Goin' back to Vandy: A B-Dawg dual NCAA '14/NCAA '07 flashback dynasty

[BDawg35]

2025/2010 BOWL SEASONS


Vanderbilt receiver Michael Johnson caught 10 passes for 416 yards and three touchdowns against Northwestern.


Vanderbilt’s Kendall Butler picks off a pass.

HOW YA LIKE ME NOW?
Johnson proves he’s nation’s top WR
with record-shattering game vs. NU

ORLANDO, Fla. — Michael Johnson wasn’t even considered the best wide receiver on the field when Vanderbilt met Northwestern in the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 1, 2026.

That type of blatant disrespect wasn’t going to go unchallenged.

As if to shove it to the Wildcats and shove it to the voters, Commodores coach B-Dawg unleashed Johnson in all of his glory.

When the dust settled, Johnson had one of the greatest individual performances ever by a B-Dawg player in seventh-ranked Vanderbilt’s 51-26 victory over 12th-ranked Northwestern.

Johnson caught 10 passes for 416 yards and three touchdowns, breaking B-Dawg’s single-game record of 386 receiving yards set by Michigan’s Ryan King at Iowa on Nov. 2, 2013 in NCAA 2012.

The bulk of the damage was done in what is surely the greatest half in the history of college football. Johnson had seven catches for 324 yards and three touchdowns by halftime, with quarterback Greg Freeman going 11-for-18 for 382 yards and four touchdowns. Combined with Northwestern quarterback Brendan Sullivan’s 268 yards, the teams combined for 650 yards through the air in the first half.

Johnson didn’t even play in the fourth quarter after he broke the NCAA record of 405 yards set by Louisiana Tech’s Troy Edwards on Aug. 29, 1998.

“This was one of those special performances you will always remember, no matter how many games you coach in the future,” B-Dawg said. “Michael and I were pretty ticked off when the college football awards came out, so we had to show everyone what’s up.”

Northwestern’s Jacob Gill won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver, while Johnson finished sixth. Gill had six catches for 66 yards and a touchdown against Vanderbilt.

It took only 12 seconds for the Commodores to prove a point, as Freeman hit Johnson with a 79-yard bomb down the right side behind cornerback Paul Smith to open the scoring.

Smith also got burned for a deep touchdown on the first play of Vanderbilt’s third drive.

By the end of the first quarter, Johnson caught all four of Freeman’s completions for 214 yards and two touchdowns. He broke his own school record of 246 yards with 5:36 left in the second quarter.

“I had to check to make sure we weren’t playing on freshman mode,” B-Dawg said. “It shouldn’t be that easy on Heisman mode.”

A 68-yard pass to Johnson on post route out of a bunch formation gave Vanderbilt a 45-6 lead with 1:32 left in the first half.

Freeman finished 15-for-28 for 489 yards, four touchdowns and one interceptions, averaging 32.6 yards per completion. Sullivan, Northwestern’s all-time passing leader, was 45-for-55 for 472 yards, one touchdown and two picks. He was sacked five times.

With one season remaining, Johnson has 305 catches for 4,729 yards and 51 touchdowns. Freeman has two years left to improve upon 9,908 passing yards and 90 touchdowns.


Vanderbilt receiver Michael Johnson hauls in one of his three touchdowns.

Vanderbilt Commodores vs. Northwestern Wildcats (Capital One Bowl)
Jan. 1, 2026	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#7 Vanderbilt Commodores (11-2)	17	28	3	3	51
#12 Northwestern Wildcats (9-4)	3	6	17	0	26

Team Stats Comparison
	VAN	NW
Total Offense	591	517
Rushing Yards	21-72	23-45
Passing Yards	519	472
First Downs	15	26
Punt Return Yards	29	17
Kick Return Yards	132	54
Total Yards	752	588
Turnovers	1	2
3rd Down Conversion	6-10	8-15
4th Down Conversion	0-0	0-1
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	5-2-3	5-1-2
Penalties	1-10	1-15
Possession Time	14:58	21:02

VANDERBILT COMMODORES PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Greg Freeman 15/28 489 4 1 Drew Dickey 4/4 30 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Greg Freeman 4 24 6.0 0 Patrick Smith 8 23 2.8 0 Shawn Brooks 2 14 7.0 0 Andy Wilson 2 9 4.5 0 Dylan Betts-Pauley 1 4 4.0 0 Wesley Walker 2 4 2.0 0 Drew Dickey 2 -6 -3.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Michael Johnson 10 416 41.6 3 Gamerion Carter 3 55 18.3 0 Jayden McGowan 2 14 7.0 0 Mike Barclay 1 20 20.0 0 Patrick Smith 1 7 7.0 1 Ryan Jamison 1 5 5.0 0 Curtis Cannon 1 2 2.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Team 0 0 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT Jeffrey Ugochukwu 11 0 0 0 Boyd Peterson 9 1 1 0 Errington Truesdell 9 1 0 0 Pat Berg 6 2 0 0 Kendall Butler 5 0 0 1 Kasey Davidson 5 1 0 0 John Howse 5 2 2 0 Chris Jackson 4 0 0 0 Tyson Russell 2 0 0 0 Brian Davidson 2 1 1 0 Justin King 2 1 1 0 Marlen Sewell 1 0 0 1 James Scott 1 0 0 0 Daniel Noble 1 0 0 0 Adrian Andrews 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Zach Hancock 3/3 6/6 15 27 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Robert Hayden 1 45 45.0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Gamerion Carter 5 132 26.4 37 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Gamerion Carter 1 29 29.0 29

NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Brendan Sullivan 45/55 472 1 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Kellen Weaver 9 49 5.4 1 Antwuan Hall 2 11 5.5 0 Calvin Johnson II 1 5 5.0 0 Brendan Sullivan 11 -20 -1.8 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Calvin Johnson II 13 130 10.0 0 Lawson Albright 7 109 15.5 0 Jordan Mosley 6 68 11.3 0 Kellen Weaver 6 45 7.5 0 Jacob Gill 5 66 13.2 1 Donnie Gray 5 39 7.8 0 Antwuan Hall 3 15 5.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Daniel Cross 1 0 Eric Lewis 1 0 Kevin Horne 1 0 Kellen Weaver 0 1 Ben Haynes 0 1 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT Mac Uihlein 8 1 0 0 Justin Harrison 5 0 0 0 Theran Johnson 5 1 0 0 Josh Johnson 4 0 0 0 Paul Smith 4 0 0 1 Martin DeLuca 4 1 0 0 Garner Wallace 2 0 0 0 Donnie Gray 2 0 0 0 David Williamson 1 0 0 0 Najee Story 1 0 0 0 Nick Williams 1 0 0 0 Raymond Beck 1 0 0 0 Zach Vaughn 1 0 0 0 Mike Bennett 1 0 0 0 Rodney McGraw 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Eddie Rivers 4/5 2/2 15 45 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Chris Morgan 1 47 47.0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Earvin Nixon 2 54 27.0 29 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Earvin Nixon 1 17 17.0 17

Utah beats Clemson for national title

Utah scored 17 straight fourth-quarter points to break open a three-point lead in a 48-35 victory over Clemson in the 2025 national championship game.

A 49-yard run by Kyle Edwards, who had only 15 yards the rest of the season, began the scoring outburst. Pete Costelli hit Makai Cope with a 7-yard touchdown pass with 8:58 left and the Utes added a field goal with 2:26 remaining.

Costelli, a 95 OVR fifth-year senior, was 26-for-32 for 336 yards and two touchdowns. Ricky Parks ran 14 times for 124 yards and a touchdown.

Will Taylor of Clemson was 23-for-37 for 389 yards, two touchdowns and an interception while running eight times for 38 yards and a score. Josh Jones caught five passes for 151 yards, while tight end Maurice Parrish had eight catches for 105 yards for the Tigers.

2025 SEASON BOWL GAMES
New Mexico Bowl: Navy 63, San Jose State 60 (yes, football; not basketball)
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Miami (Ohio) 35, New Mexico 19
Poinsettia Bowl: Boy-Z State 41, Southern Methodist 29
Beef O’Brady’s Bowl: Nevada 29, Illinois 28
New Orleans Bowl: Coastal Carolina 36, Texas-San Antonio 26
Las Vegas Bowl: Hawaii 17, Temple 10
Hawaii Bowl: San Diego State 49, Texas-El Paso 17
Little Caesars Bowl: Northern Ilinois 49, Maryland 24
Military Bowl: Florida Atlantic 38, Akron 31 (OT)
Holiday Bowl: Kansas State 35, California 21
Belk Bowl: Georgia Tech 42, Kent State 10
AdvoCare V100 Bowl: Texas Christian 23, North Texas 21
Russell Athletic Bowl: North Carolina State 38, Memphis 19
Meineke Car Care Bowl: Ohio State 31, Kansas 28 (OT)
Armed Forces Bowl: Middle Tennessee State 34, UNLV 24
Fight Hunger Bowl: Arkansas State 33, Tulane 31
Alamo Bowl: Oregon 41, Brigham Young 27
B-Dubz Bowl: Wisconsin 45, Baylor 24
Music City Bowl: Texas 38, Boston College 13
Sun Bowl: The U 41, U-Dub 30
Liberty Bowl: Florida International 37, Mississippi State 14
Chick-fil-A Bowl: Virginia 41, Auburn 29
Heart of Dallas Bowl: Appalachian State 41, Minnesota 28
Gator Bowl: Penn State 37, Kentucky 20
Capital One Bowl: VANDERBILT 51, Northwestern 26
Outback Bowl: Nebraska 38, Missouri 33
Rose Bowl: USC 34, Texas A&M 30
Fiesta Bowl: Tulsa 28, Houston 24
Sugar Bowl: North Carolina 34, Alabama 31 (OT)
Orange Bowl: Notre Dame 38, Indiana 14
Cotton Bowl: Florida 42, Iowa State 7
BBVA Compass Bowl: Georgia 28, South Florida 7
Go Daddy Bowl: Central Michigan 38, Marshall 24
BCS Championship: Utah 48, Clemson 35


FINAL 2025 COACHES POLL
1. Utah (61), 12-1
2. Notre Dame, 11-1
3. North Carolina, 12-2
4. Clemson 12-2
5. VANDERBILT, 11-2
6. Indiana, 12-2
7. Oregon, 11-2
8. Alabama, 11-3
9. Florida, 10-3
10. Coastal Carolina, 12-1
11. Tulsa, 13-1
12. Texas A&M, 10-3
13. Ohio State, 10-3
14. Penn State, 9-4
15. Nebraska, 10-3
16. USC, 11-3
17. Virginia, 10-3
18. Central Michigan, 13-1
19. Florida International, 11-2
20. Wisconsin, 9-4
21. Northwestern, 9-4
22. Northern Illinois, 11-2
23. San Diego State, 10-3
24. North Carolina State, 9-4
25. Houston, 10-4

FINAL 2025 ASSOCIATED PRESS RANKINGS
1. Utah (41), 12-1, 1,601 points
2. Notre Dame (22), 11-1, 1,440 points
3. North Carolina, 12-2
4. Clemson, 12-2
5. VANDERBILT, 11-2
6. Florida, 10-3
7. Indiana, 12-2
8. Coastal Carolina (2), 12-1
9. Alabama, 11-3
10. USC, 11-3
11. Oregon, 11-2
12. Tulsa, 13-1
13. Texas A&M, 10-3
14. Ohio State, 10-3
15. Penn State, 9-4
16. Nebraska, 10-3
17. Virginia, 10-3
18. Central Michigan, 13-1
19. Florida International, 11-2
20. Northern Illinois, 11-2
21. Wisconsin, 9-4
22. Northwestern, 9-4
23. San Diego State, 10-3
24. North Carolina State, 9-4
25. Houston, 10-4





Air Force lost four fumbles in the first quarter, including this one by
Mike Clark.

MISMATCH
Vandy recovers 4 fumbles in first quarter,
grabs 34-0 lead in bowl game massacre

SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — B-Dawg didn’t know whether he should feel more sorry for Air Force or for San Diego State.

Air Force obviously didn’t belong in a bowl game, as evidenced by four lost fumbles and a 34-0 deficit in the first quarter alone against Vanderbilt in the 2010 Independence Bowl.

It was so ugly that B-Dawg took out all of his starters with 28 seconds left in the first quarter, as the Commodores cruised to a 51-28 rout of overmatched Air Force.

Air Force wouldn’t have been bowl-eligible in the real world, going 5-7 overall, but seemed to have been locked into a bowl slot according to EA’s formula by finishing fourth in the Mountain West Conference with a 4-4 record. Meanwhile, a 6-6 San Diego State team that was fifth at 3-5 in the MWC sat home for the holidays.

“I felt like we were playing a Division I-AA team,” B-Dawg said. “No, worse, I felt like we were playing a high school JV team. Those guys were horribly inept. They shouldn’t have been here. I guess we just have to play better in the future so we don’t get crappy bowl matchups like this. I’m sure San Diego State would have been a better representative of their league. They certainly couldn’t have been any worse.”

Air Force had three fumbles on its first eight carries, then lost a fourth fumble when halfback Mike Clark coughed up the ball after making a catch. That fumble came with 28 seconds left in the first quarter of a game Vanderbilt was already leading by a 34-0 score. At that point, out came the starters.

It should be noted that it was not raining in Shreveport.

Defensive end Tony Edwards forced two fumbles and strong safety Keith Cunningham, the sophomore Thorpe Award winner, recovered two.

When fumbles didn’t kill Air Force, the speed of return man Jason Toth did. Toth returned two punts for touchdowns in the first quarter, taking them 81 and 56 yards to the house. The 81-yarder is a dynasty record and he now has six punt return touchdowns in his two-year career.

“He could have scored two or three more had we left in the starters and forced Air Force to punt the whole game,” B-Dawg said.

Air Force didn’t get a first down until there was 6:12 left in the second quarter. The Falcons did some damage against Vanderbilt’s backups, scoring two touchdowns to make it a 34-14 game. B-Dawg was tempted to put the starters back in, but didn’t.

Backup quarterback Jared Funk threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to cornerback Alan Strong to give Vanderbilt a 41-14 lead with 43 seconds left in the first half. Funk got in the game before the rest of the backups, because starting quarterback Antwan Smith suffered an injury that would have kept him out for 12 weeks if it was early in the season.

When Air Force completed a 32-yard pass into field goal range off a fake punt with two seconds left, B-Dawg formation-subbed his starters back onto the field goal blocking team and linebacker Bryan Lewis blocked a field goal.

In the second half, it was just a matter of getting some stats for some guys who don’t normally get them. Vanderbilt completed 17 passes to 11 different receivers. Third-string halfback Kevin Harrell was the leading rusher, gaining 84 yards on 14 carries.

Air Force actually outgained Vanderbilt 355-325, but the punt returns and the short fields the Commodores were given after turnovers meant they didn’t have much of a chance to eat up yardage.

Vanderbilt snapped a three-game losing streak and finished with a 7-6 record.

PLAYAZ OF DA GAME
Jason Toth, Vanderbilt; Kris Bolen, Air Force

VANDERBILT 51, AIR FORCE 28
First quarter
VANDY: Toth 81 punt return (Diles kick), 6:45
VANDY: Diles 34 field goal, 5:18
VANDY: Brantley 12 pass from Funk (Diles kick), 3:51
VANDY: Diles 34 field goal, 2:41
VANDY: Toth 56 punt return (Diles kick), 2:18
VANDY: Bubis 5 run (Diles kick), :37
Second quarter
AF: Hall 67 pass from Halterman (Jenkins kick), 5:32
AF: Paul 1 run (Jenkins kick), 1:47
VANDY: Strong 24 pass from Funk (Diles kick), :43
Third quarter
VANDY: Diles 23 field goal, 5:26
Fourth quarter
VANDY: Knox 29 pass from Hayden (Diles kick), 5:29
AF: Clark 42 run (Jenkins kick), 3:44
AF: Fontenot 13 pass from Halterman (Jenkins kick), :53

[size=4][b]
VANDERBILT  34    7    3    7   —   51
AIR FORCE    0   14    0   14   —   28  [/B][/size]

[b][size=4][font=arial][color=#C8AE13]VANDERBILT COMMODORES STATISTICS[/color][/font][/size][/b][size=4][/size][size=3]
[B]PASSING         Cmp  Att   Yds  TD  Int   Lg [/B]
Jared Funk       13   20   101   2    0   24
Josh Hayden       3    5    41   1    0   29
Antwan Smith      1    3    33   0    0   33
[B]TOTALS           17   28   175   3    0   33[/B]

[B]RUSHING         Att  Yds   Avg  TD   Lg [/B]
Kevin Harrell    14   84   6.0   0   36
Gaston Miller     4   34   8.5   0   16
Matt Bubis        4   23   5.8   1   11
Jared Funk        6   18   3.0   0   16
Clint Turner      3    5   1.7   0    5
Josh Hayden       1  -14 -14.0   0    0
[B]TOTALS           32  150   4.7   1   36[/B]

[B]RECEIVING       Rec  Yds   Avg  TD   Lg [/B]
Vince Cohen       3   39  13.0   0   17
Jonathan Massey   3   36  12.0   0   33
Clint Turner      2    8   4.0   0    6
Gaston Miller     2    6   3.0   0    4
Freddie Knox      1   29  29.0   1   29
Alan Strong       1   24  24.0   1   24
Derrick Brantley  1   12  12.0   1   12
Darrell James     1   12  12.0   0   12
Jason Toth        1    6   6.0   0    6
Kevin Harrell     1    3   3.0   0    3
Patrick Benoist   1    0   0.0   0    0
[B]TOTALS           17  175  10.3   3   33[/B]

[B]DEFENSE         Tkl  TFL   Sk  Int [/B]
Donnell Monroe    7    0    0    0
Chris Pollock     6    0    0    0
Will Carpenter    6    2    0    0
Tony Edwards      6    1    0    0
Teriall Brannon   5    2    1    0
Patrick Benoist   5    1    0    0
Chris Gordon      4    1    1    0
Shannon Mooney    4    2    0    0
Brent Trice       3    1    0    0
John Johnson      3    2    1    0
Jason Lewis       3    1    0    0
Bobby Moss        3    1    0    0
James Pressley    3    0    0    0
Clint Turner      2    0    0    0
Bryan Kelly       2    1    0    0
Matt Quinn        1    0    0    0
Grant Rich        1    0    0    0
Alan Strong       1    0    0    0
Paul Lane         1    0    0    0
Keith Cunningham  1    0    0    0
[B]TOTALS           67   15    3    0[/B][/size]

[b][size=4][font=arial][color=#0101CD]AIR FORCE FALCONS STATISTICS[/color][/font][/size][/b][size=4][/size][size=3]
[B]PASSING         Cmp  Att   Yds  TD  Int   Lg [/B]
Jason Halterman  11   18   181   2    0   67
Roderick McGill   1    1    32   0    0   32
[B]TOTALS           12   19   213   2    0   67[/B]

[B]RUSHING         Att  Yds   Avg  TD   Lg [/B]
Mike Clark       17   64   3.8   1   42
Dennis Paul      10   43   4.3   1   12
Jason Halterman   9   28   3.1   0   18
James Hall        6    7   1.2   0   10
John Collins      1    0   0.0   0    0
[B]TOTALS           43  142   3.3   2   42[/B]

[B]RECEIVING       Rec  Yds   Avg  TD   Lg [/B]
Cedric Fontenot   4   66  16.5   1   32
Mike Clark        3   10   3.3   0    7
Tony Sims         2   41  20.5   0   26
James Hall        1   67  67.0   1   67
Brandon Archer    1   19  19.0   0   19
Lance Lee         1   10  10.0   0   10
[B]TOTALS           12  213  17.8   2   67[/B]

[B]TEAM STATISTICS VAN     AF[/B]
Total offense   325    355
Rushing         150    142
Passing         175    213
First downs      16     16
3rd down       6-14   4-13
4th down        1-2    3-3
Turnovers         1      5
Penalties       1-5   2-10
Possession    16:32  15:28[/size]

USC rallies from 13-0 down,
beats Va. Tech for national title

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — It took USC awhile to get its offense in gear, but the Trojans got their act together in the nick of time.

USC didn’t score until there was 1:58 left in the first half, but bounced back from a 13-0 deficit to beat Virginia Tech 22-13 in the national championship game on Jan. 8, 2011.

USC got on the board on a 19-yard pass from red-shirt junior Nick Stephens to sophomore Carlton Graniello with 1:58 left in the first half.

Two field goals in the third quarter by sophomore Justin Bowling tied the game 13-13 before a 35-yard kick by Bowling with 7:19 left in the game put the Trojans ahead 16-13.

A 1-yard pass from Stephens to Graniello with 3:19 left in the game provided USC with some insurance. The extra point failed.

Stephens was 18-for-30 for 148 yards, two touchdowns and one pick. Graniello caught seven passes for 68 yards and two touchdowns. USC’s Jordan Cook ran 23 times for 158 yards.

Red-shirt senior Kenny Lewis of Virginia Tech was the only real-life player to make an impact in this game, running 15 times for 105 yards. Sophomore Ben James was 14-for-31 for 132 yards, one touchdown and three picks.


