On Saturday night, Vanderbilt took a much-needed trip to face the woeful defense of the Rice Owls, as the Commodores have struggled mightily to score offensively and to force turnovers on the defensive side of the ball.

Against Rice, however, neither was a problem for Vanderbilt. The revival was sparked by a group of talented freshmen performers for this young Commodore squad.

Redshirt freshman receiver John Cole started things off for Vanderbilt with a big 31 yard run on a receiver reverse from the Commodore “Stallion” formation. He finished the game leading the Commodores with 7 catches on the night, and leads the Commodores on the season with 12 catches.

Fellow freshman receiver Collin Ashley added 3 more catches for the much-maligned Commodore receiving corps

On the night, which marked the return of senior starter Jared Hawkins, it was freshman running back Warren Norman that stole the show for the Vanderbilt offense. Norman led the Commodores on the night with 119 yards of rushing, highlighted by a dazzling 58 yard scamper, in which Norman escaped the grasp of two Owls defenders before racing down the field to help bring open the game for Vanderbilt.

Through 4 games this season, Norman is leading Vanderbilt in rushing with 253 yards, followed by fellow freshman running back Zac Stacy, who has 243 yards on the season thus far.

Freshman defensive back Eddie Foster intercepted a pass from Rice quarterback Ryan Lewis at the Rice 26 yard line, which led to a Commodore field goal and the start of a 20-point run by Vanderbilt. Foster ended up getting significant playing time, as Casey Hayward took over for injured nickleback Jamie Graham in the slot.

Foster, along with fellow freshman defensive backs Eric Samuels and Trey Wilson have all seen action in the Commodores’ first four games on the year.

Redshirt freshman kicker Ryan Fowler went a perfect 3 for 3 on field goal attempts for the night, keeping the Commodores in the game while the offense was trying to find its groove against the Rice defense. Fowler kicked a career long 37-yard field goal and is now 5-7 on field goals in the season for Vanderbilt.

These contributions are much needed for a Vanderbilt team that had only scored 12 points in the last two weeks, after putting up 45 points in the season opener against Western Carolina.

The Commodores will need their talented but young players to continue performing at this high level, especially with 18th-ranked Ole Miss coming into Dudley Field to face Vanderbilt this Saturday.