NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Diego Pavia threw for 83 yards on 10 of 13 attempts and ran for 51 yards and a touchdown to lead Vanderbilt to a 55-0 rout over Alcorn State on Saturday night.
Pavia, a graduate transfer from New Mexico State and the reigning Southeastern Conference player of the week, scored one of four Vanderbilt (2-0) rushing touchdowns, with AJ Newberry, Sedrick Alexander and Nate Johnson getting the others to lead Vanderbilt’s balanced rushing attack.
Alcorn State (0-2) could not find their stride offensively against a tough Vanderbilt defense, amassing just 28 first half yards with only five coming on the ground rushing. They had 71 total yards in the game. The Braves have yet to score a touchdown this season after posting just three points in their season opener at UAB.
After a seasoning-opening upset of Virginia Tech, the Commodores have won two-straight to open the season for the third-consecutive year. Vanderbilt hopes to reverse their fortunes from a season ago when they lost their final 10 games.
“We have a chip on our shoulder and we know we have a lot to prove,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said. “We are in a prove it mindset right now and I’ve got a bunch of hungry competitors in here.”
This win was Vanderbilt’s biggest win since 2012 when the Commodores beat Presbyterian 58-0.
One play after Vanderbilt safety CJ Taylor intercepted a pass Tyler Macon inside Commodore territory, tight end Eli Stowers took a handoff from Pavia and found Cole Spence in the right corner of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown pass to give Vanderbilt a 10-0 lead late in the first.
‘We’ve been working on it all week,” Spence said. “He threw a great ball. He used to be a quarterback, so it makes sense.”
Pavia punctuated his second quarter 5-yard touchdown run with a mini Lambeau leap-like jump onto the railing in front of fans in the newly renovated north endzone at FirstBank Stadium.
Johnson replaced Pavia at quarterback at the start of the fourth quarter and ran for a 56-yard touchdown on his first snap. Martel Hight soon followed with a 57-yard punt return for a touchdown. Alan Wright’s 18-yard interception for a touchdown was Vanderbilt’s third score of the final quarter.
“The way I look at it is it’s a game of tag for me,” Hight said of punt returns. “When the ball is in the air, I look down, look up, make sure I’ve got enough time to run back the punt, and then it’s a game of tag and I try not to get touched.”
Vanderbilt is now 3-0 all time against SWAC opponents, with their first two victories coming against Alabama A&M.
Throwing Tight End
Stowers’ touchdown pass was the second of his collegiate career. After starting at Texas A&M as a quarterback and then transferring to New Mexico State, he transitioned to tight end. Last season playing for New Mexico State, Stowers threw one touchdown pass in his lone season with the Aggies.
Four Quarterbacks
A week after using three different quarterbacks in their season-opening loss to UAB, Alcorn State used four on Saturday. Macon started the game, going 2-3 for 14 yards, but was pulled in favor of Xzavier Vaughn following the late first quarter interception by Taylor. Roderick Hartsfield played most of the fourth quarter before giving way to Tre Lawrence late in the fourth.
The group combined for 8-16 passing for 31 yards with two interceptions.
Alcorn State hosts Edward Waters (Fla.) on Saturday.
Vanderbilt visits Georgia State on Saturday.
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