2010 BOWL GAMES
Poinsettia Bowl: Arkansas 21, Colorado State 7
GMAC Bowl: Rice 24, Northern Illinois 20
Las Vegas Bowl: Arkansas State 37, UNLV 31 (OT)
New Orleans Bowl: Ohio 36, Alabama-Birmingham 13
Fort Worth Bowl: Navy 52, Southern Methodist 14
Hawaii Bowl: Arizona 38, Fresno State 31
Motor City Bowl: Troy 38, Bowling Green 20
Independence Bowl: VANDERBILT 51, Air Force 28
Emerald Bowl: Akron 24, Boston College 14
MPC Computers Bowl: San Jose State 35, Wake Forest 31
Holiday Bowl: Oregon 49, Nebraska 28
Music City Bowl: Georgia Tech 41, Tennessee 27
Sun Bowl: Louisville 45, Boise State 7
Champs Sports Bowl: Miami 35, Northwestern 23
Alamo Bowl: Ohio State 42, Texas A&M 30
Meineke Car Care Bowl: Clemson 34, Arizona State 24
Liberty Bowl: Southern Miss 27, Middle Tennessee State 17
Houston Bowl: Western Michigan 46, UL-Monroe 14
Chick-fil-A Bowl: N.C. State 45, LSU 14
Insight Bowl: Notre Dame 33, UCLA 21
Outback Bowl: Florida 45, Michigan 31
Cotton Bowl: Texas 48, Georgia 26
Gator Bowl: Texas Tech 20, Maryland 14
Capital One Bowl: Auburn 49, Wisconsin 7
Rose Bowl: Florida State 33, Penn State 31
Orange Bowl: Oklahoma 35, West Virginia 17
Sugar Bowl: Utah 26, Alabama 15
Fiesta Bowl: Iowa 21, Colorado 17
National championship: USC 22, Virginia Tech 13

[font=arial][b][size=6]2010 FINAL POLLS[/size][/b][/font][b][size=6][/size][/b][size=6][/size][size=3]
    [b]COACHES POLL            ASSOCIATED PRESS[/b]
1   USC (61), 13-0          USC (64)
2   Oklahoma, 13-1          Florida State
3   Florida State, 13-1     Oklahoma
4   Virginia Tech, 12-2     Virginia Tech
5   Penn State, 11-2        Penn State
6   Texas, 12-1             Texas
7   West Virginia, 12-1     Utah (1)
8   Utah, 13-0              West Virginia
9   Iowa, 11-2              Iowa
10  Ohio State, 11-2        Alabama
11  Alabama, 11-3           Ohio State
12  Louisville, 11-2        Colorado
13  Colorado, 12-2          Louisville
14  Texas Tech, 10-3        N.C. State
15  N.C. State, 10-3        Auburn
16  Auburn, 10-3            Texas Tech
17  Oregon, 11-2            Oregon
18  Michigan, 10-3          Michigan
19  Florida, 10-3           Florida
20  Wisconsin, 10-3         Wisconsin
21  San Jose State, 12-1    San Jose State
22  Southern Miss, 13-1     Southern Miss
23  Navy, 11-2              Northern Illinois
24  Northern Illinois, 12-2 Navy
25  Nebraska, 9-4           Nebraska
44  [b]VANDERBILT, 7-6[/b] [/size]

[size=5][b][font=arial]FINAL 2010 SEC STANDINGS[/font][/b][/size][b][font=arial][/font][/b][font=arial][/font]
[size=4][b][font=arial]East Division[/font][/b][/size][b][font=arial][/font][/b][font=arial][/font][size=3]
                  [b]SEC     Overall[/b]
                  [b]W   L   W   L    PF    PA[/b]
Georgia           6   2   9   5   499   381
Florida           6   2  10   3   444   285
Tennessee         4   4   8   5   488   331
[b]VANDERBILT[/b]        3   5   7   6   412   427
South Carolina    3   5   5   7   348   408
Kentucky          2   5   3   9   256   446[/size]
[size=4][b][font=arial]West Division[/font][/b][/size][b][font=arial][/font][/b][font=arial][/font][size=3]
                  [b]SEC     Overall[/b]
                  [b]W   L   W   L    PF    PA[/b]
x-Alabama         7   1  11   3   469   242
Auburn            7   1  10   3   546   251
Louisiana State   5   3   9   4   437   313
Arkansas          2   6   7   6   373   331
Mississippi       2   6   3   9   250   347
Mississippi St.   1   7   4   8   258   334
[font=arial][b]x-Won SEC Championship game[/b][/font][/size]

[BDawg35]

FINAL 2025/2010 STATS/SCORES

2025 VANDERBILT RESULTS (NCAA ’14)
Results	Hi Passing	Hi Rushing	Hi Receiving
8/30: Coastal Carolina (W 35-32)	367, Freeman	35, P.Smith	181, M.Johnson
9/6: Penn State (W 25-21)	405, Freeman	25, Freeman	92, M.Johnson
9/13: LSU (W 31-26)	297, Freeman	105, P.Smith	107. M.Johnson
9/20: Alabama (W 35-33)	433, Freeman	19, Freeman	124, M.Johnson/103, Jamison
9/27: Army (W 28-10)	279, Freeman	118, P.Smith	118. M.Johnson
10/4: Missouri (L 45-24)	343, Freeman	33, P.Smith	169, M.Johnson
10/18: Georgia (L 34-27)	347, Freeman	34, P.Smith	84, M.Johnson
11/1: South Carolina (W 49-28)	408, Freeman	52, P.Smith	119, Jamison
11/8: Florida (W 45-31)	367, Freeman	42, P.Smith	96, M.Johnson
11/15: Kentucky (W 37-16)	377, Freeman	63, P.Smith	128, Skinner
11/22: Tennessee (W 34-26)	313, Freeman	108, P.Smith	115, Jamison
11/29: Oklahoma (W 42-38)	331, Freeman	30, P.Smith	113, M.Johnson
1/1: Northwestern (W 51-26)	489, Freeman	24, Freeman	416, M.Johnson

2010 VANDERBILT RESULTS (NCAA '07)
Results	Hi Passing	Hi Rushing	Hi Receiving
9/4: Middle Tennessee St. (W 34-20)	233, A.Smith	206, G.Miller/100, A.Smith	129, Brantley
9/10: Michigan (L 29-27)	213, A.Smith	57, G.Miller	95, Massey
9/18: Mississippi (W 30-26)	262, A.Smith	102, G.Miller	84, Toth
9/25: Notre Dame (W 44-41)	270, A.Smith	122, G.Miller	114, Brantley
10/2: Northern Illinois (W 23-20)	378, A.Smith	96, G.Miller	160, Toth
10/9: LSU (L 58-24)	288, A.Smith	56. G.Miller	151, Brantley
10/16: Georgia (L 33-25)	261, A.Smith	112, G.Miller	94, Toth
10/23: South Carolina (W 33-20)	170, A.Smith	135, A.Smith	72, Toth
10/30: Arkansas (W 27-24)	69, A.Smith	154, G.Miller	59, Toth
11/6: Florida (L 44-24)	281, A.Smith	80, G.Miller	118, Toth
11/13: Kentucky (L 42-35)	342, A.Smith	215, G.Miller	134, Massey/108, Toth
11/20: Tennessee (L 42-35)	403, A.Smith	105, A.Smith	142, Brantley/139, Toth
12/27: Air Force (W 51-28)	101, Funk	84, Harrell	39, Cohen

[font=arial][b][size=6][color=#C8AE13]FINAL 2010 VANDERBILT STATS (NCAA ’07)[/color][/size][/b][size=6][color=#C8AE13][/color][/size][color=#C8AE13][/color][/font][color=#C8AE13][/color][size=3]
[b]PASSING           QBR    Cmp   Att   Yds  TD  Int   Pct  Lg  Sk[/b]
Antwan Smith    138.5    228   384  3203  22   19  .594  90  30
Jared Funk      137.0     36    58   353   6    3  .621  47   6
Josh Hayden      55.3      3    14    41   1    1  .214  29   3
Gaston Miller     0.0      0     2     0   0    0  .000   0   0
[b]TOTALS          135.1    267   458  3597  29   23  .583  90  39[/b]
[b]RUSHING           Att    Yds   Avg    TD  Lg  20+   BTK  Fm[/b]
Gaston Miller     267   1397   5.2     2  80   12    43   5
Antwan Smith      123    515   4.2    10  83   14    30   4
Clint Turner       39    193   4.9     2  27    1     2   3
Kevin Harrell      22    136   6.2     0  36    1     3   1
Matt Bubis         25     69   2.8     1  16    0     3   1
Billy Jones         1     18  18.0     0  18    0     2   1
Derrick Brantley    1      7   7.0     1   7    0     2   0
Jared Funk         15    -12  -0.8     0  16    0     0   4
Josh Hayden         4    -36  -9.0     0   0    0     0   0
[b]TOTALS            497   2287   4.6    16  83   28    85  19[/b]
[b]RECEIVING         Rec    Yds   Avg    TD  Lg  Drp[/b]
Jonathan Massey    66    654   9.9     7  49    6
Derrick Brantley   55    941  17.1     6  47   11
Jason Toth         54   1074  19.9     6  90   11
Gaston Miller      28     63   2.3     0  21    2
Billy Jones        20    401  20.1     2  52    5
Freddie Knox       16    204  12.8     1  29    4
Clint Turner        7     33   4.7     0   9    0
Darrell James       6     48   8.0     3  13    3
Vince Cohen         5     91  18.2     1  47    1
Evan Smith          4     40  10.0     2  14    2
Matt Quinn          2     18   9.0     0  13    0
Alan Strong         1     24  24.0     1  24    0
Matt Bubis          1      3   3.0     0   3    1
Kevin Harrell       1      3   3.0     0   3    0
Patrick Benoist     1      0   0.0     0   0    0
[b]TOTALS            267   3597  13.5    29  90   46[/b][/size]

[size=3]
[b]BLOCKING           PC     Sk[/b]
Rashad Ting        31      6
Freddy Wright      27      2
Mike Daniels       23      4
Brandon Hampton    21      4
Adam Smotherman    12      5
John Austin         8      7
Matt Bubis          7      0
Billy Jones         7      0
Jonathan Massey     7      1
Derrick Brantley    6      0
Lamar Castillo      3      1
Darrell James       2      0
Jason Toth          2      0
A.J. Taylor         1      0
Freddie Knox        1      0
Clint Turner        1      0
William Ferguson    1      1
J.J. Black          1      1
[b]TOTALS            161     32[/b]
[b]KICKING            FG    FGA   Pct  Lg  XP   XPA    KO  TB[/b]
Andre Diles        21     26  .808  45  47    47    83   1
[b]PUNTING           Pnt    Yds   Avg  Lg I20  NtYd  NtAv  TB[/b]
Andre Diles         6    225  37.5  42   0   215  35.8   0
Michael Hardy       3    108  36.0  37   0    87  29.0   0
Josh Hayden        40   1337  33.4  48   6  1162  29.1   1
[b]KICKOFF RETURNS    KR    Yds   Avg  Lg  TD[/b]
Clint Turner        3     72  24.0  32   0
Derrick Brantley    4     82  20.5  22   0
Jason Toth         39    772  19.8  49   0
Barry Sanders      32    605  18.9  41   0
Billy Jones         2     29  14.5  15   0
Vince Cohen         1      7   7.0   7   0
Freddie Knox        1      5   5.0   5   0
Donnell Monroe      1      1   1.0   1   0
[b]TOTALS             83   1573  19.0  49   0[/b]
[b]PUNT RETURNS       PR    Yds   Avg  Lg  TD[/b]
Jason Toth         25    370  14.8  81   4
Matt Quinn          3     24   8.0  13   0
Clint Turner        1      7   7.0   7   0
Keith Cunningham    1      4   4.0   4   0
Barry Sanders       2      7   3.5   6   0
Derrick Brantley    1      0   0.0   0   0
[b]TOTALS             33    412  12.5  81   4[/b][/size]

[size=3]
[b]DEFENSE           Tkl  TFL  Sk  Int  IYd  Df  FF  FR  Bk  TD[/b]
Bryan Kelly        80   26   9    2   13   8   1   4   2   0
Keith Cunningham   68   17   8    5    2   4   4   3   0   0
Donnell Monroe     60   10   0    3    8   5   0   0   0   0
James Pressley     59    1   0    4   26  12   2   0   0   0
Barry Sanders      58    0   0    3   -6   7   1   0   0   0
Brent Trice        51   14   7    0    0   7   3   0   0   0
Jason Lewis        45    5   2    3    8   7   1   0   0   0
Tony Edwards       32    7   4    0    0   3   3   0   0   0
Patrick Benoist    32    4   0    0    0   0   1   1   0   0
Alan Strong        25    0   0    0    0   6   0   0   0   0
Greg Billinger     21    8   2    0    0   2   2   0   0   0
Pat Stewart        17    6   2    0    0   3   0   0   0   0
Shaun Spencer      16    1   0    1   61   4   0   0   0   1
Shannon Mooney     14    3   0    0    0   2   0   1   0   0
Bobby Moss         11    3   1    1    8   3   1   1   0   0
John Johnson       10    3   2    1    1   0   1   0   0   0
Teriall Brannon    10    2   1    0    0   0   0   1   0   0
Chris Pollock       9    0   0    0    0   4   0   0   0   0
Jonathan Massey     8    0   0    0    0   0   1   0   0   0
Chris Gordon        6    2   1    0    0   0   0   0   0   0
Will Carpenter      6    2   0    0    0   1   0   0   0   0
Clint Turner        6    0   0    0    0   0   0   0   0   0
Derrick Brantley    5    0   0    0    0   0   0   0   0   0
Freddy Wright       4    0   0    0    0   0   0   1   0   0
Paul Lane           4    0   0    0    0   0   0   0   0   0
Billy Jones         4    0   0    0    0   0   0   0   0   0
Freddie Knox        3    0   0    0    0   0   1   0   0   0
Matt Bubis          3    0   0    0    0   0   0   0   0   0
Jason Toth          3    0   0    0    0   0   0   0   0   0
Mike Daniels        2    0   0    0    0   0   0   0   0   0
John Austin         2    0   0    0    0   0   1   0   0   0
Matt Quinn          2    0   0    0    0   0   0   0   0   0
Antwan Smith        2    0   0    0    0   0   0   0   0   0
Andre Diles         2    0   0    0    0   0   0   0   0   0
Darrell James       1    0   0    0    0   0   0   0   0   0
Rashad Ting         1    0   0    0    0   0   0   0   0   0
Brandon Hampton     1    0   0    0    0   0   0   0   0   0
Adam Smotherman     1    0   0    0    0   0   0   0   0   0
Gaston Miller       1    0   0    0    0   0   0   0   0   0
Matthew Olsen       1    1   1    0    0   0   0   0   0   0
Grant Rich          1    0   0    0    0   0   0   0   0   0
[b]TOTALS            687  115  40   23  121  78  23  12   2   1[/b][/size]

[BDawg35]

DEARLY DEPARTED AFTER 2025/2010 SEASONS



Starting safety to remain at Vanderbilt

Jeffrey Ugochukwu may very well have a future in Madden, but nothing was guaranteed if he left Vanderbilt now.

Ugochukwu toyed with the idea of leaving, only to learn he was projected as a seventh-round pick. Coach B-Dawg talked him into staying promising him he would be a first-round pick next season.

“I know I can’t promise him something like that, but it worked,” B-Dawg said. “We get him for his senior year; that’s all I care about.”

Ugochukwu is 92 OVR, so with strong offseason training he has a chance to get into first-round territory. The two-year starter has 181 tackles, but no interceptions and only two deflections as a free safety.

B-Dawg breathed a sigh of relief Ugochukwu would return, because the Commodores are taking a hit in the secondary following graduation. Vanderbilt will lose four cornerbacks rated 87 OVR or higher.

Patrick Smith, HB, 96 OVR
Career stats: 469 carries, 1,711 yards, 17 TD; 69 catches, 613 yards, 8 TD

Quincy Skinner, WR, 95 OVR
Career stats: 201 catches, 2,758 yards, 12 TD

Terion Sugick, DT, 93 OVR
Career stats: 75 tackles, 49 TFL, 29 sacks, 2 def., 2 FF, 1 FR

Tyson Russell, CB, 91 OVR
Career stats: 179 tackles, 25 TFL, 7 sacks, 7 int., 16 def., 2 TD, 1 FF

Marlen Sewell, CB, 89 OVR
Career stats: 165 tackles, 17 TFL, 12 int., 24 def., 2 TD

John Howse, CB, 88 OVR
Career stats: 160 tackles, 37 TFL, 12 sacks, 4 int., 7 def., 2 FF, 1 FR

Alan Wright, CB, 87 OVR
Career stats: 39 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 1 def.

Errington Truesdell, OLB, 85 OVR
Career stats: 168 tackles, 35 TFL, 3 sacks, 1 int., 2 def., 1 FF, 1 FR

Gamerion Carter, WR, 84 OVR
Career stats: 79 catches, 1,049 yards, 6 TD; 51 KR, 1,580 yards, 1 TD; 28 PR, 314 yards, 0 TD

Dylan Betts-Pauley, FB, 83 OVR
Career stats: 114 carries, 314 yards, 16 TD; 45 catches, 361 yards, 1 TD

Jayden McGowan, WR, 81 OVR
Career stats: 67 catches, 791 yards, 2 TD

Robert Hayden, P, 81 OVR
Career stats: 86 punts, 37.5 avg., 34.3 net avg., 28 inside 20, 63 long

Andy Wilson, FB, 79 OVR
Career stats: 81 carries, 203 yards, 14 TD; 14 catches, 113 yards, 0 TD

Jason London, OG, 78 OVR
Career stats: 13 pancakes, 8 sacks

Keith Walker, OT, 75 OVR
Career stats: 3 pancakes, 2 sacks





Bryan Kelly was Vandy’s leading tackler in 2010.

Kelly returning to Vanderbilt

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Bryan Kelly has the statistics to play at the next level, but not the ratings.

For that reason, coach B-Dawg made a successful pitch to keep his outstanding middle linebacker from leaving a year early for the NFL draft.

It took only a four-point pitch to keep Kelly in the fold.

“My family thinks it’s best that I stay in school for another year,” Kelly told B-Dawg.

To which B-Dawg replied, “Work on that degree, son, because at 84 OVR you’re probably gonna be sending out resumes at this time next year.”

Kelly led Vanderbilt with 80 tackles in 2010. Of those tackles, nine were sacks and 26 were for losses. He had two interceptions and blocked two kicks. Those accomplishments made Kelly a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award and Linebacker of the Year, but he missed the cut when the finalists were announced.

B-Dawg is leaning heavily toward making Kelly an impact player next year because his best defenses have featured impact linebackers.

Vanderbilt hasn’t had any high-rated underclassmen considering leaving early over the course of this dynasty, but B-Dawg has created some new rules for when that happens. Rule No. 1 is that he will not make any pitch to keep a player rated 95 OVR or higher who wants to leave early. He will allow himself one attempt to persuade a player rated 90 to 94 OVR. He can make multiple attempts to persuade any foolish soul 89 OVR or lower who thinks he’s ready for Madden.

DISCIPLINE: 25%
NEEDS: 1 FB, 1 TE, 2 DE, 1 CB, 1 SS
GRADUATING: 13
RETURNING PLAYERS: 47
IN-SEASON RECRUITS: 3
AVAILABLE SCHOLARSHIPS: 22



Jonathan Massey is Vanderbilt’s top-rated graduate.

Massey, Funk have outside shot at Madden

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Vanderbilt hasn’t sent much talent on to Madden in the first four years of this dynasty, a trend that will continue for at least one more year.

The only two departing Commodores with a remote shot at getting exported into Madden are 94 OVR tight end Jonathan Massey and 91 OVR perennial backup quarterback Jared Funk.

There are 11 tight ends rated higher than Massey among those whose college careers have ended. There are 17 quarterbacks rated higher than Funk.

There were no Vanderbilt players in the 2007 Madden draft and only middle linebacker Jonathan Goff was taken in 2008, going in the sixth round to B-Dawg’s Detroit Lions. Wide receiver Earl Bennett is expected to be a first-day pick in the 2009 draft when B-Dawg’s Madden franchise gets that far.

The cast of departing players includes 11 players B-Dawg created before the start of this dynasty. Massey is the only true freshman from 2006 who made Vanderbilt’s default NCAA roster. Those are the last 12 real-life players who will appear for Vanderbilt in this dynasty. Grant Rich, a junior college walk-on in 2008, is also moving on.


JONATHAN MASSEY
POSITION: Tight end
OVR GROWTH: 78 to 94 (2006-2010)
2010 STATS: 66 catches, 654 yards, 7 TD
CAREER STATS: 146 catches, 1,437 yards, 23 TD

JARED FUNK
POSITION: Quarterback
OVR GROWTH: 72 to 91 (2006-2010)
2010 STATS: 36-for-58, 353 yards, 6 TD, 3 int.
CAREER STATS: 91-for-160, 1,099 yards, 13 TD, 10 int.

