duke 5 yard line. Minutes later, a running back for Vanderbilt, Rodney Williams, turned the interception into a touchdown, giving the visitors a 28-14 lead.
"[Bryant] was just off on some of his throws," Franks said. "He's had an injury and he hasn't gotten the type of practice time throughout the year that we would like him to have. The problems with his leg makes it difficult for him to get as much preparation as he would like, and sometimes it causes a tough throw. The ball just got away from him."
Speaking of injuries, the Commodores lost their star running back, Lew Thomas, on the third drive in the second quarter. Thomas ran eight times for 123 yards before breaking a bone in his right foot on a play. It marked the second time this season the senior surpassed the 100-yard rushing mark. Williams came through for Vanderbilt as he relieved Thomas and ran 18 carries for 155 yards.
"We just hung in there [during] the second half. Duke is that kind of team," Vanderbilt coach Woody Widenhofer said. "They're pretty scrappy, and did the same thing to Wake Forest, fighting back to get in the game. They are a better offense than defense. What you have to try and do is score some points on offense and hold them as well as you can on defense."
Another key turnover in the game was in Duke's first drive. The Blue Devils had made their way to the Vanderbilt 17 yard line. Duke wide receiver Khary Sharpe carried and fumbled the ball, which was picked up by Vandy player Pat Brunner. This turnover along with the one in the third quarter were key moments that could have dramatically altered the course of the game.
Vanderbilt quarterback Greg Zolman completed eight passes on 18 attempts for 168 yards and two touchdowns passing.
"I am extremely proud of our players for this win because a win is so tough to get," Widenhofer said. "This was a team win. We had some turnovers on offense, but our defense had some interceptions that got the offense good field position. When that happens, the offense can get it in the endzone. We played a little bit ragged on defense, but played pretty well overall. We got a chance to play a lot of guys today, and the effort was very good on both sides of the ball. I'm just really happy for the win."
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