We're coming to you at a slight delay (not live) from the press box at Vanderbilt Stadium, as the Commodores host the Western Carolina Catamounts.
Sorry about not finishing the blog, we went down to the field for the remainder of the game with the outcome no longer in doubt. Both Kennard Reeves and Ryan van Rensburg scored the first touchdowns of their careers, and Ryan Fowler kicked his first-ever field goal in college, a 25-yarder, for the final margin in a 45-0 victory.
Turns out Smith left with a cramp in his leg and is totally fine. Nothing wrong with his ankle.
Check out the full recap of the game with post-game interviews here.
9:17 Mac Acams hits a wide-open Trey Herndon for a first down, Vanderbilt's 33rd (yes, 33) of the day.
9:15 Kennard Reeves is single-handedly taking the Commodores down field after starting at the 14-yard line, with 42 yards on four carries.
9:11 The Catamounts just got their fourth first down of the game on an 11-yard pass. Yikes.
9:08 Brett Upson's campaign for ALl-SEC honors will be hurting after this game and it's not really his fault. He keeps having to kick booch punts since Vanderbilt has stalled so many times around the WCU 35; he's averaged 22.8 on four punts today.
9:06 Just found out that Zac Stacy's 130 yards (so far) is the most ever gained by a true freshman for the Commodores. It's also the first time that two true freshmen running backs get over 100 yards.
9:04 The Commodores are chalking up the milestones; now Warren Norman has gone over 100 yards on the ground. It's the first time that two Vandy running backs have gained over 100 since Sept. 21, 2002. Good news also: just found out Larry Smith walked to the locker room on his own and doesn't appear to be badly hurt.
9:00 The Black-and-Gold out engineered by the athletic department appears to have worked well. Most of the students have left though with the game's outcome pretty much beyond doubt at this point. The only drama now is whether Vanderbilt will garner its first shutout since 1999.
8:56 Adams misfires and it's fourth down, and Fowler's on for a 32-yard field goal. It misses again, wide right. That's ok seeing as we're up 28-0 but that doesn't bode well for his confidence. He's 0-2 today.
8:54 Larry Smith injured his ankle, it appears, after an 8-yard run and was helped off the field. You hate to see that. Mackenzi Adams replaces him at quarterback and hit Brandon Barden for a first down on his first pass.
8:48 Zac Stacy is at 113 yards rushing, the first freshman to rush for over 100 yards at Vanderbilt since the late Kwane Doster in 2002. Hats off to Zac. Warren Norman is 5 yards short of that mark himself.
8:40 Norman was stuffed on his first two runs but not the third. With some nice blocking up front, he scores from two yards out on a pitch from Smith and the Commodores lead 28-0 with 7:40 to play in the third quarter.
8:35 Smith finds Barden for an 18-yard gain and we have a first-and-goal at the 4.
8:33 Larry Smith missed on a deep pass to Washington, but got excellent protection from the O-line on the next play and ran for a first down. Warren Norman follows up with a tough run for nine yards; he is having an outstanding game. He gets another yard on the next play for a first down.
8:25 Catamounts still stuck on three first downs today. Alex Washington returns the punt into WCU territory. It's a big lead, but it'd be nice to see the Commodores capitalize on the opportunity.
8:20 Vanderbilt gets the ball first in the second half and the team's off and running into WCU territory. The drive stalls and Brett Upson executes a much better short punt that pins the Catamounts.
8:00 That was the first time that Vanderbilt pitched a first-half shutout since Sept. 29, 2007 when the Commodores blanked Eastern Michigan and took a 13-0 lead into halftime. Nice.
Some halftime nuggets while we enjoy the Spirit of Gold's show, with the Commodores enjoying a 21-0 advantage.
Vanderbilt has 16 first downs to WCU's 3.
Larry Smith is 8-14 passing for 123 yards and a touchdown, with six different players having caught passes. Other than his fumble, Smith has played superbly so far.
So has the defense. They've smothered the Catamounts, holding them to a scant 66 yards on 32 plays, sacked quarterback Zack Jaynes three times, and forced and recovered two fumbles.
Compare that to Vanderbilt, who has run 42 plays for an astonishing 320 yards. That's nearly 65 more than their average for an entire game so far. I know WCU's not a D-I power or anything, but you couldn't have asked for a much crisper performance on a side of the ball that really struggled most of last year.