ADAM SMOTHERMAN
POSITION: Offensive guard
OVR GROWTH: 70 to 87 (2006-2010)
2010 STATS: 12 pancakes, 5 sacks
CAREER STATS: 23 pancakes, 6 sacks

BRENT TRICE
POSITION: Strong safety
OVR GROWTH: 68 to 86 (2006-2010)
2010 STATS: 51 tackles, 7 sacks, 3 FF, 7 def.
CAREER STATS: 100 tackles, 9 sacks, 5 FF, 1 FR, 8 def.

GASTON MILLER
POSITION: Halfback
OVR GROWTH: 65 to 84 (2006-2010)
2010 STATS: 267 carries, 1,397 yards, 2 TD; 28 catches, 63 yards, 0 TD
CAREER STATS: 386 carries, 1,856 yards, 5 TD; 36 catches, 108 yards, 0 TD

MATT BUBIS
POSITION: Fullback
OVR GROWTH: 62 to 82 (2006-2010)
2010 STATS: 25 carries, 69 yards, 1 TD; 1 catch, 3 yards, 0 TD
CAREER STATS: 62 carries, 197 yards, 4 TD; 7 catches, 26 yards, 0 TD

GREG BILLINGER
POSITION: Defensive tackle
OVR GROWTH: 62 to 82 (2006-2010)
2010 STATS: 21 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 FF, 2 def.
CAREER STATS: 71 tackles, 11 sacks, 5 FF, 3 FR, 4 def.

ALAN STRONG
POSITION: Cornerback
OVR GROWTH: 68 to 80 (2006-2010)
2010 STATS: 25 tackles, 6 def.
CAREER STATS: 73 tackles, 4 sacks, 3 int., 2 FF, 23 def., 1 TD

TERIALL BRANNON
POSITION: Defensive end
OVR GROWTH: 65 to 74 (2006-2010)
2010 STATS: 10 tackles, 1 sack, 1 FR
CAREER STATS: 19 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 FR

PATRICK BENOIST
POSITION: Middle linebacker
OVR GROWTH: 65 to 72 (2006-2010)
2010 STATS: 32 tackles, 1 FF, 1 FR
CAREER STATS: 65 tackles, 4 FF, 1 FR

MATT QUINN
POSITION: Wide receiver
OVR GROWTH: 65 to 72 (2006-2010)
2010 STATS: 2 catches, 18 yards, 0 TD
CAREER STATS: 15 catches, 122 yards, 3 TD

JOEY BAILEY
POSITION: Offensive tackle
OVR GROWTH: 65 to 70 (2006-2010)
2010 STATS: 0 pancakes, 0 sacks
CAREER STATS: 3 pancakes, 1 sack

GRANT RICH
POSITION: Defensive end
OVR GROWTH: 56 to 62 (2008-2010)
2010 STATS: 1 tackle
CAREER STATS: 5 tackles

[BDawg35]

CLASS OF 2026/2011 RECRUITING



IN-SEASON RECRUITS
LEONARD CHAPMAN, HB-6, 6-2, 230, Lakeside, Fla., 4 stars, 77 OVR
JEREMY BAKER, WR-5, 5-10, 191, Bartlett, Tenn., 5 stars, 76 OVR
JUSTIN BURNS, FB-3, 6-1, 232, Waverly, Tenn., 3 stars, 74 OVR
KEVIN BREWSTER, OG-7, 6-1, 280, Plum, Pa., 4 stars, 74 OVR
JESSE HARRISON, ATH-28, 6-1, 225, Pleasanton, Texas, 4 stars, 72 OVR
DARREN BROWN, OG-3, 6-2, 277, Piscataway, N.J., 4 stars, 72 OVR
DERRICK WALKER, P-19, 6-2, 246, White Hall, Ark., 3 stars, 71 OVR
JOHN LEACH, OT-19, 6-5, 282, Socastee, S.C., 3 stars, 71 OVR
ALBERT SYKES, OG-19, 6-3, 286, Union, S.C., 3 stars, 71 OVR
RYAN GAITHER, DT-9, 6-3, 309, Groves, Texas, 4 stars, 71 OVR
PAUL MILLER, HB-15, 6-0, 195, Augusta, Ga., 4 stars, 71 OVR
MIKE DOBZINSKI, DT-17, 6-1, 266, Harriman, Tenn., 3 stars, 71 OVR
DEVIN BRINK, DE-16, 6-3, 252, Washington, D.C., 4 stars, 71 OVR
CASEY BROOKS, HB-49, 6-1, 207, LaPorte, Ind., 3 stars, 67 OVR

OFFSEASON SIGNINGS
ERIK OVERSTREET, FB-4, 6-0, 239, Oviedo, Fla., 3 stars, 77 OVR
BRADLEY DAVIS, ATH-14, 6-3, 199, Kathleen, Fla., 5 stars, 74 OVR
KRIS HENDERSON, OLB-11, 6-2, 209, Hagerstown, Md., 4 stars, 72 OVR
LUIS HALL, TE-9, 6-1, 245, Kill Devil Hills, N.C., 4 stars, 71 OVR
MICHAEL NEAL, CB-96, 6-0, 179, Bloomington, Ill., 3 stars, 62 OVR

TOP CLASS OF 2026 RECRUITING CLASSES
1. Notre Dame
2. VANDERBILT
3. Alabama
4. Clemson
5. Pittsburgh
6. Ohio State
7. Oregon
8. Oklahoma
9. Georgia
10. Texas A&M
11. Penn State
12. The U
13. Minnesota
14. Nebraska
15. Illinois
16. Iowa
17. Florida
18. U-Dub
19. Michigan
20. Wisconsin
21. USC
22. North Carolina
23. North Carolina State
24. Tennessee
25. California
32. Texas
42. Kentucky
44. Auburn
46. Mississippi
54. LSU
70. Mississippi State
73. Arkansas
101. Missouri
126. Ohio




RECRUITING BONANZA
Vanderbilt’s 13th-ranked 2011 recruiting class
includes No. 1 QB, CB and TE in the country

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — B-Dawg will have no excuses if he doesn’t make Vanderbilt a Southeastern Conference power — and, dare we say, a national power — in the next couple of seasons.

He can no longer claim that he doesn’t have any talent to work with.

One year after getting the third-rated class in the country, the Commodores dropped to 13th but still grabbed the No. 1 player in the nation at three different positions and four other players who are in the top six at their position.

The class includes seven of the top 96 players in America, the cream of the crop being quarterback Ken Collins of Ellicott City, Md. Collins is the No. 3 overall prospect in the land with an 84 OVR rating and an absolute cannon for an arm, possessing 96 THP to go with 91 THA. Collins didn’t take much coaxing, signing in Week 2.

“The kid is ready for Madden as it is if you just look at his throwing ratings,” B-Dawg said. “His AWR is naturally holding down his OVR, as is his 62 SPD. I prefer a faster quarterback in NCAA, but this kid’s gonna be a whole heck of a lot of fun to use once Antwan Smith moves on. It’ll be tough to red-shirt a kid like this, because you risk losing him to a transfer, but we’ll take our chances.”

Albert Pruitt of Katy, Texas is the top-ranked cornerback in the country, checking in at 78 OVR with 90 SPD. He is ranked 53rd among all prospects in the country.

“I would hope the top cornerback in the country would be faster than that, but it looks like the original projections for this young man were a little bit off,” B-Dawg said. “Don’t get me wrong. He’ll turn into a star for us in short order, but he probably isn’t really the best corner in the country.”

The Commodores needed a tight end to replace the graduated Jonathan Massey. They struck the mother lode by landing three of the top five tight ends in the country, including top-ranked Randy Justice of Richland Miss. Also in the haul of tight ends are third-ranked Cornelius East of Dover, Del. And fifth-ranked Alvin Rushing of Calumet City, Ill.

Very little separates these players, who are all 78 OVR with 74 SPD.

“We appear to have landed a group of blocking tight ends, which is fine,” B-Dawg said. “Someone’s gotta keep guys off our quarterback and running backs. I would have preferred a little more variety, however. Now how am I going to have my annual dilemma of deciding between a blocking tight end and a receiving tight end?”

The linebacking corps was emphasized right from the start of in-season recruiting. Not only did the Commodores get commitments from MLB-2 Ulysses Heckel of Valley Station, Ky. and MLB-12 Travis Davis of Forest, Miss. during the season, but they added MLB-23 Terrance Burns of Plymouth, Mich. Heckel and Burns are 78 OVR.

“In a year or two, we should have a dominant linebacking corps and shouldn’t get run on so easily,” B-Dawg said. “Slowly but surely, the pieces of a complete team are falling into place. Two years ago, we landed some speedy receivers and defensive backs. Last year, we were all about bringing in stud offensive linemen. Now we’ve loaded up on linebackers and tight ends. I smell great things cookin’ in Nashville.”

In all, Vanderbilt signed 17 players. There were three five-star, eight four-star, three three-star, two two-star and one one-star recruits.

[font=arial][b][size=4][color=#C8AE13]2011 VANDERBILT RECRUITS[/color][/size][/b][/font][b][size=4][color=#C8AE13][/color][/size][/b][size=4][color=#C8AE13][/color][/size][color=#C8AE13][/color][size=3]
[b]Player          Pos.    Hometown             Ratings[/b]
Ken Collins     QB-1    Ellicott City, Md.   84 OVR, 62 SPD, 96 THP, 91 THA
Albert Pruitt   CB-1    Katy, Texas          78 OVR, 90 SPD, 90 JMP, 59 TAK
Randy Justice   TE-1    Richland, Miss.      78 OVR, 74 SPD, 76 CTH, 56 PB, 65 RB
Terrance Burns  MLB-23  Plymouth, Mich.      78 OVR, 82 SPD, 74 STR, 87 TAK
Alvin Rushing   TE-5    Calumet City, Ill.   78 OVR, 74 SPD, 72 CTH, 59 PB, 62 RB
Cornelius East  TE-3    Dover, Del.          78 OVR, 74 SPD, 74 CTH, 62 PB, 65 RB
Ulysses Heckel  MLB-2   Valley Station, Ky.  78 OVR, 84 SPD, 78 STR, 87 TAK
Craig Fritz     DT-17   Trussville, Ala.     72 OVR, 82 STR, 82 TAK
Travis Davis    MLB-12  Forest, Miss.        74 OVR, 78 SPD, 76 STR, 86 TAK
Eric Hagler     CB-21   Valley Station, Ky.  74 OVR, 92 SPD, 89 JMP, 62 TAK
Rusty Reynolds  HB-6    Hamilton, Ontario    76 OVR, 91 SPD, 65 CTH, 74 CAR, 72 BTK
Nick Williams   FB-13   Missouri City, Tex.  70 OVR, 65 SPD, 56 CAR, 62 BTK, 56 PB, 68 RB
Jeff Henry      HB-45   Northview, Ohio      76 OVR, 88 SPD, 68 CTH, 72 CAR, 74 BTK
Kory Johnson    FB-16   Loveland, Ohio       72 OVR, 78 SPD, 59 CAR, 72 BTK, 56 PB, 59 RB
Josh Cooper     SS-45   Batesville, Miss.    62 OVR, 76 SPD, 84 JMP, 65 TAK
Junior Fields   DE-93   Frankfort, Ky.       70 OVR, 72 SPD, 68 STR, 70 TAK
Jay Walton      SS-63   McMinnville, Tenn.   59 OVR, 80 SPD, 48 STR, 56 TAK[/size]

[BDawg35]

2011 SPRING GAME



Barry Sanders earns impact circle
with big performance in spring game

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Conventional wisdom going into the 2011 Vanderbilt spring game was that one of two defensive players would be selected by Coach B-Dawg for impact status: strong safety Keith Cunningham or middle linebacker Bryan Kelly.

Cunningham earned an impact circle with his performance in last year’s spring game and went on to make first-team All-America. Kelly was a semifinalist for two national awards, and it’s well-known that B-Dawg covets impact linebackers.

But you know the old saying: Impact circles aren’t handed out … they’re earrrrrrrrned.

OK, so it’s not an old saying. But it’s true.

Junior free safety Barry Sanders swooped in and became the coach’s choice for defensive impact status, picking off a pass and making a diving tackle to save a touchdown while playing for B-Dawg’s Black team, which won in a 57-10 rout.

With Sanders leading the way, the Black had a 27-6 lead before its offense ever took the field.

At 96 OVR, Sanders could be downright scary in 2011.

“Hey, the kid went out and earned it,” B-Dawg said. “I had hoped the computer would pick Cunningham or Kelly a our random impact player, but that wasn’t the case. I wasn’t going to slight Barry after a game like this. He certainly has an OVR worthy of impact status. If he has a season like Cunningham had last year, I’ll be a happy camper.”

On offense, it was a mortal lock that red-shirt junior quarterback Antwan Smith would get impact status for the third straight year. Smith did nothing to indicate he shouldn’t be an impact player, going 5-for-5 for 49 yards and scoring the game’s only touchdown on a 1-yard quarterback draw. Smith is 94 OVR.

B-Dawg is required by his dynasty rules to change playbooks this season. He used the Hawaii playbook, an indication he’ll be pass-happy in 2011, but hasn’t settled on it as his final choice. The Commodores are likely to play in-house cupcake Memphis on their first game to give the offense a chance to get accustomed to whatever new book they use.

The random impact circle handed out by the CPU went to wide receiver Jason Toth, whose 99 SPD coupled with impact status could make him the most dangerous weapon in the country.

“I’m a little nervous having an impact receiver with that kind of speed, because it might make it awfully tempting to revert to the days when Earl Bennett was our entire offense,” B-Dawg said. “We strive for balance and we strive to be a cheese-free program. All I can do is make a vow that Jason’s super powers will be used for good, not for evil.”

After the game, it was announced that 56 OVR defensive end Eddie Beato of Greenville, Tenn. has made the team as a walk-on to fill a void on the roster. Beato has 62 SPD, 68 STR and 68 TAK.

[size=4][b][font=arial]BLACK 57, GOLD 10[/font][/b][/SIZE][b][font=arial][/font][/b][font=arial][/font][size=4][b]
GOLD    6    4  —  10
BLACK  27   30  —  57[/B][/size]

[b][size=4][font=arial][color=#C8AE13]GOLD TEAM STATISTICS[/color][/font][/size][/b][size=4][/size][size=3]

[b]*-Denotes player not on roster who was added for spring game.[/b]

[B]PASSING         Cmp  Att   Yds  TD  Int   Lg [/B]
Josh Hayden       7   20    83   0    0   54
Kevin Harrell     1    5     9   0    2    9
[B]TOTALS            8   25    92   0    2   54[/B]

[B]RUSHING         Att  Yds   Avg  TD   Lg [/B]
Kevin Harrell     8   20   2.5   0    9
Josh Hayden       4   -8  -2.0   0    6
[B]TOTALS           12   12   1.0   0    9[/B]

[B]RECEIVING       Rec  Yds   Avg  TD   Lg [/B]
Kevin Harrell     3    0   0.0   0    4
Darrell James     1   54  54.0   0   54
Freddie Knox      1   14  14.0   0   14
James Pressley    1    9   9.0   0    9
Ryan Cox*         1    9   9.0   0    9
Evan Smith        1    6   6.0   0    6
[B]TOTALS            8   92  11.5   0   54[/B]

[B]DEFENSE         Tkl  TFL   Sk  Int [/B]
Scott McKinney*   4    2    0    0
Pat Stewart       3    1    0    0
Shaun Spencer     3    1    0    0
John Johnson      2    0    0    0
James Pressley    2    0    0    0
Chris Pollock     2    0    0    0
Keith Cunningham  1    0    0    0
Jason Lewis       1    0    0    0
Barry Sanders     1    0    0    0
Mike Scott*       1    1    1    0
[B]TOTALS           20    5    1    0[/B][/size]

[b][size=4][font=arial][color=black]BLACK TEAM STATISTICS[/color][/font][/size][/b][size=4][/size][size=3]
[B]PASSING         Cmp  Att   Yds  TD  Int   Lg [/B]
Austin Muse       5    6    96   0    0   33
Antwan Smith      5    5    49   0    0   15
[B]TOTALS           10   11   145   0    0   33[/B]

[B]RUSHING         Att  Yds   Avg  TD   Lg [/B]
Clint Turner      6   19   3.2   1   11
Antwan Smith      5    3   0.6   1   10
Kevin Harrell     1    0   0.0   0    0
[B]TOTALS           12   22   1.8   2   11[/B]

[B]RECEIVING       Rec  Yds   Avg  TD   Lg [/B]
Jason Toth        4   90  22.5   0   33
Derrick Brantley  2   19   9.5   0   14
Freddie Knox      2    7   3.5   0    6
Kevin Harrell     1   15  15.0   0   15
Evan Smith        1   14  14.0   0   14
[B]TOTALS           10  145  14.5   0   33[/B]

[B]DEFENSE         Tkl  TFL   Sk  Int [/B]
Mike Scott*       5    1    0    1
Scott McKinney*   4    2    2    0
Barry Sanders     3    0    0    1
James Stevenson*  2    0    0    0
Pat Stewart       2    2    1    0
Shannon Mooney    1    1    1    0
Bobby Moss        1    0    0    0
Tony Edwards      1    0    0    0
Chris Gordon      1    1    0    0
[B]TOTALS           20    7    4    2[/B]

[B]TEAM STATISTICS  GLD   BLK[/B]
Total offense    104   167
Rushing           12    22
Passing           92   145
First downs        4     9
3rd down         1-8   1-2
4th down         1-7   1-1
Turnovers          2     1
Penalties        0-0  2-20
Possession      5:00  5:00[/size]

[BDawg35]

2026/2011 SEASON PREVIEWS




GREG FREEMAN


In real life, Drew Dickey would be outta here. After all, he’s a 99 OVR fifth-year senior quarterback who is a backup to another 99 OVR quarterback, junior Greg Freeman. Freeman has thrown for 9,908 yards and 90 touchdowns in only two seasons, so B-Dawg is going to see what kind of career numbers he can rack up with him. Dickey, who has attempted only 36 passes during his career, can only hope for some mop-up duty. Freeman has 80 SPD, 90 THP and 89 THA. Dickey has 72 SPD, 90 THP and 98 THA. If this draft class was being exported to Madden, Dickey might be a high first-round pick. The other quarterbacks are 81 OVR red-shirt sophomore Josh Washington and 73 OVR freshman Bradley Davis, who will red-shirt.



LEONARD CHAPMAN


At 79 OVR, freshman Leonard Chapman is the highest-rated player in the running backs room. With the lack of an elite back, expect Vanderbilt to air it out even more, if that’s even possible. Chapman has 89 SPD and 78 BTK. His backups are 78 OVR Shawn Brooks and Wesley Walker. Two true freshmen fill the fullback requirement, with 71 OVR Erik Overstreet getting the starting nod with 81 SPD, 69 BTK, 70 CAR, 72 RBK and 72 PBK. At least B-Dawg won’t have to convert a running back to tight end to fullback for the foreseeable future.



MICHAEL JOHNSON


Senior Michael Johnson has a chance to go down as one of B-Dawg’s greatest receivers ever. He has 305 catches for 4,729 yards and 51 touchdowns in three seasons. He comes into his senior year with a 95 OVR rating, 97 SPD, 93 CTH, 99 route running and 82 JMP. The other receivers are nothing special, with sophomore Mike Barclay leading that group at 79 OVR. He had eight touchdown catches on 34 receptions last season, most of them coming as the No. 5 receiver in 5WR Levels near the goal line.



RYAN JAMISON


The tight end position is usually a nonfactor in B-Dawg’s offenses, but Ryan Jamison has changed that. Jamison had 68 catches for 754 yards and five touchdowns as a freshman last season. He is 77 OVR with 90 SPD, 76 CTH, 63 PBK and 67 RBK. Backup Derek Malloy will be subbed into some run packages because of his 81 RBK rating.



MIKE MEEKS


Looking for another reason why Vanderbilt probably won’t run much? The offensive line has only two starters rated above 79 OVR. Red-shirt junior Mike Meeks, an 87 OVR center, leads the group. He has 87 PBK and 87 RBK. Fifth-year senior right tackle Pete Moss is 81 OVR. The other starters are 77 OVR left tackle Paul Walker, 79 OVR left guard Edward Washington and 77 OVR right guard Aaron Miranda.



In contrast to the offensive line, the defensive line has four starters rated 85 OVR or higher. Justin King gets the coveted left end spot from which B-Dawg gets most of his sacks. King is 86 OVR with 81 SPD, 80 STR and 79 TAK. He had 10 sacks and 15 tackles for losses last season. The other end is 85 OVR Darren Agu, who has only 16 career tackles, three of which are sacks. Junior defensive tackle Dan Pendleton, who is 85 OVR, can cause damage in the middle, having made eight sacks and 11 tackles for losses last year. The other tackle is 86 OVR Yilanan Ouattara, a fifth-year senior with eight career tackles and four sacks.



Vanderbilt has a potential star middle linebacker in 86 OVR sophomore Boyd Peterson, who has 86 SPD, 92 ACC and 80 TAK. He had 62 tackles, 12 for losses and two sacks as a freshman. Brian Davidson, an 80 OVR senior, is the left outside backer. He has only 25 career tackles. Junior Steve Poland is the right outside backer at 78 OVR. He had 30 tackles, including nine for losses and two sacks, last season.



