Big second half lifts Vandy
NASHVILLE — Vanderbilt overcame two early red-zone disappointments and bottled up a high-scoring Nevada offense, winning an important nonconference game 41-10 Saturday with a dominant second-half performance.
Carrying on from last week’s opener against Middle Tennessee State, the Commodores (2-0) were rock solid on defense from the start, holding the Wolf Pack to 124 yards in the first half and 250 overall, a week after coach Jay Norvell’s team scored 72 points on 636 yards against Portland State.
Vanderbilt’s failure to score on two promising drives into the red zone to start the game allowed the visitors from the Mountain West Conference to keep things close, tightening the score to 17-10 on a 9-yard Ty Gangi pass to Brendan O’Leary-Orange in the final minute of the first half.
Nevada (1-1) never closed the gap, though, going three-andout to start the third quarter. Vanderbilt responded with an impressive 11-play, 77-yard drive, draining 6:17 off the clock and ending with a 25-yard Ryley Guay field goal.
In contrast to the game’s start, Vanderbilt scored on three straight drives to open the second half. A 46-yard dash from the speedy Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Kalija Lipscomb’s second touchdown catch of the day from Kyle Shurmur after Guay’s kick stretched a one-touchdown lead to a 24-point margin.
Shurmur was 23-for-32 passing for 258 yards, and he had no interceptions for the second straight week.
Commordores senior linebacker Josh Smith finished with 10 tackles, three for loss.
With Vanderbilt facing three teams currently in the Top 25 in the next four games — including trips to No. 8 Notre Dame and No. 3 Georgia — Saturday’s win appeared critical for its bowl hopes.
› Ole Miss 76, Southern Illinois 41 OXFORD, Miss. — Jordan Ta’amu passed for 448 yards and five touchdowns, and Scottie Phillips ran for 107 yards and two scores as the Rebels survived an upset scare by winning a wild shootout.
Southern Illinois led 38-35 at halftime in a game that was much more competitive than originally anticipated.
The Salukis (1-1) had never beaten a team from the Southeastern Conference and were 3-30 coming into the game against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents. They pushed the Rebels (2-0) to the brink for three quarters, though, flinging the ball all over the field against a completely unprepared defense.
The Rebels finally broke the game open early in the fourth quarter when Vernon Dasher snagged an interception and ran it back 88 yards for a touchdown and a 55-41 lead. The play seemed to break the Salukis’ spirit, and the Rebels piled up the points in the waning minutes for the win.
Southern Illinois quarterback Sam Straub completed 29 of 47 passes for 382 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions, and teammate D.J. Davis ran for 121 yards.
The teams combined for nearly 1,300 total yards.
› Missouri 40, Wyoming 13 COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri quarterback Drew Lock usually dissects defenses with his arm. Wyoming learned the hard way his legs have a little juice, too.
Lock threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score, completing 33 of 45 passes for 398 yards. He added a career-high 51 rushing yards, which was almost half of his total for last season.
Missouri’s Emanuel Hall caught 10 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown against the Cowboys (1-2). He didn’t even start the first four games of last season, but since then he has established himself as one of the nation’s most productive wide receivers.
Missouri (2-0) scored on its first four possessions of the second half to put the game out of reach.