Can lightning strike the same spot twice? Yes, but it’s highly unlikely, and the spectators at FirstBank Stadium found that out on Saturday evening when No. 25 Vanderbilt Football (5-3) fell to No. 5 Texas (7-1), 27-24. Despite a strong defensive performance anchored by two interceptions against Heisman-hopeful Quinn Ewers, the Black and Gold’s offense failed to deliver enough points to knock off yet another top-five team.
“This team isn’t interested in playing people close,” head coach Clark Lea said. “We’re never going to be interested in playing close games. We want to win games.”
The locker room felt the same way.
“I hate losing more than I love winning,” quarterback Diego Pavia said. “We want more. The team just deserves more.”
Vanderbilt won the coin toss and chose to defer, setting the stage for a Texas drive to open the game. The Longhorns received a holding penalty while taking the ball out of the endzone, causing them to start their drive at their seven-yard line. On Ewers’ second pass attempt of the game, Vanderbilt’s Langston Patterson got his hand on the ball, tipping it up in the air for Martel Hight to catch it for a Commodore takeaway.
Starting with the ball at Texas’ 31-yard line, Vanderbilt crept down the field with four straight rushing plays before confronting a third-and-eight. Pavia, looking for a receiver, scrambled to his right with two Texas defenders on his trail. Not finding anyone open, the New Mexico native took matters into his own hands, tiptoeing down the sideline and diving into the end zone for a touchdown.
Down 7-0, the Longhorns wasted no time getting down the field, advancing all the way to Vanderbilt’s 3-yard line in eight plays. On first and goal, Ewers threw it left to a one-on-one covered Matthew Golden, who used only his left hand to make a sensational touchdown snag. With 5:37 remaining in the first quarter, the Commodores got the ball back with a chance to regain the lead.
After three run plays to open the drive failed to produce a first down, Vanderbilt opted to go for it on fourth-and-one at its own 34-yard line. Pavia faked out Texas’ defense by staring at the sideline in feigned confusion before the ball was snapped directly to Junior Sherrill, who picked up the first down with a nine-yard gain. But, Vanderbilt’s elation was not to last, as an illegal formation penalty nullified the play — forcing the Commodores to punt.
The Longhorns didn’t take long to make Vanderbilt pay dearly for its mistake. Just four plays into the drive, Ewers found DeAndre Moore Jr. for a 27-yard touchdown pass. With the pass, Ewers moved to 13-of-14 for 126 yards on the day, his only mistake being the tipped pass for an interception.
Playing from behind for the first time all day, the Commodores marched down the field to Texas’ 32-yard line. Then, on a first-and-ten pass attempt to AJ Newberry, Pavia’s ball was batted into the air where Texas’ Michael Taafee picked it off. The interception was only Pavia’s second of the year.
Only temporarily slowed down by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, Texas’ offense progressed down the field with mechanical efficiency. That was until they hit another penalty snag — this time, a holding on second down. The flag brought the Longhorns back to second-and-twelve, where Jaydon Blue managed only three yards before being taken down. On third-and-nine, the Commodores came up with one of their biggest defensive plays of the day as Nick Rinaldi barreled into Ewers for a sack. It wasn’t all bad news for the Longhorns, though, as their special teams unit pinned the Commodores at their one-yard line.
Stuck with the worst possible field position to open its fourth drive, Vanderbilt ran the ball twice before an incomplete pass on third down sent it punting. A booming ball from Jesse Mirco was fielded by the Longhorns at their 41-yard line, setting them up in prime field position. It took them five plays to capitalize as Ewers soon found Moore Jr. for their second end zone connection of the day, putting Texas up 21-7.
The situation went from bad to worse for the Commodores, as a 19-yard Pavia keeper was called back due to holding by Sherrill. Pavia, brought down by the legs, then limped off the field and into Vanderbilt’s injury tent for inspection.
With Pavia hurt, backup quarterback Nate Johnson received the keys to the Commodores’ offense with a 14-point deficit and just over three minutes left in the half. On a daunting third-and-nine, Johnson completed a pass to Eli Stowers for the first down, extending the drive into the two-minute timeout — just long enough for Pavia to reenter the game.