Safeties Jeffrey Ugochukwu and Kasey Davidson will have to lead an inexperienced secondary. Ugochukwu is 97 OVR, returning for his senior year after flirting with the NFL draft. He led Vanderbilt with 95 tackles last season. Davidson, who is 86 OVR, had 25 tackles. None of the returning cornerbacks had more than three tackles last year. All is not lost, as Adrian Andrews has progressed to 90 OVR after making only four tackles in his first two years. Progression has also made useful corners out of 85 OVR Scott Rosario, 82 OVR Aaron Baker and 82 OVR Kendall Butler.



ZACH HANCOCK


Kicker Zach Hancock will handle all the kicking and punting because of his 99 KPW. He also has 90 KAC. Hancock was a mediocre 12-for-19 on field goals last season. He had 11 of the team’s 27 punts last season. Derrick Walker, a 66 OVR punter, probably won’t see the field. Michael Johnson’s speed will be put to good use on returns.

2026 VANDERBILT FOOTBALL ROSTER
#	OFFENSE	POS	HT	WT	CLASS	OVR
19	Greg Freeman	QB	6-2	235	Jr.	99
17	Drew Dickey	QB	6-1	217	rSr.	99
18	Josh Washington	QB	6-4	239	rSo.	82
2	Bradley Davis	QB	6-3	199	Fr.	73 (RS)
33	Leonard Chapman	HB	6-2	230	Fr.	80
34	Shawn Brooks	HB	5-11	201	So.	78
21	Wesley Walker	HB	6-1	213	rJr.	78
36	Paul Miller	HB	6-0	195	Fr.	71 (RS)
44	Erik Overstreet	FB	6-0	239	Fr.	72
39	Justin Burns	FB	6-1	232	Fr.	65
1	Michael Johnson	WR	6-2	201	Sr.	95
85	Mike Barclay	WR	6-4	237	So.	79
86	Jesse Harrison	WR	6-1	225	Fr.	78
81	Jeremy McKenzie	WR	6-2	202	rSr.	77
80	Curtis Cannon	WR	6-0	173	Jr.	75
87	Jeremy Baker	WR	5-10	191	Fr.	71
82	Ryan Jamison	TE	6-3	237	So.	78
84	Derek Malloy	TE	6-4	281	rJr.	77
83	Luis Hall	TE	6-1	245	Fr.	64
71	Paul Walker	LT	6-3	291	Jr.	77
74	John Leach	LT	6-5	282	Fr.	72
66	Steve Higgins	LT	6-5	286	Sr.	71
79	Preston Moss	RT	6-5	334	rSr.	81
77	Cedric Gore	RT	6-4	340	rJr.	74
64	Alex Davenport	RT	6-2	299	rFr.	72
61	Edward Washington	LG	6-4	347	rJr.	79
75	Trent Washington	LG	6-6	295	rFr.	72
60	Mark Lee	LG	6-4	298	rSo.	63
67	Aaron Miranda	RG	6-2	299	rSr.	77
76	Kevin Brewster	RG	6-1	280	Fr.	73
73	Darren Brown	RG	6-2	277	Fr.	64 (RS)
72	Mike Meeks	C	6-0	299	rJr.	87
70	Steve Robinson	C	6-3	295	So.	72
65	Albert Sykes	C	6-3	286	Fr.	65 (RS)
#	DEFENSE	POS	HT	WT	CLASS	OVR
91	Justin King	LE	6-1	226	Sr.	86
95	Linus Zunk	LE	6-6	261	rSr.	76
63	Keith McGee	LE	6-3	270	rFr.	71
92	Darren Agu	RE	6-6	262	rSr.	85
68	Wesley Hill	RE	6-2	237	So.	73
96	Derek Cade	RE	6-6	265	rJr.	68
98	Yilanan Ouattara	DT	6-1	308	rSr.	86
62	Dan Pendleton	DT	6-1	271	Jr.	85
69	Leon Jenkins	DT	6-3	299	rFr.	82
93	Ty Thompson	DT	6-5	292	rSr.	73
90	Carl Davis	DT	6-7	302	rSo.	67
56	Brian Davidson	LOLB	6-3	235	Sr.	80
57	Chris Jackson	LOLB	6-7	230	rJr.	77
59	Troy Nelson	LOLB	6-2	217	rSo.	70
99	Steve Poland	ROLB	6-3	223	Jr.	78
49	Daniel Martin	ROLB	6-3	229	rSr.	72
50	Kris Henderson	ROLB	6-2	209	Fr.	70 (RS)
51	Boyd Peterson	MLB	6-5	248	So.	86
94	Pat Berg	MLB	5-11	233	Jr.	75
52	James Scott	MLB	6-1	224	rSo.	73
54	Chris Bowling	MLB	5-11	244	rSo.	69
58	Josh Hampton	MLB	6-1	235	rJr.	60
35	Adrian Andrews	CB	5-11	182	Jr.	91
28	Scott Rosario	CB	6-1	174	Sr.	85
23	Aaron Baker	CB	5-11	175	Sr.	83
20	Kendall Butler	CB	6-2	204	Jr.	82
32	Mike Jackson	CB	5-11	201	rFr.	79
24	Paul Jackson	CB	6-0	178	rFr.	74
42	Barrett McCollum	CB	6-0	191	Fr.	62 (RS)
38	Jeffrey Ugochukwu	FS	6-1	194	rSr.	97
27	Corey Watkins	FS	6-2	205	rJr.	79
26	Atari Bowling	FS	6-3	219	rFr.	77
29	Kasey Davidson	SS	6-4	208	Sr.	86
30	Daniel Noble	SS	5-11	198	rJr.	77
#	SPECIAL TEAMS	POS	HT	WT	CLASS	OVR
8	Zach Hancock	K	6-0	200	Jr.	93
13	Derrick Walker	P	6-2	246	Fr.	66
1	Michael Johnson	RET	6-2	201	Sr.	95 (WR)

2026 VANDERBILT SCHEDULE

Note: Vanderbilt is 90 OVR, 88 offense, 92 defense; B+ OVR, B+ offense, A- defense, A+ special teams

AUG. 29 — MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE
Preseason ranking: No. 62
Team ratings: 83 OVR, 88 offense, 78 defense, C- special teams

SEPT. 5 — ALABAMA
Preseason ranking: No. 4
Team ratings: 99 OVR, 99 offense, 99 defense, C special teams

SEPT. 12 — at THE U
Preseason ranking: No. 18
Team ratings: 90 OVR, 88 offense, 90 defense, A+ special teams

SEPT. 19 — at ARKANSAS
Preseason ranking: No. 64
Team ratings: 81 OVR, 81 offense, 83 defense, B special teams

SEPT. 26 — at PITTSBURGH
Preseason ranking: No. 59
Team ratings: 90 OVR, 88 offense, 90 defense, B special teams

OCT. 3 — MISSOURI
Preseason ranking: No. 39
Team ratings: 88 OVR, 90 offense, 87 defense, B special teams

OCT. 10 — FLORIDA
Preseason ranking: No. 5
Team ratings: 97 OVR, 99 offense, 95 defense, D+ special teams

OCT. 17 — at GEORGIA
Preseason ranking: No. 20
Team ratings: 99 OVR, 99 offense, 97 defense, B+ special teams

OCT. 31 — SOUTH CAROLINA
Preseason ranking: No. 95
Team ratings: 86 OVR, 88 offense, 87 defense, D special teams

NOV. 7 — at KENTUCKY
Preseason ranking: No. 57
Team ratings: 86 OVR. 90 offense, 83 defense, D- special teams

NOV. 14 — at TENNESSEE
Preseason ranking: No. 98
Team ratings: 90 OVR, 91 offense, 87 defense, D+ special teams

NOV. 28 — at OKLAHOMA
Preseason ranking: No. 34
Team ratings: 97 OVR, 99 offense, 90 defense, A+ special teams




2026
1. North Carolina
2. Notre Dame
3. Clemson
4. Alabama
5. Florida
6. Ohio State
7. USC
8. Oregon
9. Texas A&M
10. Penn State
11. VANDERBILT
12. Indiana
13. Nebraska
14. Utah
15. Coastal Carolina
16. North Carolina State
17. Northwestern
18. The U
19. California
20. Georgia
21. Houston
22. Florida International
23. Texas
24. Wisconsin
25. Kansas State
26. LSU
27. Virginia
28. San Diego State
29. Auburn
30. Georgia Tech
31. Northern Illinois
32. Arkansas State
33. Central Michigan
34. Oklahoma
35. Temple
36. Michigan
37. Texas Christian
38. Iowa State
39. Missouri
40. Tulane
41. Tulsa
42. U-Dub
43. Minnesota
44. UNLV
45. Mississippi
46. Brigham Young
47. Michigan State
48. Memphis
49. Miami (Ohio)
50. Hawaii
51. Boy-Z State
52. Stanford
53. Baylor
54. Navy
55. Texas-El Paso
56. Florida State
57. Kentucky
58. West Virginia
59. Pittsburgh
60. Mississippi State
61. Appalachian State
62. Middle Tennessee State
63. Illinois
64. Arkansas
65. Rutgers
66. Louisville
67. Boston College
68. Nevada
69. Southern Methodist
70. Marshall
71. Virginia Tech
72. Florida Atlantic
73. Syracuse
74. North Texas
75. Cincinnati
76. Georgia Southern
77. Arizona
78. South Florida
79. San Jose State
80. Charlotte
81. Maryland
82. Oklahoma State
83. Kansas
84. Purdue
85. Ball State
86. Colorado
87. UCLA
88. Duke
89. Arizona State
90. Oregon State
91. Louisiana-Monroe
92. Western Kentucky
93. Kent State
94. Western Michigan
95. South Carolina
96. South Alabama
97. Iowa
98. Tennessee
99. Toledo
100. Fresno State
101. Akron
102. Texas Tech
103. New Mexico
104. Troy
105. Wake Forest
106. Southern Miss
107. Ohio
108. Army
109. Louisiana
110. Washington State
111. Central Florida
112. Colorado State
113. Georgia State
114. Rice
115. East Carolina
116. Air Force
117. Texas-San Antonio
118. Buffalo
119. Wyoming
120. Eastern Michigan
121. Utah State
122. Texas State
123. Alabama-Birmingham
124. Bowling Green
125. Old Dominion
126. Louisiana Tech




TONY MORRIS, Oregon, QB, rSr.
2025 stats: 196-for-327, 2,794 yards, 34 TD, 8 int.; 155 carries, 744 yards, 9 TD
Ratings: 99 OVR, 92 SPD, 90 THP, 93 THA

LARON CLARK, Clemson, HB, rSr.
2025 stats: 235 carries, 1,372 yards, 15 TD; 23 catches, 373 yards, 3 TD
Ratings: 95 OVR, 96 SPD, 87 BTK, 87 CAR

GREG FREEMAN, Vanderbilt, QB, Jr.
2025 stats: 390-for-556, 4,756 yards, 44 TD, 9 int.; 91 carries, 211 yards, 1 TD
Ratings: 98 OVR, 80 SPD, 90 THP, 89 THA

JASON SMITH, The U, QB, Soph.
2025 stats: 153-for-304, 2,321 yards, 18 TD, 10 int.; 201 carries, 976 yards, 14 TD
Ratings: 84 OVR, 88 SPD, 85 THP, 84 THA

BRENNAN MATHIS, Notre Dame, QB, rSr.
2025 stats: 190-for-342, 2,509 yards, 22 TD, 11 int.; 192 carries, 742 yards, 11 TD
Ratings: 99 OVR, 85 SPD, 94 THP, 95 THA




FIRST TEAM
QB, Greg Freeman, Jr., 98 OVR
WR, Michael Johnson, Sr., 95 OVR
DE, Justin King, Sr., 86 OVR
DT, Dan Pendleton, Jr., 85 OVR
CB, Kendall Butler, Jr., 82 OVR
FS, Jeffrey Ugochukwu, rSr., 97 OVR
SECOND TEAM
MLB, Boyd Peterson, Soph., 86 OVR

2026 PRESEASON ALL-SEC
FIRST TEAM
QB, Greg Freeman, Jr., 98 OVR
WR, Michael Johnson, Sr., 95 OVR
DE, Justin King, Sr., 86 OVR
DT, Dan Pendleton, Jr., 85 OVR
MLB, Boyd Peterson, Soph., 86 OVR
CB, Kendall Butler, Jr., 82 OVR
FS, Jeffrey Ugochukwu, rSr., 97 OVR
SECOND TEAM
TE, Ryan Jamison, Soph., 77 OVR





Quarterback Antwan Smith hopes to lead Vanderbilt to an SEC title in 2011.

Commodores ready to make noise
in tough Southeastern Conference

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Enough is enough.

While Vanderbilt has made tremendous strides toward respectability in B-Dawg’s first five years as head coach, the Commodores have yet to be a real threat in the Southeastern Conference.

Oh, sure, they’ve picked off the occasional victory over a Florida, Tennessee or Georgia. But they’ve also been pwned by Kentucky, showing a pattern of inconsistency that’s reflected in a 14-26 SEC record during B-Dawg’s tenure. He’s had a winning SEC record only once, going 5-3 in 2009. The team has done well outside the conference, going 15-7, with two of the losses coming against mighty Michigan.

That has to change in 2011.

“One of the cool things about being in the SEC is you not only are trying to get into a good bowl game, but you have a conference championship game to play for,” B-Dawg said. “We’d like to get into that thing sooner rather than later. We have the talent. The time for excuses and lamenting plus-five momentum is long past. It’s time to put up or shut up.”

Vanderbilt has six players rated 90 OVR or higher, including three in the offensive line. The Commodores’ last two recruiting classes have been ranked No. 3 and No. 13 in the country.

They enter the season ranked No. 27 in the country. They are A overall, A- on offense, B+ on defense and B on special teams.

“We have the talent to compete with anybody,” B-Dawg said. “It’s just a matter of showing poise and executing. If the coach doesn’t screw things up, this could be a special year.”

Following is a position-by-position breakdown of the 2011 Commodores:


For the first time in his career, Antwan Smith doesn’t have to look over his shoulder. Gone are the days of the two-quarterback system. It’s Antwan Smith’s offense … period. He split the duties with Mackenzi Adams in 2009 and was slated to do the same with Jared Funk last year, until Funk blew his opportunity by playing poorly early in the season. Smith, a red-shirt junior, has blazing 88 SPD but can also beat teams through the air, possessing 92 THP and 88 THA. In two years, he’s 314-for-518 for 4,399 yards, 43 touchdowns and 25 interceptions while running 192 times for 776 yards and 16 touchdowns. The quarterback of the future is 84 OVR true freshman Ken Collins, but he’ll be red-shirted. Red-shirt freshman Austin Muse (80 OVR) and red-shirt junior Josh Hayden (84 OVR) will battle for the backup position. Collins will be activated only if Smith has a lengthy injury. He is tied for second on the depth chart with Hayden, allowing B-Dawg the option to red-shirt him under the dynasty rules that any true freshman in the two-deep must play. Sure it’s a technicality, but it’s within the letter of the law.


Clint Turner has a lot to live up to. All three starting halfbacks in this dynasty’s five-year history have broken the school’s single-season rushing record. Turner’s chances of doing it might depend on what type of playbook B-Dawg uses as he makes a mandatory change from the California book. If Vanderbilt uses the pass-happy Hawaii book, Turner’s chances of running will be limited. He is 85 OVR with 88 SPD and 82 BTK. The backup with red-shirt sophomore Kevin Harrell, who is 80 OVR. The halfback of the future is 76 OVR freshman Rusty Reynolds, who will be red-shirted. Reynolds is the fastest back on the roster with 91 SPD. Vanderbilt has two freshman fullbacks in Kory Johnson and Nick Williams, who may not play much if Vanderbilt’s book doesn’t have many two-back sets.


Vanderbilt has one of the best receiving tandems in the country in junior Jason Toth and sophomore Derrick Brantley, at least in terms of production. Toth, who has 99 SPD, ranked 14th in the country last year with 1,074 yards on 54 catches. Brantley was a freshman All-American, catching 55 passes for 941 yards and six touchdowns. B-Dawg likes to spread the ball around, so sophomore receivers Freddie Knox and Evan Smith will be counted on to make plays.


B-Dawg recruited three of the top five tight ends in the country, but is salivating over the prospect of having junior Billy Jone start at tight end. Jones, who has played two years at receiver, has been moved to tight end and increased to 89 OVR with 92 SPD and 85 CTH. His 52 RBK is a concern, but the Commodores are willing to overlook it. Sophomore Darrell James will be the No. 2 tight end once again, his strength being his 70 RBK rating. Of the three 78 OVR freshman tight ends, only Cornelius East will be active in 2011. Randy Justice and Alvin Rushing will be red-shirted.


The strength of Vanderbilt’s team is a young but extremely talented offensive line. Freddy Wright is only a sophomore, but is already 93 OVR and is being touted for national awards. Sophomore Rashad Ting is a 91 OVR offensive tackle. The line also features two red-shirt seniors who were among the paltry original three-player recruiting class in 2007, guard Brandon Hampton (91 OVR) and tackle John Austin (89 OVR). Guard William Ferguson is the third sophomore starter, checking in at 82 OVR as the line’s weak link. B-Dawg might be advised to go to a power-running game with this group, but all indications are that he’ll lean toward the pass in 2011.


If only the defensive line was as strong as the offensive line. Only one starter on the defensive line is rated higher than 80 OVR, that being sophomore defensive end Tony Edwards. Junior Bobby Moss is 80 OVR and will start at defensive tackle for the third straight year. Pat Stewart might have a future at defensive end, as he’s 78 OVR as a sophomore, but this unit definitely needs an upgrade through recruiting.


Bryan Kelly finally has some help. Kelly was a semifinalist for two national awards last year, leading Vanderbilt with 80 tackles and 26 for losses. However, the linebacking corps was a weakness that teams exploited last season, scoring an average of 32.8 points per game. This area was emphasized during in-season recruiting last year, as well as regular recruiting. The cavalry has arrived in the form of 78 OVR middle linebacker Ulysses Heckel and 76 OVR outside linebacker Terrance Burns. Sophomore John Johnson returns at outside linebacker, checking in at 80 OVR. This unit could be scary-good in a year or two.


While the front seven won’t cause any SEC quarterbacks to lose any sleep, the secondary is another story entirely. A group that broke in together as freshmen two years ago is all grown up and ready to dominate. Junior strong safety Keith Cunningham (89 OVR) is the reigning Thorpe Trophy winner, junior free safety Barry Sanders is 96 OVR with impact status as a boost and junior cornerback James Pressley is 85 OVR. Sophomore Jason Lewis had a solid freshman year and is the other starting corner at 84 OVR. Freshman Albert Pruitt was the top-rated cornerback in the country and should get plenty of playing time at 78 OVR.


Somehow, some way, 72 OVR junior Andre Diles is on the preseason first-team All-America team. It could be that he’s a solid 46-for-59 (78 percent) in his two-year career, but none have been longer than 45 yards because B-Dawg is afraid to try him on anything longer than that. Diles has put only three of 162 career kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks. The punting game is a problem, as returners Michael Hardy and Josh Hayden (the backup quarterback) couldn’t average longer than 36.0. The strength of the special teams is Jason Toth, who has returned six punts for touchdowns in his two-year career because of his 99 SPD. With better blocking in front of him this year, Toth will be a threat to take it all the way on any punt. Kicks are another matter, as B-Dawg has struggled returning kickoffs in NCAA 2007.