7:54 Casey Hayward knocked off a desperate pass attempt after the Catamounts neglected to try a 51-yard field goal. Vanderbilt kneels it and the Commodores have pitched a first-half shutout for the first time in...well I'll find out now, because I can't remember when that happened.
7:58 The defense locked down, sniffing out a shovel passs and dropping the Catamounts well short of a first down.
7:57 T.J. Greenston's having himself a ballgame. A big sack knocked WCU back 19 yards. He's also got a fumble recovery today.
7:55 Well, the offense and defense have been great, but the special teams have left something to desire. Upson's punt just now deflected off Monahan and WCU has the ball at Vandy's 37.
7:50 Some serious internet issues here in the box, but nothing of note happened in the last 20 minutes. Vanderbilt had a promising drive going, and Larry Smith didn't see an absurdly wide-open Collin Ashley that would have been an easy touchdown. Instead the drive fizzled at the 35 and the Commodores punted. WCU went 3 and out and Vanderbilt is driving down into WCU territory after a 20-yard rush by Larry Smith.
7:27 Couple Catamount offensive stats to make Vanderbilt fans smile. WCU has one first down so far, 49 total yards, two lost fumbles (both forced by Chris Marve), and quarterback Zack Jaynes is 3-9 passing for 33 yards.
7:24 Michael Johnson rushed for 22 yards on his first two carries, since then he's been completely bottled up the Commodore D, who are winning the battle up front big time so far.
7:20 TOUCHDOWN COMMODORES! Stacy takes a direct snap on the first play of the second quarter and gets good blocking up front on his way to a nine-yard score. He and Warren Norman have combined for 91 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries.
7:17 That's the end of the first quarter and Vanderbilt has dominated the proceedings. The Commodores have out-gained the Catamounts an astonishing 221-31 and WCU's lucky to only be down 14-0 after Smith's fumble in the end zone and the missed field goal.
7:15 Stacy bruises down the middle for a first, then Smith hids freshman Collin Ashley down the middle with a really nice throw for first down at the 12. Smith looks great out there and very comfortable with this offense.
7:13 Smith hits tight end Brandon Barden for a gain of 9 yards, and its first down into WCU territory. The no-huddle has the Catamounts out of sorts. That was Barden's first catch of the year, the transfer from Virgina Tech led the nation's freshmen tight ends in catches last season with 28 and led the Commodores with four touchdown receptions.
7:12 Really nice fake pulled off by Larry Smith, faking the handoff to John Cole on a sweep and finding a wide-open Udom Umoh for a gain of 23 yards.
7:10 More smothering defense from Vanderbilt forces a 3-and-out and the Commodores have the ball at the 20 after a punt.
7:08 Fowler's having a rough time so far at kicker. His kick-off went out of bounds and WCU took over at its 40.
7:07 TOUCHDOWN COMMODORES! Norman took around the left end and dove in for six. 14-0 Vanderbilt with a little over four minutes left in the first quarter.
7:05 First and goal at the 6.
7:04 Warren Norman is in the game and has made two bullying runs to get the Commodores in the red zone.
7:02 Zack Jaynes gets another pass smacked away by Myron Lewis and the Catamounts punt. Vandy takes over at its 44.
6:57 TOUCHDOWN COMMODORES! Justin Green got behind the defense and made a juggling catch on a nice pass from Larry Smith. 7-0 Vanderbilt after the PAT. That's the big guy's first ever touchdown.
6:56 Zac Stacy is running hard so far. Just got a 13-yard gain on a catch from Smith.
6:52 Commodores force a punt and take over at their own 34.
6:50 Three plays net Vanderbilt four yards and Ryan Fowler misses his first field goal attempt for the Commodores from 43 yards. Two possessions deep in WCU territory and 0 points to show for it.
6:45 Ladies and gentlemen, behold the beastliness that is Chris Marve. After some good penetration by defensive end Tim Fugger pushed Catamount quarterback Zack Jaynes out of the pocket, Marve leveled him and forced a fumble that T.J. Greenstone recovered. First down for Vandy at the WCU 30.
6:42 Larry Smith looked like he had a rushing touchdown but fumbled at the 1-yard line and it was recovered by WCU in the end zone. Tough break.
6:40 Two runs by Zac Stacy give Vanderbilt a first down at the WCU 12.
6:38 There's a good start. Patrick Benoist recovers a fumble and the Commodores have a first down at the WCU 30.