[font=arial][b][size=6][color=#C8AE13]2011 VANDERBILT ROSTER[/color][/size][/b][/font][b][size=6][color=#C8AE13][/color][/size][/b][size=6][color=#C8AE13][/color][/size][color=#C8AE13][/color][size=3]
[b]#   Pos   Player             Cl.   OVR  Key attributes[/b]
1   QB    Antwan Smith       rJr.  94   88 SPD, 92 THP, 88 THA
2   QB    Josh Hayden        rJr.  84   70 SPD, 93 THP, 86 THA
[b][color=darkred]16  QB    Ken Collins        Fr.   84   62 SPD, 96 THP, 91 THA[/color][/b][color=darkred][/color]
15  QB    Austin Muse        rFr.  80   72 SPD, 86 THP, 85 THA
25  HB    Clint Turner       Sr.   85   88 SPD, 72 CTH, 82 CAR, 82 BTK
28  HB    Kevin Harrell      rSo.  80   89 SPD, 65 CTH, 74 CAR, 86 BTK
[b][color=darkred]32  HB    Rusty Reynolds     Fr.   76   91 SPD, 65 CTH, 74 CAR, 72 BTK[/color][/b][color=darkred][/color]
[b][color=darkred]22  HB    Jeff Henry         Fr.   76   88 SPD, 68 CTH, 72 CAR, 74 BTK[/color][/b][color=darkred][/color]
21  HB    Matt Gray          rFr.  72   87 SPD, 62 CTH, 70 CAR, 70 BTK
30  FB    Kory Johnson       Fr.   72   78 SPD, 59 CAR, 72 BTK, 56 PB, 59 RB
44  FB    Nick Williams      Fr.   70   65 SPD, 56 CAR, 62 BTK, 56 PB, 68 RB
10  WR    Jason Toth         Jr.   93   99 SPD, 91 CTH, 97 JMP
5   WR    Derrick Brantley   So.   88   92 SPD, 92 CTH, 98 JMP
89  WR    Freddie Knox       So.   80   86 SPD, 86 CTH, 93 JMP
83  WR    Evan Smith         So.   76   90 SPD, 80 CTH, 88 JMP
81  WR    Jacob Hayes        rFr.  72   86 SPD, 76 CTH, 87 JMP
86  WR    Vince Cohen        rSo.  70   82 SPD, 74 CTH, 85 JMP
88  TE    Billy Jones        Jr.   89   92 SPD, 85 CTH, 44 PB, 52 RB
82  TE    Darrell James      So.   84   82 SPD, 68 CTH, 65 PB, 70 RB
85  TE    Cornelius East     Fr.   78   74 SPD, 74 CTH, 62 PB, 65 RB
[b][color=darkred]87  TE    Randy Justice      Fr.   78   74 SPD, 76 CTH, 56 PB, 65 RB[/color][/b][color=darkred][/color]
[b][color=darkred]48  TE    Alvin Rushing      Fr.   78   74 SPD, 72 CTH, 59 PB, 62 RB[/color][/b][color=darkred][/color]
79  OT    Rashad Ting        So.   91   97 STR, 80 AWR, 96 PB, 92 RB
72  OT    John Austin        rSr.  89   98 STR, 88 AWR, 91 PB, 93 RB
73  OT    Mike Daniels       So.   86   92 STR, 78 AWR, 92 PB, 91 RB
66  OT    Lamar Castillo     So.   80   93 STR, 72 AWR, 88 PB, 87 RB
75  OT    Tommy Washington   rFr.  76   87 STR, 68 AWR, 88 PB, 87 RB
67  OT    Adam Lester        rFr.  72   85 STR, 68 AWR, 85 PB, 84 RB
76  OG    Brandon Hampton    rSr.  91   90 STR, 87 AWR, 93 PB, 97 RB
78  OG    William Ferguson   So.   82   90 STR, 70 AWR, 89 PB, 87 RB
77  OG    Justin Jenkins     rFr.  76   87 STR, 52 AWR, 92 PB, 88 RB
74  OG    J.J. Black         rSo.  74   85 STR, 68 AWR, 84 PB, 84 RB
61  C     Freddy Wright      So.   93   93 STR, 74 AWR, 95 PB, 96 RB
60  C     A.J. Taylor        So.   80   87 STR, 72 AWR, 85 PB, 87 RB
62  C     Willie Williams    rJr.  76   82 STR, 68 AWR, 86 PB, 88 RB[/size]

[size=3]
93  DE    Tony Edwards       So.   85   82 SPD, 78 STR, 72 TAK
96  DE    Pat Stewart        So.   78   62 SPD, 85 STR, 84 TAK
98  DE    Junior Fields      Fr.   70   72 SPD, 68 STR, 70 TAK
94  DE    Eddie Beato        Fr.   59   62 SPD, 68 STR, 68 TAK
56  DT    Bobby Moss         Jr.   80   91 STR, 85 TAK
63  DT    Chris Gordon       Sr.   76   86 STR, 86 TAK
53  DT    Craig Fritz        Fr.   72   82 STR, 82 TAK
91  DT    Matthew Olsen      rJr.  70   84 STR, 80 TAK
68  DT    Darryl Woods       rSo.  70   74 STR, 78 TAK
49  OLB   John Johnson       So.   80   80 SPD, 74 STR, 76 TAK
51  OLB   Terrance Burns     Fr.   76   74 SPD, 68 STR, 87 TAK
40  OLB   Donnell Monroe     rJr.  76   76 SPD, 72 STR, 72 TAK
47  MLB   Bryan Kelly        Sr.   88   82 SPD, 76 STR, 87 TAK
52  MLB   Ulysses Heckel     Fr.   78   84 SPD, 78 STR, 87 TAK
41  MLB   Travis Davis       Fr.   74   78 SPD, 76 STR, 86 TAK
3   CB    James Pressley     Jr.   85   93 SPD, 70 CTH, 96 JMP, 52 TAK
37  CB    Jason Lewis        So.   84   94 SPD, 68 CTH, 96 JMP, 62 TAK
4   CB    Shaun Spencer      rSo.  82   90 SPD, 72 CTH, 93 JMP, 56 TAK
27  CB    Albert Pruitt      Fr.   78   90 SPD, 62 CTH, 90 JMP, 59 TAK
8   CB    Will Carpenter     rJr.  74   85 SPD, 62 CTH, 86 JMP, 59 TAK
[b][color=darkred]7   CB    Eric Hagler        Fr.   74   92 SPD, 65 CTH, 89 JMP, 62 TAK[/color][/b][color=darkred][/color]
20  FS    Barry Sanders      Jr.   96   95 SPD, 70 CTH, 87 JMP, 74 TAK
29  FS    Chris Pollock      So.   82   88 SPD, 62 CTH, 92 JMP, 65 TAK
9   FS    Paul Lane          rSo.  59   80 SPD, 44 CTH, 82 JMP, 44 TAK
24  SS    Keith Cunningham   Jr.   89   85 SPD, 65 CTH, 90 JMP, 72 TAK
23  SS    Shannon Mooney     rSr.  78   84 SPD, 68 CTH, 80 JMP, 59 TAK
[b][color=darkred]14  SS    Josh Cooper        Fr.   62   76 SPD, 59 CTH, 84 JMP, 65 TAK[/color][/b][color=darkred][/color]
42  SS    Jay Walton         Fr.   56   80 SPD, 56 CTH, 84 JMP, 56 TAK
45  K     Andre Diles        Jr.   72   82 KPW, 88 KAC
46  P     Michael Hardy      72    72   80 KPW, 89 KAC[/size]

2011 VANDERBILT SCHEDULE

SEPT. 3 — at MEMPHIS TIGERS
PRESEASON RANKING: No. 71
TEAM GRADES: C+ overall, B- offense, C+ defense, C+ special teams
ALL-TIME SERIES: Vanderbilt 2-0

SEPT. 10 — TOLEDO ROCKETS
PRESEASON RANKING: No. 46
TEAM GRADES: B- overall, C+ offense, B- defense, B+ special teams
ALL-TIME SERIES: First meeting (Vanderbilt 3-1 vs. MAC)

SEPT. 17 — ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS
PRESEASON RANKING: No. 35
TEAM GRADES: B overall, B- offense, B defense, C+ special teams
ALL-TIME SERIES: Tied 1-1

SEPT. 24 — at WISCONSIN BADGERS
PRESEASON RANKING: No. 23
TEAM GRADES: B overall, B- offense, B defense, B special teams
ALL-TIME SERIES: First meeting (Vanderbilt 2-3 vs. Big Ten)

OCT. 1 — FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS
PRESEASON RANKING: No. 44
TEAM GRADES: B- overall, C offense, B- defense, B special teams
ALL-TIME SERIES: First meeting (Vanderbilt 0-1 vs. WAC)

OCT. 8 — MISSISSIPPI REBELS
PRESEASON RANKING: No. 76
TEAM GRADES: B- overall, C+ offense, B- defense, B- special teams
ALL-TIME SERIES: Vanderbilt 3-2

OCT. 15 — GEORGIA BULLDOGS
PRESEASON RANKING: No. 29
TEAM GRADES: B+ overall, B offense, B+ defense, B special teams
ALL-TIME SERIES: Georgia 4-1

OCT. 22 — at SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS
PRESEASON RANKING: No. 48
TEAM GRADES: B+ overall, B+ offense, B- defense, A+ special teams
ALL-TIME SERIES: Vanderbilt 3-2

OCT. 29 — at ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE
PRESEASON RANKING: No. 9
TEAM GRADES: A+ overall, B offense, A+ defense, A special teams
ALL-TIME SERIES: Alabama 2-0

NOV. 5 — at FLORIDA GATORS
PRESEASON RANKING: No. 25
TEAM GRADES: B overall, B offense, B defense, C special teams
ALL-TIME SERIES: Florida 3-2

NOV. 12 — KENTUCKY WILDCATS
PRESEASON RANKING: No. 87
TEAM GRADES: C+ overall, C+ offense, C+ defense, C+ special teams
ALL-TIME SERIES: Kentucky 4-1

NOV. 26 — at TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS
PRESEASON RANKING: No. 30
TEAM GRADES: A+ overall, A- offense, A+ defense, B+ special teams
ALL-TIME SERIES: Tennessee 3-2


5 Commodores preseason All-Americans

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The pressure is on for Coach B-Dawg.

He apparently has a loaded team in 2011, at least if the preseason All-America list is any indication.

Five Commodores made the first team, including 2010 postseason first-team pick Keith Cunningham at strong safety.

Also making the first team are sophomore center Freddy Wright, senior middle linebacker Bryan Kelly, junior kicker Andre Diles and junior return specialist Jason Toth.

As a team, Vanderbilt is ranked 27th in the preseason with an A overall grade, A- on offense, B+ on defense and B on special teams.





DAVID GREEN, Navy, HB, Sr.
2011 STATS: 298 carries, 2,027 yards, 19 TD

BEN JAMES, Virginia Tech, QB, Jr.
2011 STATS: 178-for-303, 2,821 yards, 31 TD, 12 int.

MARK BECK, LSU, QB, r-Sr.
2011 STATS: 203-364, 2,805 yards, 24 TD, 10 int.

GRANT WALKER, Georgia Tech, QB, r-Jr.
2011 STATS: 244-411, 3,018 yards, 31 TD, 16 int.; 98 carries, 431 yards, 4 TD

STEPHEN BYRD, Louisville, HB, Jr.
2011 STATS: 194 carries, 1,230 yards, 17 TD; 23 catches, 336 yards, 5 D

2011 PRESEASON RANKINGS
1 Oklahoma
2 Penn State
3 USC
4 Virginia Tech
5 Florida State
6 Iowa
7 Ohio State
8 Texas
9 Alabama
10 Texas Tech
11 West Virginia
12 Michigan
13 Utah
14 Louisville
15 North Carolina State
16 Nebraska
17 Auburn
18 Georgia Tech
19 Oregon
20 Colorado
21 Miami
22 Notre Dame
23 Wisconsin
24 UCLA
25 Florida
26 Louisiana State
27 VANDERBILT
28 Southern Mississippi
29 Georgia
30 Tennessee
31 Navy
32 Clemson
33 Rice
34 Missouri
35 Arkansas
36 Maryland
37 Kansas
38 Texas A&M
39 Northern Illinois
40 Oklahoma State
41 San Diego State
42 UNLV
43 Arkansas State
44 Fresno State
45 Minnesota
46 Toledo
47 Colorado State
48 South Carolina
49 Texas Christian
50 Arizona
51 Wake Forest
52 Northwestern
53 Central Florida
54 Michigan State
55 San Jose State
56 Troy
57 Tulane
58 Western Michigan
59 Akron
60 Ohio
61 Boston College
62 California
63 South Florida
64 Virginia
65 Washington
66 Kansas State
67 Houston
68 Arizona State
69 North Texas
70 Duke
71 Memphis
72 Oregon State
73 Eastern Michigan
74 Mississippi State
75 Alabama-Birmingham
76 Mississippi
77 Bowling Green
78 Illinois
79 UL-Lafayette
80 Washington State
81 Nevada
82 Southern Methodist
83 Boise State
84 Texas-El Paso
85 Purdue
86 Hawaii
87 Kentucky
88 Connecticut
89 Middle Tennessee State
90 Central Michigan
91 North Carolina
92 Ball State
93 UL-Monroe
94 Air Force
95 Marshall
96 Iowa State
97 Tulsa
98 Florida International
99 Kent State
100 Rutgers
101 Pittsburgh
102 New Mexico State
103 Wyoming
104 Louisiana Tech
105 Stanford
106 Buffalo
107 Miami (Ohio)
108 Utah State
109 Syracuse
110 Indiana
111 Florida Atlantic
112 Cincinnati
113 Brigham Young
114 Army
115 Baylor
116 Idaho
117 East Carolina
118 New Mexico
119 Temple

[BDawg35]

2026/2011 SEASONS - GAME 1


Vanderbilt quarterback Greg Freeman scores on a 12-yard run.


Vanderbilt linebacker Steve Poland picks off a pass.


Vanderbilt freshman Jesse Harrison makes his first career touchdown catch.

RECEIVER AUDITIONS
Vandy gets chance to test supporting cast
in season-opening win over Blue Raiders

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Everyone knows what to expect from Michael Johnson.

He’s the least of the concerns in Vanderbilt’s receiving corps, having racked up 305 catches for 4,729 yards and 51 touchdowns in three seasons. He’s destined to go down as one of B-Dawg’s all-time greatest receivers.

But what about the other guys catching passes from junior quarterback Greg Freeman? What can they bring to the party in 2026?

The season opener against Middle Tennessee State on Aug. 29 was the perfect opportunity to find out.

Junior Curtis Cannon and freshman Jesse Harrison were the members of the supporting cast who stood out the most in 11th-ranked Vanderbilt’s 34-19 victory over the Blue Raiders.

Cannon, who had only two catches for 12 yards all of last season, had five catches for 80 yards. Harrison had four catches for 30 yards and his first career touchdown, a 1-yard catch with 38 seconds left in the first half.

Johnson, of course, did most of the damage with 10 catches for 151 yards and one touchdown.

“As much as I would like to, we can’t throw the ball to Michael Johnson every play,” Vanderbilt coach B-Dawg said. “Some of the routes he runs on certain plays just aren’t plays we can complete for a reasonably high percentage. We need possession guys to move the chains. Curtis and Jesse stood out a bit today.”

A concerning sign was having six dropped passes, including two by standout tight end Ryan Jamison. Fullback Erik Overstreet and receiver Jeremy McKenzie managed to have two drops each without making a catch.

Freshman Leonard Chapman ran 16 times for 86 yards in his college debut. He had nearly half that total – 41 yards – on his second career carry.

“It’s a good sign having some success on the ground, but we weren’t exactly playing Georgia or Alabama today,” B-Dawg said. “You schedule games like this for your opener to see what you have without the risk of actually losing.”

Middle Tennessee State spread the ball around to nine different receivers. Vanderbilt had only five different players catch passes.


Backup running back Shawn Brooks dives into the end zone.

MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE BLUE RAIDERS at VANDERBILT COMMODORES
Aug. 29, 2026	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (0-1)	3	6	3	7	19
#11 Vanderbilt Commodores (1-0)	7	17	7	3	34

Team Stats Comparison
	MTU	VAN
Total Offense	377	510
Rushing Yards	26-85	30-194
Passing Yards	292	316
First Downs	20	24
Punt Return Yards	0	21
Kick Return Yards	38	123
Total Yards	415	654
Turnovers	1	0
3rd Down Conversion	5-13	9-14
4th Down Conversion	3-3	1-2
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	4-1-3	7-4-2
Penalties	0-0	1-10
Possession Time	16:38	19:22

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		MTU	VAN
7:20	(VAN) G. Freeman 12 run (Z. Hancock kick)	0	7
:51	(MTU) T. Hopkins 44 field goal	3	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		MTU	VAN
7:56	(VAN) Z. Hancock 21 field goal	3	10
4:53	(VAN) S. Brooks 18 run (Z. Hancock kick)	3	17
1:24	(MTU) T. Hopkins 23 field goal	6	17
:38	(VAN) J. Harrison 1 pass from G. Freeman (Z. Hancock kick)	6	24
:02	(MTU) T. Hopkins 34 field goal	9	24
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		MTU	VAN
5:51	(MTU) T. Hopkins 34 field goal	12	24
:46	(VAN) M. Johnson 7 pass from G. Freeman (Z. Hancock kick)	12	31
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		MTU	VAN
4:02	(MTU) R. Kerr 7 run (T. Hopkins kick)	19	31
:00	(VAN) Z. Hancock 27 field goal	19	34

MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Jake Webb 28/36 292 0 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Mark Brooks 8 43 5.3 0 Ryan Kerr 4 16 4.0 1 Jake Webb 10 11 1.1 0 Ryan Scott 2 7 3.5 0 Phillip Oliver 1 4 4.0 0 Sean James 1 4 4.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Mark Brooks 6 52 8.6 0 Danny House 6 37 6.1 0 Mike Carey 4 52 13.0 0 Sean James 4 39 9.8 0 Ryan Kerr 3 23 7.7 0 Bennie Johnson 2 25 12.5 0 Terry Jackson 1 28 28.0 0 Roland Rivera 1 19 19.0 0 Ryan Scott 1 17 17.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Ryan Jones 2 0 Clayton Morton 1 0 Chris Singleton 1 0 Chris Lamb 1 0 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT Matt Caldwell 8 0 0 0 Abraham Lee 8 2 0 0 Chris Bain 7 0 0 0 Willie Thompson 7 0 0 0 Marcus Everson 5 0 0 0 Jerod Holt 5 0 0 0 Carl Johnson 3 0 0 0 Todd Tanner 3 0 0 0 David Collins 2 0 0 0 Dennis Barber 2 0 0 0 Robert Smith 1 0 0 0 Donald Davis 1 0 0 0 Danny House 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Troy Hopkins 4/4 1/1 13 44 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Vincent Peoples 2 86 32.5 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LG Ryan Kerr 1 23 23.0 23 Danny House 1 15 15.0 15 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LG Team 0 0 0.0 0

VANDERBILT COMMODORES PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Greg Freeman 27/41 316 2 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Leonard Chapman 16 86 5.3 0 Greg Freeman 6 64 10.6 1 Shawn Brooks 2 21 10.5 1 Erik Overstreet 4 17 4.3 0 Justin Burns 2 6 3.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Michael Johnson 10 151 15.1 1 Curtis Cannon 5 80 16.0 0 Jesse Harrison 4 30 7.5 1 Leonard Chapman 4 28 7.0 0 Ryan Jamison 4 27 6.8 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Edward Washington 1 0 Preston Moss 1 0 Aaron Miranda 1 0 Mike Meeks 1 0 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT Jeffrey Ugochukwu 11 1 0 0 Kasey Davidson 10 0 0 0 Steve Poland 7 1 0 1 Adrian Andrews 5 0 0 0 Brian Davidson 4 1 0 0 Boyd Peterson 4 1 0 0 Aaron Baker 3 2 0 0 Darren Agu 2 0 0 0 Corey Watkins 1 0 0 0 Justin King 1 0 0 0 Scott Rosario 1 0 0 0 Daniel Martin 1 1 0 0 Daniel Noble 1 0 0 0 Dan Pendleton 1 1 0 0 Yilanan Ouattara 1 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Zach Hancock 2/2 4/4 10 28 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Zach Hancock 1 20 20.0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LG Michael Johnson 3 123 41.0 75 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LG Michael Johnson 2 21 10.5 11

Ulysses Heckel lays da lumba on Memphis’ Pat Carpenter (left) and picks off a pass
(right) in his college debut.

HECKELING THE TIGERS
Freshman linebacker has outstanding debut
as Vanderbilt rolls to 52-7 rout of Memphis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — He’s the freshman linebacker with the funny name, but he was no laughing matter to the Memphis Tigers.

World, meet Ulysses Heckel.

You’re going to be hearing plenty about Mr. Heckel in the coming years if his collegiate debut is any indication of what lies ahead.

The four-star recruit from Valley Station, Ky. had 11 tackles, two for losses, forced a fumble and picked off a pass as 27th-ranked Vanderbilt opened the 2011 season with a 52-7 rout of 71st-ranked Memphis.

“I’ll be back to talk to you guys after I change my pants,” an obviously aroused coach B-Dawg said as he passed by reporters who assembled outside of Vanderbilt’s dressing room.

When B-Dawg returned, he appeared more relaxed and calm, smoking a cigarette as he fielded questions.

“We don’t want to get too excited about one game,” B-Dawg said while exhaling a cloud of smoke. “The great ones do this kind of thing game in and game out. He’s a kid, albeit a very talented one. He’s going to have days like this, but he’s also going to be invisible some days. We can’t get too carried away, because this was Memphis we were playing. Let’s see how the young man does when he goes up against the likes of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, et al.”

Of course, it wasn’t the best debut by a freshman linebacker on Saturday. Florida International’s Brandon Murray had three interceptions and returned one for a touchdown in a 34-21 victory over East Carolina, earning NCAA Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Heckel was the second-rated middle linebacker in the country coming out of high school. He is 78 OVR with 84 SPD and 87 TAK.

He had eight tackles in the first half alone, then came out with the rest of Vanderbilt’s starters with 2:19 left in the third quarter after the Commodores went up 49-0. Heckel’s interception came in the fourth quarter when he subbed in for a fatigued teammate.

He wasn’t the only true freshman to shine, as cornerback Albert Pruitt had an interception and two tackles for losses, while backup middle linebacker Travis Davis finished second on the team to Heckel with five tackles, two for losses.

They were part of a defense that was completely dominant, holding Memphis without a first down until there was 7:37 left in the game. The Tigers were 0-for-9 on third down before quarterback Corey Watkins barely got past the first-down marker on a third-and-three keeper. Memphis eventually scored its only touchdown against the Commodores’ backups with 4:58 to go.

The offense is a more seasoned group, with fourth-year junior quarterback Antwan Smith putting on a masterful performance. Smith started the game 14-for-16 for 132 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, as the Commodores jumped out to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter.

The only mistake Smith made all day was throwing an interception to red-shirt freshman strong safety Chris Wright less than two minutes into the third quarter. Memphis, trailing 21-0, couldn’t do anything with the change in momentum and was quickly buried, as the Commodores scored 24 points in the final 4:14 of the third quarter. Jason Toth had a 68-yard punt return for a touchdown during that run, giving him three returns for touchdowns in his last two games and seven during his three-year career.

Smith finished 18-for-25 for 188 yards, three touchdowns and one pick while running seven times for a team-high 80 yards.

“That interception really bothers me,” B-Dawg said. “’Twan was having a great game statistically, running our offense with precision. There’s nothing I hate more than interceptions. Had he made it out of this game without one, he’d have had a great game. As it is, it’s only merely a good game.”

Smith and backup quarterbacks Austin Muse and Josh Hayden got no help from their receivers. Eight of the team’s 10 incompletions were because of drops, not including the interception.

Rashad Ting, a 91 OVR sophomore offensive tackle, came within one pancake of the dynasty record with nine pancakes. Nobody else had more than two.

B-Dawg switched from the California playbook to Hawaii’s pass-happy playbook. Vanderbilt had four touchdown passes, but B-Dawg felt uncomfortable without his old reliable — the I-formation — and will probably be looking for a new book.


PLAYAZ OF DA GAME
Antwan Smith, Vanderbilt; Dante Dorsey, Memphis

VANDERBILT 52, MEMPHIS 7
First quarter
VANDY: Knox 19 pass from A.Smith (Diles kick), 3:46
VANDY: K.Johnson 2 run (Diles kick), 1:17
Second quarter
VANDY: Brantley 14 pass from A.Smith (Diles kick), 6:06
Third quarter
VANDY: A.Smith 7 run (Diles kick), 4:14
VANDY: Brantley 16 pass from A.Smith (Diles kick), 3:31
VANDY: Toth 68 punt return (Diles kick), 2:23
VANDY: Diles 30 field goal, :04
Fourth quarter
MEM: Carpenter 3 run (Livingston kick), 4:58
VANDY: Knox 5 pass from Muse (Diles kick), 2:38

[size=4][b]
VANDERBILT 14    7   24    7   —   52
MEMPHIS     0    0    0    7   —    7  [/B][/size]

[b][size=4][font=arial][color=#C8AE13]VANDERBILT COMMODORES STATISTICS[/color][/font][/size][/b][size=4][/size][size=3]
[b]PASSING         Cmp  Att   Yds  TD  Int   Lg [/B]
Antwan Smith     18   25   188   3    1   29
Austin Muse       2    4    13   1    0    8
Josh Hayden       2    4    10   0    0   12
[b]TOTALS           22   33   211   4    1   29[/B]

[b]RUSHING         Att  Yds   Avg  TD   Lg [/B]
Antwan Smith      7   80  11.4   1   29
Clint Turner     15   58   3.9   0   18
Kevin Harrell     5   41   8.2   0   25
Kory Johnson      2    4   2.0   1    2
Josh Hayden       1    3   3.0   0    3
[b]TOTALS           30  186   6.2   2   29[/B]

[b]RECEIVING       Rec  Yds   Avg   TD   Lg [/B]
Derrick Brantley  5   62  12.4    2   16
Jason Toth        4   51  12.8    0   29
Freddie Knox      4   40  10.0    2   19
Evan Smith        3   35  11.7    0   17
Clint Turner      3    8   2.7    0    6
Billy Jones       1    9   9.0    0    9
Jacob Hayes       1    8   8.0    0    8
Kevin Harrell     1   -2  -2.0    0    0
[b]TOTALS           22  211   9.6    4   29[/B]

[b]DEFENSE         Tkl  TFL   Sk  Int [/B]
Ulysses Heckel   11    2    0    1
Travis Davis      5    2    0    0
Junior Fields     3    0    0    0
Shannon Mooney    3    0    0    0
Keith Cunningham  3    2    1    0
Albert Pruitt     3    2    0    1
Bryan Kelly       3    1    0    0
Chris Gordon      3    0    0    0
Pat Stewart       2    2    2    0
Paul Lane         2    1    0    0
Chris Pollock     2    0    0    0
Donnell Monroe    2    0    0    0
Terrance Burns    2    1    0    0
Shaun Spencer     2    0    0    0
Bobby Moss        2    0    0    0
Jacob Hayes       1    0    0    0
Freddy Wright     1    0    0    0
Tony Edwards      1    1    1    0
Derrick Brantley  1    0    0    0
Billy Jones       1    0    0    0
[b]TOTALS           53   14    4    2[/B][/size]

[b][size=4][font=arial][color=#4451B0] MEMPHIS TIGERS STATISTICS[/color][/font][/size][/b][size=4][/size][size=3]
[b]PASSING         Cmp  Att   Yds   TD  Int   Lg [/B]
Corey Watkins     6   16    65    0    2   21
Matt Palmer       2    2    21    0    0   16
[b]TOTALS            8   18    86    0    2   21[/B]

[b]RUSHING         Att  Yds   Avg   TD   Lg [/B]
Pat Carpenter    21   44   2.1    1   15
Corey Watkins    12   25   2.1    0   15
Josh Bryant       3    0   0.0    0    8
Matt Palmer       1   -1  -1.0    0    0
[b]TOTALS           37   68   1.8    1   15[/B]

[b]RECEIVING       Rec  Yds   Avg   TD   Lg [/B]
Tony Ball         3   38  12.7    0   17
Chad Kiel         2   30  15.0    0   21
Kyle Cooper       2   24  12.0    0   14
Pat Carpenter     1   -6  -6.0    0    0
[b]TOTALS            8   86  10.8    0   21[/B]

[b]TEAM STATISTICS  VAN    MEM [/B]
Total offense    397    154
Rushing          186     68
Passing          211     86
First downs       20      8
3rd down        7-13   2-13
4th down         0-0    2-2
Turnovers          1      3
Penalties        0-0    0-0
Possession     17:45  14:15[/size]

WEEK 1 RESULTS
VANDERBILT 52, Memphis 7
Georgia Tech 35, Alabama 6
Auburn 42, Texas Southern 0
Florida 34, Florida Atlantic 17
LSU 17, Stanford 3
Mississippi State 23, Sam Houston State 7
Tennessee 49, SE Missouri State 0
Arkansas 31, Missouri 28
Mississippi 49, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 0
South Carolina 56, Villanova 10
Louisville 49, Kentucky 14

PLAYAZ OF DA WEEK
Offense — Jake Price, Tennessee (30 carries, 190 yards, 2 TD; 4 catches, 76 yards, 2 TD)
Defense — Justin Booth, Auburn (5 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 int., 1 TD)




DAVID GREEN, Navy, HB, Sr.
STATS: 26 carries, 210 yards, 3 TD; 2 catches, 22 yards

BEN JAMES, Virginia Tech, QB, Jr.
STATS: 13-for-25, 117 yards, 3 TD, 0 int.

MARK BECK, LSU, QB, r-Sr.
STATS: 26-for-43, 238 yards, 0 TD, 1 int.; 15 carries, 100 yards, 2 TD

GRANT WALKER, Georgia Tech, QB, r-Jr.
STATS: 14-for-27, 200 yards, 0 TD, 3 int.; 7 carries, 19 yards, 1 TD

CARLTON GRANIELLO, USC, WR, Jr.
STATS: 6 catches, 139 yards, 2 TD

[Hellisan]

Re: 2026/2011 SEASONS - GAME 1

LOL, the vision of Coach trying to hide an erection after watching Heckel's opening performance had me dying. Great performance by the kid. He better be careful in the showers.
What's his speed like?

[BDawg35]

Re: 2026/2011 SEASONS - GAME 1

LOL, the vision of Coach trying to hide an erection after watching Heckel's opening performance had me dying. Great performance by the kid. He better be careful in the showers.
What's his speed like?

Oh, dear, what have I written?

That was my first thought when I saw your comment. I had to go back and read that report. I just copy and paste it from an old Word document from more than 16 years ago.

Yeah, that sounds like something I'd write.

And, wouldn't you know it, I have an Excel spreadsheet with the 2011 Vanderbilt roster from NCAA '07 that shows Mr. Heckel came into college 78 OVR with 84 SPD, 78 STR and 87 TAK. It appears his SPD never got a bump the rest of his career, which I recall being a problem in some older NCAA games. I mean, guys get at least a little faster once they're training in a college program.

Good to hear from you. I should probably read what I post from now on so it meets community standards.

[BDawg35]

2026/2011 SEASONS - GAME 2


Vanderbilt backup running back Shawn Brooks extends himself to score a go-ahead touchdown with 1:09 left.


Alabama’s Andrew Henley picks off a pass before halftime.


Alabama quarterback Charles Nelson breaks a tackle on a 25-yard touchdown run.

Shallow record
Johnson sets NCAA receiving record
on final play of loss to Crimson Tide

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Setting an all-time NCAA record should be cause for celebration, but the accomplishment couldn’t have felt any more hollow for Vanderbilt senior receiver Michael Johnson.

Johnson caught a 50-yard pass from Greg Freeman to push his career total to 5,045 yards, surpassing the real-life mark ingrained in NCAA ’14 of 5,005 set by Nevada’s Trevor Insley from 1996-99. That record was actually broken by a player on the NCAA ’14 default roster, Western Michigan’s Corey Davis, who had 5,285 yards from 2013-16.

Technically, the game was stopped when Johnson broke the record because the game ended with him 25 yards short of the end zone and no time on the clock in the 11th-ranked Commodores’ 45-43 loss to fourth-ranked Alabama on Sept. 5, 2026.

The lead changed hands twice in the final 1 minute and 9 seconds. A 6-yard run by backup running back Shawn Brooks on his only carry of the game gave Vanderbilt a 43-42 lead with 1:09 remaining. A critical gaffe happened on the 2-point conversion when Jeremy McKenzie dropped a 2-point pass that would have put Vanderbilt up by a field goal.

That allowed Alabama to win the game on a 43-yard field goal by Tom Oliver with three seconds remaining.

B-Dawg elected to fair catch the ensuing kickoff, figuring he had a better chance of scoring on a deep ball to Johnson, even though he had an 84-yard kick return earlier in the game. Indeed, Johnson caught a 50-yard pass, but was immediately tackled to end the game.

Johnson caught seven passes for 165 yards and one touchdown, doing what he usually does.

McKenzie was a complete mixed bag. Both of his catches went for short touchdowns, but he not only dropped a critical 2-point pass but dropped a fourth-and-two from Alabama’s 39-yard line on the second drive of the game.

This was a game in which Vanderbilt couldn’t afford to miss scoring opportunities, as Alabama rolled up 539 yards of total offense behind a robo-QB performance by Charles Nelson. Nelson completed 31 of 34 passes for 377 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 23 times for 103 yards and a score.


Jeremy McKenzie had 2 touchdown catches and 2 critical dropped passes.

ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE at VANDERBILT COMMODORES
Sept. 5, 2026	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#4 Alabama Crimson Tide (2-0)	7	13	22	3	45
#11 Vanderbilt Commodores (1-1)	7	14	7	15	43

Team Stats Comparison
	ALA	VAN
Total Offense	539	501
Rushing Yards	39-162	23-88
Passing Yards	377	413
First Downs	23	20
Punt Return Yards	0	8
Kick Return Yards	17	275
Total Yards	556	784
Turnovers	0	2
3rd Down Conversion	8-13	4-7
4th Down Conversion	0-1	0-2
2-Point Conversion	1-1	0-1
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	6-3-2	7-6-0
Penalties	1-15	0-0
Possession Time	19:03	16:57

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		ALA	VAN
1:47	(ALA) M. O'Donnell 7 run (T. Oliver kick)	7	0
:37	(VAN) R. Jamison 10 pass from G. Freeman (Z. Hancock kick)	7	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		ALA	VAN
7:06	(ALA) M. O'Donnell 10 run (T. Oliver kick)	14	7
6:02	(VAN) E. Overstreet 4 run (Z. Hancock kick)	14	14
2:55	(ALA) T. Oliver 21 field goal	17	14
1:15	(VAN) J. McKenzie 4 pass from G. Freeman (Z. Hancock kick)	17	21
:00	(ALA) T. Oliver 23 field goal	20	21
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		ALA	VAN
7:27	(ALA) W. Williams 14 pass from C. Nelson (C. Nelson run)	28	21
6:15	(ALA) W. Anderson 54 pass from C. Nelson (T. Oliver kick)	35	21
4:28	(VAN) J. McKenzie 5 pass from G. Freeman (Z. Hancock kick)	35	28
2:02	(ALA) C. Nelson 25 run (T. Oliver kick)	42	28
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		ALA	VAN
7:52	(VAN) Safety, D. Pendleton	42	30
5:19	(VAN) M. Johnson 5 pass from G. Freeman (Z. Hancock kick)	42	37
1:09	(VAN) S. Brooks 6 run (pass failed)	42	43
:03	(ALA) T. Oliver 43 field goal	45	43

ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Charles Nelson 31/34 377 2 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Charles Nelson 23 103 4.4 1 Mark O'Donnell 12 51 4.2 2 James Donaldson 3 5 1.7 0 Freddie Gore 1 3 3.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD David Jackson 7 77 10.9 0 Willie Anderson 5 98 19.7 1 Kevin Bray 5 41 8.2 0 Andre Stallings 4 63 15.8 0 Mark O'Donnell 4 23 5.8 0 John Smith 2 31 15.5 0 Willie Williams 2 30 15.0 1 James Donaldson 2 14 7.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Matt Graham 1 0 Rasheed Richard 1 0 John Smith 1 0 Andrew Vaughn 1 1 Kellen Berry 0 1 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT Marcello Barr 9 1 0 0 Jeff Cobbs 8 0 0 0 William Landrum 6 0 0 0 Nathan Young 6 1 0 0 Marcus Dailey 5 0 0 1 Casey Mason 5 0 0 0 Joshua Martin 2 0 0 0 Andrew Henley 2 0 0 1 Greg Ashley 2 0 0 0 Mike Brewster 1 0 0 0 Adam Freeman 1 0 0 0 Chris Frye 1 0 0 0 Jermaine Leach 1 0 0 0 Xavier Wilkerson 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Tom Oliver 3/3 4/4 13 43 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Nathan Williams 2 62 31.0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LG Chris Frye 1 17 17.0 17 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LG Team 0 0 0.0 0

VANDERBILT COMMODORES PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Greg Freeman 26/37 413 4 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Leonard Chapman 13 44 3.3 0 Greg Freeman 4 28 7.0 0 Erik Overstreet 5 10 2.0 1 Shawn Brooks 1 6 6.0 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Michael Johnson 7 165 23.5 1 Jesse Harrison 6 103 17.1 0 Curtis Cannon 4 52 13.0 0 Mike Barclay 3 62 20.7 0 Ryan Jamison 2 15 7.5 1 Jeremy McKenzie 2 9 4.5 2 Leonard Chapman 2 7 3.5 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Ryan Jamison 1 0 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT Adrian Andrews 11 2 0 0 Boyd Peterson 11 1 0 0 Jeffrey Ugochukwu 10 2 0 0 Steve Poland 6 0 0 0 Scott Rosario 5 0 0 0 Justin King 4 2 1 0 Dan Pendleton 3 2 1 0 Aaron Baker 3 1 0 0 Daniel Martin 3 0 0 0 Kasey Davidson 2 0 0 0 Daniel Noble 2 1 1 0 Darren Agu 1 0 0 0 Brian Davidson 1 0 0 0 Yilanan Ouattara 1 1 0 0 Pat Berg 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Zach Hancock 0/0 5/5 5 0 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Zach Hancock 1 37 37.0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LG Michael Johnson 7 268 38,2 83 Derek Malloy 1 7 7.0 7 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LG Michael Johnson 1 8 8.0 8

Toledo quarterback James Hargrove fumbles the ball near the goal
line on a hit by Bryan Lewis.

Dropped TD pass by Toledo star
bails out Vandy in 41-23 victory

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Toledo had two 100-yard receivers against Vanderbilt on Sept. 10, 2011 and should have had a third.

In fact, the 44th-ranked Rockets should have had another touchdown, one which could have dramatically altered the outcome of a game that the 26th-ranked Commodores won by a 41-23 score.

Cody Marquardt, Toledo’s impact receiver, was open in the back of the end zone but dropped a fourth-down pass from James Hargrove with 5:29 left in the game. The touchdown would have put Toledo in the lead, as Vanderbilt was clinging to a 27-23 lead.

Sensing the Rockets might be sagging a bit, the Commodores went for the jugular, with Antwan Smith heaving an 80-yard touchdown pass to Freddie Knox on Vanderbilt’s first play after the drop with 5:15 to go in the game. The Commodores (2-0) tacked on one final touchdown on a 3-yard run by backup halfback Kevin Harrell and, suddenly, the final score was more lopsided than the actual play had gone for most of the day.

“We caught a huge break and we knew their team would be down a bit,” B-Dawg said. “That’s the perfect time to go for the deep ball. We purposely avoid doing it too much for obvious credibility reasons, but Antwan made a great read on the play, seeing that the safety wasn’t helping in the slot and left a linebacker to defend Freddie. If the defense makes those kinds of mistakes, you’re obligated to capitalize.”

Toledo (1-1) put up big numbers through the air, with Avery Joyce catching 10 passes for 101 yards, J.J. Thomas seven passes for 111 yards and Marquardt four passes for 84 yards and a touchdown.

The dropped pass was just one example of how Vanderbilt lived dangerously, yet managed to come away unscathed much of the game.

Toledo was deep in Vanderbilt territory on its first drive, but settled for a field goal after two straight sacks. An interception by Toledo freshman defensive tackle Kevin Herring was returned to Vanderbilt’s 2-yard line with 5:35 left in the second quarter, only to have the Rockets cough up the ball on the next play.

Perhaps the biggest play by the defense came with 3:17 left in the second quarter when Hargrove tried to score on a quarterback draw on third-and-goal from the 2-yard line, only to fumble the ball on a hit by Bryan Kelly. Ulysses Heckel recovered for Vanderbilt. Toledo had first-and-goal from the 3-yard line, but came up empty.

“It was a classic case of living on the edge, bending but not breaking,” B-Dawg said. “I don’t think we could have gotten away with this kind of effort against SEC teams, but it got us past Toledo.”

Vanderbilt had trouble sustaining drives after a nice opening series, but three big plays highlighted the offense’s day. Clint Turner had an 82-yard touchdown run, the longest by a halfback in this dynasty and one yard short of Smith’s record. Jason Toth caught a screen pass and took it 73 yards to the house, and Knox had the 80-yard touchdown to give Vanderbilt some breathing room.

Vanderbilt got out to a 14-3 lead, but Toledo got back in the game through a bizarre sequence of events. The Rockets got two safeties in a span of 2:07 in the second quarter, with Kyle Jenkins sacking Smith and Herring tackling Turner in the end zone following the fumble by Hargrove.

A 6-yard pass from Hargrove to Marquardt with 2:12 left in the second gave Toledo a 17-14 lead, but a 26-yard field goal by Andre Diles with four seconds left in the half drew Vanderbilt into a 17-17 deadlock at halftime.

The Commodores lost starting defensive end Pat Stewart for the next five weeks with a broken fibula that he suffered with 4:46 left in the second quarter. Stewart has three sacks already in this young season.

Toledo’s Seth Ferguson had 10 tackles, three for losses, one sack, one interception and one forced fumble.

Toledo had minus-16 yards rushing, but 344 through the air.

PLAYAZ OF DA GAME Seth Ferguson, Toledo; Clint Turner, Vanderbilt

VANDERBILT 41, TOLEDO 23
First quarter
VANDY: Turner 1 pass from A.Smith (Diles kick), 4:55
TOL: Johnson 42 field goal, 3:32
VANDY: Turner 82 run (Diles kick), 3:18
Second quarter
TOL: Johnson 48 field goal, 6:31
TOL: Safety, Jenkins sacks A.Smith, 5:22
TOL: Safety, Herring tackles Turner, 3:15
TOL: Marquardt 6 pass from Hargrove (Johnson kick), 2:12
VANDY: Diles 26 field goal, :04
Third quarter
VANDY: Toth 73 pass from A.Smith (Diles kick), 7:45
VANDY: Diles 25 field goal, 3:46
TOL: Johnson 18 field goal, 2:19
Fourth quarter
TOL: Johnson 40 field goal, 5:25
VANDY: Knox 80 pass from A.Smith (Diles kick), 5:15
VANDY: Harrell 3 run (Diles kick), 1:34


WEEK 2 RESULTS
VANDERBILT 41, Toledo 23
Penn State 30, Alabama 20
N.C. State 28, Mississippi State 17
Arkansas 34, Southern Methodist 21
LSU 63, Louisiana Tech 7
South Carolina 38, Southern Mississippi 13
Tennessee 35, Oklahoma State 21
Bowling Green 28, Mississippi 18
Auburn 49, Iowa State 7
Georgia 38, Temple 3

PLAYAZ OF DA WEEK
Offense — Mark Beck, LSU (29-for-36, 353 yards, 6 TD; 10 carries, 85 yards, 1 TD)
Defense — Jamaal Jones, Auburn (7 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack, 1 FF, 1 TD)





DAVID GREEN, Navy, HB, Sr.
STATS: 59 carries, 445 yards, 5 TD

BEN JAMES, Virginia Tech, QB, Jr.
STATS: 25-for-50, 244 yards, 5 TD, 0 int.

SCOTT ROGERS, Penn State, WR, r-Sr.
STATS: 10 catches, 241 yards, 4 TD

JAMES FORD, Iowa, WR, r-Sr.
STATS: 14 catches, 317 yards, 3 TD

MARK BECK, LSU, QB, r-Sr.
STATS: 55-for-79, 591 yards, 6 TD, 1 int.

[BDawg35]

2026/2011 SEASONS - GAME 3


The U’s Scott Joseph seals the victory by sacking Greg Freeman with 1:00 left.


Vanderbilt tight end Ryan Jamison flexes in the end zone after scoring a go-ahead touchdown with 3:32 left in the
game.

ANOTHER BLOWN LEAD
Vanderbilt loses again on late FG
after taking late lead vs. The U

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — For the second week in a row, Vanderbilt took the lead against a nationally ranked opponent late in the game.

And, for the second week in a row, the Commodores’ defense couldn’t prevent the opposition from getting into range for a game-winning field goal.

Thomas Murphy’s 51-yard field goal with 1:13 left in the game gave No. 11 The U a 23-21 victory over No. 13 Vanderbilt.

The Commodores (1-2) had taken a 21-20 lead on a 46-yard pass from Greg Freeman to tight end Ryan Jamison.

B-Dawg’s teams have been known for making late-game comebacks during a coaching career that goes back to NCAA 2004, but the Commodores seemed out of sorts when the time came to rally for a victory.

Three straight incompletions left the Commodores with fourth-and-10 from their own 25-yard line. On fourth down, middle linebacker Scott Joseph sacked Freeman with 1:00 left to seal the victory over the Hurricanes.

“I’m usually super confident in those situations, but was all discombobulated on that final series,” B-Dawg said. “They dropped a sure interception on the first play, we dropped a pass on the second play and I just never felt comfortable at the sticks.”

Last week, Vanderbilt took a 43-42 lead over Alabama on a 6-yard run by Shawn Brooks with 1:09 remaining, only to lose on a 43-yard field goal by Tom Oliver with three ticks left.

A big culprit in last week’s loss was receiver Jeremy McKenzie, who dropped a 2-point pass and a fourth-down pass. Star receiver Michael Johnson took his spot in the slot in a five-wide formation from which the Commodores like to move the chains.

As a result, a game-breaking receiver who just set the NCAA record for career receiving yards was reduced to a possession receiver. He caught 13 passes, but averaged only 5.8 yards per catch with 75 yards and two touchdowns.

It was the emerging star tight end, Jamison, who made the chunk plays with 101 yards and a touchdown on five catches.

“We can’t keep dinking and dunking to Michael Johnson,” B-Dawg said. “We have to let him loose. But we can’t have cats dropping short passes when the chains need to be moved either.”

Johnson had his own big gaffe in the game, dropping a fourth-and-goal pass from the 2-yard line with nine seconds left in the first half. The Commodores came away with only two touchdowns in four trips to the red zone.


The U’s Andy Yancey picks off a pass.

VANDERBILT COMMODORES at THE U HURRICANES
Sept. 12, 2026	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#13 Vanderbilt Commodores (1-2)	7	0	7	7	21
#11 Miami (FL) Hurricanes (2-0)	0	13	7	3	23

Team Stats Comparison
	VAN	MIA
Total Offense	384	308
Rushing Yards	20-51	30-71
Passing Yards	333	237
First Downs	21	16
Punt Return Yards	7	22
Kick Return Yards	61	19
Total Yards	452	349
Turnovers	1	0
3rd Down Conversion	4-11	4-10
4th Down Conversion	2-4	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	4-2-0	3-1-1
Penalties	1-15	0-0
Possession Time	19:26	16:34

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		VAN	MIA
3:30	(VAN) M. Johnson 4 pass from G. Freeman (Z. Hancock kick)	7	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		VAN	MIA
8:26	(MIA) T. Murphy 35 field goal	7	3
7:36	(MIA) J. Dickerson 41 pass from J. Smith (T. Murphy kick)	7	10
3:12	(MIA) T. Murphy 47 field goal	7	13
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		VAN	MIA
6:51	(MIA) A. Golden 2 run (T. Murphy kick)	7	20
4:21	(VAN) M. Johnson 2 pass from G. Freeman (Z. Hancock kick)	14	20
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		VAN	MIA
3:32	(VAN) R. Jamison 46 pass from G. Freeman (Z. Hancock kick)	21	20
1:13	(MIA) T. Murphy 51 field goal	21	23

VANDERBILT COMMODORES PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Greg Freeman 32/46 333 3 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Leonard Chapman 10 46 4.6 0 Erik Overstreet 4 8 2.0 0 Shawn Brooks 1 4 4.0 0 Greg Freeman 5 -7 -1.4 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Michael Johnson 13 75 5.7 2 Ryan Jamison 5 101 20.2 1 Erik Overstreet 4 32 8.0 0 Curtis Cannon 3 54 18.0 0 Jesse Harrison 2 34 17.0 0 Mike Barclay 2 26 13.0 0 Leonard Chapman 2 8 4.0 0 Jeremy McKenzie 1 3 3.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Edward Washington 2 0 Aaron Miranda 0 1 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT Jeffrey Ugochukwu 8 1 0 0 Boyd Peterson 7 1 0 0 Pat Berg 6 0 0 0 Scott Rosario 4 0 0 0 Brian Davidson 4 3 0 0 Kasey Davidson 4 0 0 0 Daniel Martin 3 2 0 0 Aaron Baker 3 1 0 0 Adrian Andrews 3 2 1 0 Steve Poland 2 0 0 0 Darren Agu 2 0 0 0 Yilanan Ouattara 1 0 0 0 Dan Pendleton 1 0 0 0 Michael Johnson 1 0 0 0 Justin King 1 1 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Zach Hancock 0/1 3/3 3 0 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Zach Hancock 2 88 44.0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LG Michael Johnson 2 61 30.5 42 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LG Michael Johnson 1 7 7.0 7

THE U HURRICANES PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Jason Smith 20/27 237 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Daniel Austin 19 57 3.0 0 Jason Smith 10 12 1.2 0 Adam Golden 1 2 2.0 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD David Rhodes 5 111 22.2 0 Adam Golden 4 25 6.3 0 Nic Elbert 3 20 6.7 0 Jonathan Dickerson 2 52 26.0 1 Jermaine Schultz 2 25 12.5 0 Chip Fuller 2 13 6.5 0 Daniel Austin 2 -9 -4.5 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK David Rhodes 3 0 Nic Elbert 1 0 Morris Cameron 1 0 Kory Glover 1 1 Bill Wilson 1 1 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT Scott Joseph 9 4 1 0 Carl Williams 8 0 0 0 Larry Carter 5 0 0 0 Tim Johnson 5 4 0 0 Marcus Miller 5 0 0 0 Nicholas Hughes 4 0 0 0 DeAndre Johnson 4 0 0 0 Andy Yancey 3 0 0 1 Ben Estes 2 0 0 0 Luke Beck 2 1 0 0 Scott Tillman 1 0 0 0 Mike Edwards 1 0 0 0 Chris Mack 1 0 0 0 Tramon Goodman 1 0 0 0 Chip Fuller 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Thomas Murphy 3/3 2/2 11 51 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Joe Jones 2 98 49.0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LG Jermaine Schultz 1 19 19.0 19 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LG Jermaine Schultz 1 22 22.0 22

Vanderbilt free safety Barry Sanders picks off a pass in the end zone and returns it 103 yards for a
touchdown.

Smith puts Commies on his shoulders,
carries them in comeback over Arkansas

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Past Vanderbilt teams would have caved in.

Past Vanderbilt teams would have shrugged their collective shoulders and used plus-five momentum as an excuse for another beatdown inflicted by a Southeastern Conference foe.

Ah, but the 2011 Vanderbilt Commodores appear to be a different team, a team that their coach likes to humbly refer to as having the “heart and character of a B-Dawg team.”

Red-shirt junior quarterback Antwan Smith played like a man with a Heisman Trophy in his future, leading 26th-ranked Vanderbilt to a 38-28 come-from-behind victory over 34th-ranked Arkansas on Sept. 17, 2011.

Smith was 25-for-40 for 229 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, while running 17 times for 137 yards and a touchdown. In unbeaten Vanderbilt’s first three games, Smith is 60-for-87 for 713 yards, nine touchdowns and four picks, running 37 times for 219 yards and two touchdowns. He has a strong 162.8 quarterback rating.

“This is what we expect out of a third-year starter who has been in our program for four years,” B-Dawg said. “If we keep playing like we are, Antwan should find his name on that Heisman hype list, because his numbers compare favorably with the other quarterbacks who are in the running.”

As well as Smith played, the highlight of the game was provided early on by junior free safety Barry Sanders. The Michigan native affectionately known as Junior picked off a pass in the end zone after Arkansas reached Vanderbilt’s 9-yard line and returned it 103 yards for a touchdown to open the scoring with 5:54 left in the first quarter. It tied the longest interception return ever by a B-Dawg football player. Boss Bailey of the Detroit Lions had a 103-yard interception return at Seattle on Oct. 31, 2004 in Madden 2004, while BigJDotCom’s boy Germara Williams of the University of Buffalo had a 103-yard return against Ohio on Oct. 25, 2003 in NCAA 2004. It was Sanders’ eighth career interception, the first one he’s taken for six.

“I live for plays like that,” B-Dawg said. “My only regret is Barry wasn’t one step further back so he could have had a 104-yard return. We could have lost the game and I would have forgotten about the result soon enough, but I’d never forget that interception return. I still remember the two by Boss and G-Wil fondly.”

Arkansas bounced back from Sanders’ interception to score three straight touchdowns, two on passes of 80 and 85 yards from Aaron East to Daniel Smith and the third on Nelson Rossner’s 23-yard return of a Smith fumble.

Smith atoned for the mistake by having a hand in four Vanderbilt touchdowns during a 31-0 run. He threw touchdown passes to Evan Smith, Jason Toth and Freddie Knox and ran 2 yards for a touchdown.

“That’s the sign of a great quarterback, when he can bounce back from a horrible mistake and lead a team like Antwan led us the rest of the way,” B-Dawg said. “I like what he’s made of.”

Smith’s receivers turned short passes into big plays, as the Commodores had 126 yards of YAC out of the team’s total of 229 passing yards.

Three different Commodores had at least one run of 20 yards or longer, as the team had five total while gaining 229 yards on 36 carries.

Freshman defensive end Junior Fields, getting his first start in place of the injured Pat Stewart, had six tackles and three for losses.

Daniel Smith of Arkansas had a huge game, catching eight passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns.

PLAYAZ OF DA GAME Daniel Smith, Arkansas; Antwan Smith, Vanderbilt

VANDERBILT 38, ARKANSAS 28
First quarter
VANDY: Sanders 103 interception return (Diles kick), 5:54
ARK: Smith 80 pass from East (Allen kick), :06
Second quarter
ARK: Smith 85 pass from East (Allen kick), 3:43
ARK: Rossner 23 fumble return (Allen kick), 3:29
VANDY: E.Smith 13 pass from A.Smith (Diles kick), 2:21
VANDY: Diles 26 field goal, :01
Third quarter
VANDY: Toth 45 pass from A.Smith (Diles kick), 6:42
VANDY: Knox 15 pass from A.Smith (Diles kick), 4:32
Fourth quarter
VANDY: A.Smith 2 run (Diles kick), 5:55
ARK: Smith 6 pass from East (Allen kick), 1:57


WEEK 3 RESULTS
VANDERBILT 38, Arkansas 28
Auburn 44, Mississippi State 10
Georgia 42, South Carolina 31
Alabama 37, Indiana 0
Mississippi 25, Kentucky 23
LSU 28, Arizona State 10
Tennessee 31, Florida 20

PLAYAZ OF DA WEEK
Offense — Ronald Slaughter, Georgia (17-for-25, 292 yards; 16 carries, 146 yards, 5 total TD)
Defense — Barry Sanders, Vanderbilt (7 tackles, 1 FF, 1 int., 1 TD)



 
DAVID GREEN, Navy, HB, Sr.
STATS: 91 carries, 688 yards, 8 TD; 6 catches, 74 yards

REGGIE NEAL, Texas Tech, QB, Soph.
STATS: 62-for-93, 1,146 yards, 15 TD, 5 int.

JAMES FORD, Iowa, WR, r-Sr.
STATS: 20 catches, 418 yards, 4 TD

JEROME GEORGE, Oklahoma, QB, r-Soph.
STATS: 47-for-93, 571 yards, 7 TD, 3 int.; 40 carries, 217 yards, 3 int.

CURTIS WRIGHT, Michigan, QB, r-Sr.
STATS: 63-for-95, 840 yards, 10 TD, 0 int.; 12 carries, 78 yards, 1 TD

[BDawg35]

2026/2011 SEASONS - GAME 4


Michael Johnson heads to the end zone on a record-setting 109-yard kickoff return.


Jeffrey Ugochukwu sacks Arkansas quarterback Stanley Brown, forcing a fumble.


Vanderbilt linebacker Steve Poland falls on a fumble by Arkansas quarterback Stanley Brown.

LONGEST TD EVER!
Johnson scores B-Dawg’s longest TD
in Vanderbilt’s victory at Arkansas

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — B-Dawg’s football teams have scored countless touchdowns since he began playing dynasty mode in the NCAA Football series with the 2003 edition.

None have covered more ground than the one senior receiver Michael Johnson scored on a kick return during a 39-32 come-from-behind victory over Arkansas on Sept. 19, 2026.

Johnson scored the longest touchdown ever by a B-Dawg player, taking a kick 109 yards to the house with 5:48 left in the third quarter. Only 11 seconds lapsed off the clock, making Johnson’s speed faster than Usain Bolt’s.

Arkansas had just scored 10 points to start the second half, taking a 22-14 lead. The Commodores needed a response, which Johnson supplied with a lightning strike.

Johnson’s return broke the record 108-yard return by Western Michigan’s Brian Brown at Michigan State on Nov. 11, 2023 in B-Dawg’s first NCAA ’14 dynasty. B-Dawg has had three 107-yard returns. He’s had two 104-yard interception returns for touchdowns.

“Whenever I can field a kick deep in the end zone, I’m always thinking I have a chance to make history,” B-Dawg said. “They were kicking them deep all day, so we knew there was a chance if they kicked it toward the sideline more where I have better luck setting up my blocking.”

B-Dawg usually has a tight end or fullback as his No. 2 kick returner to provide strong blocking from a player who could return the kick passably well if circumstances dictated. In his case, tight end Derek Malloy was immediately grabbed and moved to the left side while the kick was in the air to get him out blocking on the edge.

Malloy made one of the two pancake blocks on the outside that enabled Johnson to find open field.

“That play doesn’t happen if Derek whiffs on his block,” B-Dawg said.

The Commodores were able to tie the game on a 2-point pass to Jeremy McKenzie. Johnson wasn’t available for the 2-point pass, because he was understandably gassed.

Even with the excitement provided by Johnson’s return, the Commodores gave up a 50-yard touchdown pass from Stanley Brown to John Moore on the next Arkansas drive to fall behind 29-22.

The Commodores’ defense finally pulled its weight by coming up with two game-changing turnovers in the fourth quarter.

On the first play of the quarter, free safety Jeffrey Ugochukwu unleashed a devastating user hit stick on Brown, forcing a fumble that was recovered at the Vanderbilt 25-yard line by linebacker Steve Poland.

“They were about to go down and score again,” B-Dawg said. “The hit stick never works for me in terms of forcing a fumble, but it did when we needed it most.”

The Commodores marched down the field and took a 32-29 lead on a 16-yard pass from Greg Freeman to tight end Ryan Jamison.

Then came the second major turnover, an interception by cornerback Adrian Andrews which he took 64 yards to the house with 5:36 left in the game to make it a 39-29 game.

It was a rare game in which B-Dawg scored a touchdown on offense, defense and special teams.

The Razorbacks cut the lead to seven points on a 52-yard field goal with 4:17 left, but Vanderbilt ran out the clock. Running back Leonard Chapman had a 9-yard run and a 14-yard catch as the key plays in the clock-draining drive.


Adrian Andrews heads to the end zone on an interception return.

Vanderbilt Commodores at Arkansas Razorbacks
Sept. 19, 2026	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#16 Vanderbilt Commodores (2-2)	0	14	11	14	39
Arkansas Razorbacks (1-3)	3	10	16	3	32

Team Stats Comparison
	VAN	ARK
Total Offense	495	465
Rushing Yards	29-74	38-192
Passing Yards	421	273
First Downs	26	21
Punt Return Yards	0	0
Kick Return Yards	226	68
Total Yards	721	533
Turnovers	2	2
3rd Down Conversion	7-14	4-10
4th Down Conversion	2-3	0-0
2-Point Conversion	1-1	0-1
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	5-3-1	3-1-2
Penalties	2-21	2-20
Possession Time	23:51	12:09

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		VAN	ARK
6:19	(ARK) J. Jackson 27 field goal	0	3
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		VAN	ARK
8:28	(ARK) S. Brown 10 run (J. Jackson kick)	0	10
5:22	(VAN) J. Harrison 11 pass from G. Freeman (Z. Hancock kick)	7	10
4:05	(ARK) J. Jackson 46 field goal	7	13
:15	(VAN) M. Johnson 4 pass from G. Freeman (Z. Hancock kick)	14	13
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		VAN	ARK
8:19	(ARK) J. Moore 55 pass from S. Brown (run failed)	14	19
5:59	(ARK) J. Jackson 27 field goal	14	22
5:48	(VAN) M. Johnson 109 kickoff return (J. McKenzie catch)	22	22
4:17	(ARK) J. Moore 50 pass from S. Brown (J. Jackson kick)	22	29
:33	(VAN) Z. Hancock 26 field goal	25	29
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		VAN	ARK
6:16	(VAN) R. Jamison 16 pass from G. Freeman (Z. Hancock kick)	32	29
5:36	(VAN) A. Andrews 64 interception return (Z. Hancock kick)	39	29
4:17	(ARK) J. Jackson 52 field goal	39	32

VANDERBILT COMMODORES PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Greg Freeman 36/49 421 3 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Leonard Chapman 16 50 3.1 0 Erik Overstreet 8 28 3.5 0 Greg Freeman 5 -4 -0.8 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Michael Johnson 11 149 13.5 1 Jesse Harrison 6 69 11.5 1 Ryan Jamison 6 55 9.1 1 Curtis Cannon 4 61 15.3 0 Leonard Chapman 4 34 8.5 0 Mike Barclay 3 44 14.7 0 Erik Overstreet 1 6 6.0 0 Shawn Brooks 1 3 3.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Derek Malloy 1 0 Aaron Miranda 1 0 John Leach 1 0 Mike Meeks 1 0 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT Jeffrey Ugochukwu 8 0 0 0 Scott Rosario 7 0 0 0 Boyd Peterson 6 1 0 0 Steve Poland 6 1 0 0 Kasey Davidson 5 1 1 0 Chris Jackson 4 1 1 0 Daniel Noble 4 1 1 0 Darren Agu 2 0 0 0 Justin King 2 1 1 0 Brian Davidson 2 0 0 0 Dan Pendleton 2 2 1 0 Adrian Andrews 1 0 0 1 Atari Bowling 1 0 0 0 Aaron Baker 1 0 0 0 Kendall Butler 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Zach Hancock 1/2 4/4 7 26 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Zach Hancock 1 31 31.0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LG Michael Johnson 5 226 45.2 109 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LG Team 0 0 0.0 0

ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Stanley Brown 18/26 273 2 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Jason Cox 16 96 6.0 0 Stanley Brown 18 68 3.7 1 John Moore 2 21 10.5 0 Charles Wright 1 6 6.0 0 Marcus Matthews 1 1 1.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD John Moore 6 167 27.8 2 Charles Wright 4 13 3.3 0 Casey Bonner 3 34 11.3 0 Jason Cox 3 29 9.7 0 Charles Price 1 16 16.0 0 Marcus Matthews 1 14 14.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Doug Workman 1 0 Brandon Richardson 1 0 Charles Price 1 0 John Moore 1 0 Anthony Bailey 1 1 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT Seth Brown 10 2 0 1 Jonathan Luke 9 1 0 0 Edmond Johnson 7 0 0 0 Andrew Stevens 6 1 1 0 Bo Fritz 5 0 0 0 Jamaal Williams 5 1 0 0 John Morgan 5 0 0 0 Slade Brown 5 0 0 0 Drew Gray 4 0 0 0 A.J. Jackson 3 0 0 0 George Hill 3 0 0 0 Junior Forte 2 0 0 0 Jimmy Williams 1 0 0 0 Tevita Bellamy 1 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG John Jackson 4/4 2/2 14 52 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Justin Fisher 2 101 50.5 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LG Casey Bonner 2 46 23.0 25 Charles Wright 1 22 22.0 22 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LG Team 0 0 0.0 0

Freshman linebacker Ulysses Heckel had another monster game, picking off a pass
(left) and forcing Wisconsin’s Brian Dotson to fumble (right).

Heckel continues to make impact,
Vandy wins 38-26 at Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The legend of Ulysses Heckel continues to grow, just four games into the young man’s college football career.

Heckel is playing well beyond his 78 OVR initial rating. He had 11 tackles, one interception and forced two fumbles for 25th-ranked Vanderbilt in a 38-26 victory over 33rd-ranked Wisconsin on Sept. 24, 2011.

Heckel set a B-Dawg record by making eight tackles in the first quarter alone. He had 10 by halftime before cooling off.

“I think I’ll start working on my acceptance speech into the MaddenMania Dynasty Hall of Fame,” Heckel said. “Only injuries or an early departure to the NFL will keep me out of those hallowed halls.”

Heckel wasn’t the only defender for unbeaten Vanderbilt to have a huge day.

Strong safety Keith Cunningham, the reigning Thorpe Award winner, finally emerged from his silence by getting two sacks, recovering two fumbles and blocking an extra point. Junior cornerback James Pressley had two interceptions and defensive end Tony Edwards returned an interception 36 yards.

If you get the impression from these numbers that Wisconsin had trouble protecting the rock, you’re dead-on right.

The Badgers (2-2) had eight turnovers, including six in the first half on their first 31 plays from scrimmage.

“It was a flashback to that Air Force game in the Independence Bowl last year,” B-Dawg said. “I kinda felt sorry for Wisconsin. We expected a much tougher game coming up to Camp Randall, but those boys couldn’t hang on to the ball.”

The early rash of turnovers allowed Vanderbilt (4-0) to get out to a 24-7 lead in the first quarter. The Badgers played better the rest of the way, but couldn’t get out of that early hole.

Smith went 13-for-24 for 229 yards, two touchdowns and one pick, running 11 times for 63 yards and a touchdown.

Wisconsin’s Brian Dotson fumbled early, but came back strong to run 23 times for 215 yards and a touchdown.

PLAYAZ OF DA GAME Keith Cunningham, Vanderbilt; Brian Dotson, Wisconsin

VANDERBILT 38, WISCONSIN 26
First quarter
VANDY: Turner 5 run (Diles kick), 5:27
VANDY: A.Smith 10 run (Diles kick), 3:31
WISC: Dotson 78 run (Jones kick), 3:19
VANDY: Turner 6 run (Diles kick), 1:25
VANDY: Diles 21 field goal, :49
Second quarter
WISC: J.Brown 10 run (kick blocked by Cunningham), 6:52
VANDY: Knox 3 pass from A.Smith (Diles kick), 2:50
Third quarter
VANDY: Harrell 5 pass from A.Smith (Diles kick), 5:17
WISC: Ball 7 run (Jones kick), 2:08
Fourth quarter
WISC: E.Brown 52 pass from J.Brown (pass failed), 2:12

WEEK 4 RESULTS
VANDERBILT 38, Wisconsin 26
Oklahoma State 40, Mississippi 35
Louisville 34, LSU 31 (OT)
Auburn 34, Florida 24
Alabama 29, Arkansas 19
Iowa 42, Kentucky 3
South Carolina 35, Mississippi State 30
Georgia 46, Tennessee 42

PLAYAZ OF DA WEEK
Offense — Ronald Slaughter, Georgia (25-for-35, 277 yards; 9 carries, 146 yards, 4 total TD)
Defense — Keith Cunningham, Vanderbilt (6 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 FF, 2 FR, 1 block)




STEPHON WRIGHT, Florida State, WR, Jr.
STATS: 20 catches, 331 yards, 9 TD

JAMES FORD, Iowa, WR, r-Sr.
STATS: 29 catches, 516 yards, 5 TD

REGGIE NEAL, Texas Tech, QB, Soph.
STATS: 62-for-93, 1,146 yards, 15 TD, 5 int.

DAVID GREEN, Navy, HB, Sr.
STATS: 124 carries, 885 yards, 10 TD; 10 catches, 125 yards

JEROME GEORGE, Oklahoma, QB, r-Soph.
STATS: 63-for-121, 761 yards, 9 TD, 4 int.; 53 carries, 251 yards, 4 TD

[tarheelguy4736]

Re: Goin' back to Vandy: A B-Dawg dual NCAA '14/NCAA '07 flashback dynasty

Solid win! I always love returning kicks for TDs. Especially when you go untouched and smoothly go through the holes up field.

I never thought about putting a blocking TE or FB as the returner backup. I may have to try that one day.

[BDawg35]

Re: Goin' back to Vandy: A B-Dawg dual NCAA '14/NCAA '07 flashback dynasty

Solid win! I always love returning kicks for TDs. Especially when you go untouched and smoothly go through the holes up field.

I never thought about putting a blocking TE or FB as the returner backup. I may have to try that one day.

He felt great in my hands when I made that return.

Yes, I intended that to sound as creepy as it came off.

I got tired of having scrawny receivers as the No. 2 return guy unable to make a block. A tight end or fullback is fast enough to move into position in time if you click on him while the ball is in the air and move him out to the edge. They don't seem to want to block the edge gunner left to their own devices.

[BDawg35]

2026/2011 SEASONS - GAME 5


Leonard Chapman scores the winning touchdown on a 2-yard run with four seconds left.


Michael Johnson catches a 4-yard touchdown pass on a Monster Screen.

BREAKOUT GAME
Freshman scores first 3 career TD’s,
including winner with :04 left at Pitt

PITTSBURGH — Welcome to the end zone, Leonard Chapman.

So nice of you to visit.

OK, maybe that’s a little cold. It’s not entirely Chapman’s fault that it took until the fifth game of his Vanderbilt football career to score a touchdown as the team’s No. 1 running back.

Coach B-Dawg has gone away from running goal-line toss plays within three yards of the end zone so far this season, instead using some successful short-passing plays while going for six.

B-Dawg finally went back to the tried-and-true toss play on the goal line that has had a high success rate during his time at Air Force and Vanderbilt in NCAA ’14. You could call it a money play, but that sounds so cheap and dirty.

Chapman scored two of his three touchdowns on that call, including a 2-yard run with four seconds left in the game to give the 13th-ranked Commodores a 49-42 victory over Pittsburgh on Sept. 26, 2026.

Chapman has 279 yards and three touchdowns on 70 carries through five games.

“He’s young, so I can’t be too harsh on him yet,” B-Dawg said. “Our scheme has also deprived him of some opportunities to get into the end zone. You would like to see your No. 1 running back score some touchdowns from a bit of distance though. If we can’t count on Chapman to create his own touchdowns at times, we’ll have to keep throwing 50-plus times a game.”

Another freshman who had a breakout performance was receiver Jesse Harrison, who had 11 catches for 179 yards and a touchdown. There wouldn’t seem to be many opportunities for other receivers to shine on a team that includes NCAA record holder Michael Johnson, but B-Dawg said that’s not necessarily the case.

“We spread the ball around,” B-Dawg said. “We’re always running a minimum of three receivers, often four or five. We had six guys catch at least three passes today and eight guys total who had a catch. We pass to the best option on every play, which isn’t always going to be Michael Johnson, since he’s often running streaks that don’t have a high probability of completion.”

Vanderbilt led 41-28 and had Pittsburgh in a fourth-and-22 situation on its own 49-yard line with a chance to secure the victory earlier. James Bell got open behind Scott Rosario for a stunning 51-yard touchdown pass from Matt Eaton to keep the Panthers alive.


Pittsburgh took a 42-41 lead with 51 seconds left in the game on a 13-yard run by Stevie Powers. It turned out to be a good thing he scored right away, because it gave the Commodores time to put together a winning drive.

Vanderbilt couldn’t run out the clock, throwing an incompletion on third-and-eight with 1:49 left. The Panthers took over at their own 30 with 1:44 remaining and moved to the Vanderbilt 5-yard line. Adrian Andrews dropped an interception in the end zone, but a Linus Zink sack back to the 13-yard line seemed to give Vanderbilt breathing room.

On the next play, the Panthers ran a draw play to Stevie Powers, who broke tackles on his way to a 13-yard touchdown run with 51 seconds left. The extra point put Pittsburgh up by one.

The winning 10-play, 53-yard drive started ominously for Vanderbilt. Chapman dropped a pass on the first play and Robbie Johnson dropped an interception on the second. Quarterback Greg Freeman was able to scramble 19 yards for a first down on third-and-10 with 36 seconds left.

The passing game then got back in sync, with Freeman completing a 13-yard pass to Mike Barclay, then 7-, 12- and 17-yarders to Harrison. Tight end Ryan Jamison dropped a pass in the end zone with seven seconds left before the Commodores ran a toss left to Chapman for the winning touchdown. Chapman also had a 2-point run, just in case a miracle happened on the other end.

That miracle never happened, as Kasey Davidson intercepted a Hail Mary to end the game.


Kasey Davidson intercepts a Hail Mary to end the game.

VANDERBILT COMMODORES at PITTSBURGH PANTHERS
Sept. 26, 2026	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#13 Vanderbilt Commodores (3-2)	7	24	10	8	49
Pittsburgh Panthers (0-3)	7	14	7	14	42

Team Stats Comparison
	VAN	PITT
Total Offense	599	515
Rushing Yards	28-112	30-138
Passing Yards	487	377
First Downs	30	14
Punt Return Yards	24	0
Kick Return Yards	201	110
Total Yards	824	625
Turnovers	1	3
3rd Down Conversion	6-11	10-14
4th Down Conversion	0-1	1-1
2-Point Conversion	1-1	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	9-5-2	3-3-0
Penalties	1-12	0-0
Possession Time	22:50	13:10

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		VAN	PITT
4:41	(VAN) L. Chapman 1 run (Z. Hancock kick)	7	0
3:23	(PITT) T. Sears 47 run (J. Gatewood kick)	7	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		VAN	PITT
7:05	(PITT) R. Vinson 44 pass from M. Eaton (J. Gatewood kick)	7	14
5:37	(VAN) J. Harrison 14 pass from G. Freeman (Z. Hancock kick)	14	14
5:07	(VAN) L. Chapman 24 run (Z. Hancock kick)	21	14
2:19	(VAN) Z. Hancock 21 field goal	24	14
:48	(PITT) J. Bell 9 pass from M. Eaton (J. Gatewood kick)	24	21
:23	(VAN) M. Johnson 4 pass from G. Freeman (Z. Hancock kick)	31	21
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		VAN	PITT
7:36	(PITT) T. Sears 5 run (J. Gatewood kick)	31	28
4:33	(VAN) Z. Hancock 23 field goal	34	28
1:20	(VAN) M. Barclay 13 pass from G. Freeman (Z. Hancock kick)	41	28
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		VAN	PITT
2:56	(PITT) J. Bell 51 pass from M. Eaton (J. Gatewood kick)	41	35
:51	(PITT) S. Powers 13 run (J. Gatewood kick)	41	42
:04	(VAN) L. Chapman 2 run (L. Chapman run)	49	42

VANDERBILT COMMODORES PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Greg Freeman 39/57 487 3 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Leonard Chapman 15 53 3.5 3 Greg Freeman 9 39 4.3 0 Erik Overstreet 3 13 4.3 0 Shawn Brooks 1 7 7.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Jesse Harrison 11 179 16.2 1 Michael Johnson 8 69 8.6 1 Ryan Jamison 7 88 12.5 0 Leonard Chapman 4 23 5.8 0 Curtis Cannon 3 59 19.7 0 Mike Barclay 3 35 11.7 1 Erik Overstreet 2 20 10.0 0 Derek Malloy 1 14 14.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Edward Washington 1 0 Paul Walker 1 0 Ryan Jamison 1 0 Aaron Miranda 0 1 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT Daniel Noble 8 3 0 0 Kasey Davidson 8 1 0 1 Jeffrey Ugochukwu 7 1 0 1 Brian Davidson 5 1 0 0 Boyd Peterson 4 3 0 0 Aaron Baker 4 1 0 0 Steve Poland 4 0 0 0 Adrian Andrews 3 0 0 1 Scott Rosario 3 0 0 0 Justin King 1 0 0 0 Yilanan Ouattara 1 0 0 0 Daniel Martin 1 1 0 0 Wesley Hill 1 1 1 0 Linus Zunk 1 1 0 0 Dan Pendleton 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Zach Hancock 2/2 5/5 1 24 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Zach Hancock 2 67 33.5 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LG Michael Johnson 4 201 50.2 64 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LG Michael Johnson 2 24 12.0 16

PITTSBURGH PANTHERS PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Matt Eaton 24/29 377 3 3 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Terrance Sears 4 54 13.5 2 Stevie Powers 17 49 2.8 1 Matt Eaton 9 35 3.8 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Ray Vinson 6 143 23.8 1 James Bell 6 96 16.0 2 Dan Hill 5 100 20.0 0 Craig White 4 37 9.3 0 Stevie Powers 2 -1 -0.5 0 Craig Hampton 1 2 2.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Dan Hill 1 0 Tommy Warren 1 0 Craig White 1 0 Andrew Cantrell 1 0 James Bell 1 0 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT Robbie Johnson 13 2 0 0 Joey Tyson 12 0 0 0 Jared Moore 7 0 0 0 Brandon Brown 5 0 0 0 Joseph McDonald 5 0 0 0 Cedrick White 5 0 0 0 Chris Taylor 4 0 0 0 Kevin Huston 3 0 0 0 Perry Davidson 3 2 1 0 Cedric Miller 3 0 0 0 Kyle Whitaker 2 0 0 0 James Bell 1 0 0 0 Aaron Gallagher 1 0 0 0 Brian Bonds 1 0 0 0 Dan Hill 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG John Gatewood 0/0 6/6 6 0 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Chance Hamby 3 135 45.0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LG A.J. Frye 4 88 22.0 26 Ray Vinson 1 22 22.0 22 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LG Team 0 0 0.0 0

Jason Lewis gives Vanderbilt some breathing room by picking off a pass and
returning it for a touchdown.

Vandy nearly blows 17-point lead,
pulls away to beat Fresno, 45-28

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The phrase “don’t sleep on Fresno State” took on a literal meaning for Vanderbilt coach B-Dawg Saturday night.

Playing his second and final game of the night, well past 2 a.m., a weary B-Dawg nearly allowed a 17-point lead to slip away before his unbeaten Commodores won going away by a 45-28 score on Sept. 24, 2011.

Vanderbilt, 5-0 and ranked No. 24 in the nation, thought it was going to be easy. The Commodores were up 7-0 just 17 seconds into the game when speedster Jason Toth caught a quick-out at the 19-yard line and sprinted down the left sideline for an 89-yard touchdown pass from Antwan Smith.

The lead reached 24-7 midway through the second quarter, but Fresno State wasn’t going to concede. The Bulldogs scored the next 13 points to get within 24-20 with 4:15 left in the third quarter.

“I was really sweating at that point and trying to force myself to stay alert, to stay focused,” B-Dawg said. “We have a special season going right now and I couldn’t ruin that for my kids by dozing at the sticks.”

Sophomore cornerback Jason Lewis made a huge play to quell Fresno State’s momentum, picking off a pass and returning it 77 yards for a touchdown on third-and-five with 1:25 left in the third quarter.

The 50th-ranked Bulldogs (2-2) just kept on coming, however, making it a three-point game on 1-yard pass from Ray Gunn to Fred Ard and a 2-point pass with 5:42 left in the game.

“We were right back where we were before J-Lew’s interception, only that there was now less time in the game for Fresno State to make a comeback,” B-Dawg said. “Ball control was going to be the key.”

Vanderbilt converted two third-and-four plays on its next possession, with backup halfback Kevin Harrell going up the middle to Fresno State’s 19-yard line with 3:44 left and Jason Toth catching a pass at the 4-yard line with 2:35 to go. From there, Smith threw a 4-yard touchdown to Freddie Knox to give Vanderbilt some breathing room with 2:13 left.

Defensive tackle Chris Gordon sacked Gunn on fourth-and-five with 1:33 left and the Commodores made the final score a little more one-sided when Smith threw a 1-yard touchdown to Evan Smith with 58 seconds to go.

Antwan Smith finished 18-for-29 for 269 yards, three touchdowns and one pick. His favorite receiver was Toth, who caught seven passes for 187 yards and a touchdown.

Strong safety Keith Cunningham had his second straight outstanding performance, breaking through for three sacks and five tackles for losses. The reigning Thorpe Award winner, quiet in the first three games of the season, has five sacks and seven tackles for losses in the last two games out of the 4-2-5 defense.

PLAYAZ OF DA GAME Fred Ard, Fresno State; Antwan Smith, Vanderbilt

VANDERBILT 45, FRESNO STATE 28
First quarter
VANDY: Toth 89 pass from A.Smith (Diles kick), 7:43
FS: Ard 36 pass from Gunn (McCargo kick), 3:12
VANDY: A.Smith 8 run (Diles kick), :53
Second quarter
VANDY: K.Johnson 10 run (Diles kick), 6:21
VANDY: Diles 27 field goal, 4:11
FS: Curry 22 pass from Gunn (McCargo kick), 2:45
FS: McCargo 46 field goal, :38
Third quarter
FS: McCargo 42 field goal, 4:15
VANDY: Lewis 77 interception return (Diles kick), 1:25
Fourth quarter
FS: Ard 1 pass from Gunn (Curry pass from Gunn), 5:42
VANDY: Knox 4 pass from A.Smith (Diles kick), 2:13
VANDY: E.Smith 1 pass from A.Smith (Diles kick), :58


WEEK 5 RESULTS
VANDERBILT 45, Fresno State 28
Auburn 49, South Carolina 28
LSU 45, Mississippi State 17
Georgia 55, Kentucky 14
Army 35, Mississippi 31
Tennessee 49, Arkansas 22
Alabama 45, Florida 16

PLAYAZ OF DA WEEK
Offense — Mark Beck, LSU (23-for-29, 310 yards; 9 carries, 39 yards, 6 total TD)
Defense — Dwayne Moss, Alabama (2 int., 1 TD)




JAMES FORD, Iowa, WR, r-Sr.
STATS: 41 catches, 686 yards, 6 TD

STEPHON WRIGHT, Florida State, WR, Jr.
STATS: 23 catches, 361 yards, 9 TD

REGGIE NEAL, Texas Tech, QB, Soph.
STATS: 85-for-125, 1,495 yards, 20 TD, 5 int.

MARK BECK, LSU, QB, r-Sr.
STATS: 121-for-193, 1,443 yards, 16 TD, 5 int.; 53 carries, 276 yards, 5 TD

DEVIN JONES, Auburn, HB, r-Sr.
STATS: 111 carries, 809 yards, 10 TD; 7 catches, 152 yards, 2 TD


2010 Thorpe Award winner
suspended for rest of season

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The last thing Vanderbilt needs right now is a distraction.

Everything is going along perfectly. B-Dawg’s plans of building a powerhouse program in Nashville seem to be falling into place, as the Commodores are off to a 5-0 start in 2011.

And now this …

A serious case of academic fraud has resulted in the harshest suspension ever dealt out in B-Dawg’s coaching career. Junior strong safety Keith Cunningham, the reigning Thorpe Award winner, will not play for Vanderbilt the rest of the season and will sit out the first five games of 2012 to make it a full year’s suspension.

“I am deeply saddened to have to do this, especially to one of our great players like Keith,” B-Dawg said. “However, this entire dynasty is based around winning the right way. Our administration recommended that Keith be suspended for the season and I am in full agreement. We would be sending the wrong message by keeping this issue quiet and moving on like nothing happened. What if Deegeezy, Hellisan or BigJDotCom caught wind of this? I would never be able to get another coaching job on the MaddenMania boards again.

“In fact, I think a full season should mean a full season, so Keith will miss the first five games next year if he doesn’t turn pro first. I doubt he’ll have the numbers to turn pro now that he’s missing seven regular-season games and a possible bowl game.”

An internal memo obtained by The Associated Press reads as follows: “The Nashville media has been reporting that Cunningham pays fellow students to help him take exams and do homework assignments. This is terrible timing, but I recommend we suspend him for the rest of the year.”

Cunningham is 90 OVR, tied for the 12th-highest OVR among strong safeties in the nation. He was just starting to heat up after a slow start, getting five sacks and seven tackles for losses in the last two games. He has 23 tackles, six sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries this season. In his three-year career, he has 148 tackles, 20 sacks, six interceptions, six forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries. Many of those sacks came by playing tight to the line of scrimmage in the 4-2-5 defense.

“You know, these types of things never happen to guys deep on your depth chart,” B-Dawg said. “They always happen to your star players, as if EA is trying to test your integrity as a coach. Keith would have been a solid candidate for the MM Hall of Fame, but I will not submit his name. We cannot have someone with this type of stain on his record representing Vandy in the hallowed halls.”

Cunningham had a B rating for discipline. His discipline was rated as “average” when he was recruited in 2009. By suspending him for the year, the Commodores maintained an empty bar in NCAA interest.

With Cunningham on the shelf, fifth-year senior Shannon Mooney will start at strong safety. Mooney is only 78 OVR, but has a soft spot in B-Dawg’s heart because he was one of only three players to sign with Vanderbilt back in his original recruiting class in 2007.