The offense didn’t fare any better under his direction, as the Commodores found themselves facing third-and-nine just a few plays later. The ball was handed off to Sedrick Alexander, who bounced off a defender before fumbling at the Texas 37-yard line. After a lengthy review, the call on the field of a stood, giving Texas the ball with a minute left in the half.
Despite the advantageous field position, the Longhorns couldn’t make headway before the end of the half, with Randon Fontenette sacking Ewers on third down to force a punt. The Commodores got the ball back with 38 seconds left and completed a few quick passes to bring the ball to the Texas 36-yard line. With only two seconds left, Brock Taylor took the field and completed a 54-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 21-10 entering the half.
Having deferred the opening coin toss, the Commodores received the ball to open the second half. In three plays, they progressed only two yards, and the Longhorns took back over possession. A methodical 11-play, 50-yard drive down the field resulted in a Texas field goal after an uncharacteristic Ewers sack and two incomplete passes ended the drive prematurely.
Down 14 with 8:59 left in the third quarter, Vanderbilt took over possession needing to score: It once again failed to earn a first down. Two straight Pavia keepers followed by an incomplete pass couldn’t move the chains, and Vanderbilt’s drive ended almost as soon as it started. Two plays later, the Commodores got a much-needed break, as a second tipped Ewers pass — this time batted by Fontenette — was intercepted by Miles Capers.
Vanderbilt’s offense took over at Texas’ 38-yard line, where they initially proved incapable of making any headway. Two incompletions and a three-yard Pavia keeper set up fourth-and-seven, which the Commodores converted via a defensive pass interference. Pavia, rolling to his right, then found tight end Cole Spence for a 12-yard completion that set up first-and-goal. Two more Pavia keepers and an incomplete pass set up fourth down once more, this time at the three-yard line.
With the ball in his hands and the drive on the line, Pavia rolled to his right once more. The quarterback was faced by five Texas defenders between himself and his target: It didn’t matter. Pavia threw a perfect pass through the defense, connecting with Sherrill and narrowing the score to 24-17. It was the kind of miracle play the Commodores needed to get back in the game. Now, they just needed another stop.
“Junior just made a h— of a play,” Pavia said. “I don’t know how he did it.”
Vanderbilt’s defense got off to a hot start by catching Blue behind the line of scrimmage for a one-yard loss on first down. After a short pass set up third-and-medium, but the Longhorns converted, ending Vanderbilt’s hopes of a quick possession. Texas marched down the field until being confronted with a third-and-one at the Vanderbilt 45-yard line. Quintrevion Wisner easily broke through the line-to-gain, but a holding penalty forced the Longhorns to repeat the down. On the second attempt, Khordae Sydnor brought Ewers down in a quickly-collapsing pocket, forcing a punt out of Texas.
Vanderbilt kept the ball on the ground for the first four plays of the drive, slowly advancing down the field. Faced with third-and-seven, the Commodores were finally forced to put the ball in the air, with Pavia finding Alexander for a loss of a yard. With the ball on the Texas 49 and 10:02 left on the clock, the Commodores opted to punt on fourth-and-eight rather than risk giving the Longhorns prime field position.
On the first play of the drive, Texas was forced back by a holding penalty. The Longhorns had no better luck on the ensuing two plays, as Trudell Berry broke up the first pass while Ewers overthrew his second. On an all-important third-and-20 — just when it seemed like Vanderbilt would get a stop — Ewers found Silas Bolden for the line to gain, keeping the drive alive. Vanderbilt’s defense locked in after that and forced the Longhorns to only one yard on their next three plays — triggering a punt.
A Stowers snag off an over-thrown Pavia ball gave the Commodores a first down on their second play of the drive, but they failed to convert once again when faced with third-and-five. With 5:51 left in the game, staring down a fourth-and-two, Vanderbilt opted to go for it. Pavia dropped back and, seeing nobody open, threw the ball up in a prayer of a heave. Texas’ Liona Lefau came up with the ball at the Vanderbilt 35-yard line, ending the Commodores’ last best hope at winning the game.
Now just needing to milk the clock and secure at least a field goal, the Longhorns took their operation to the ground, pounding the rock against the Commodores. Texas ran the clock down to two minutes before kicking a 23-yard field goal, putting them up 27-17.
Playing with nothing left to lose, the Commodores moved the ball down the field in one of their most successful drives of the day. In eight plays, Vanderbilt advanced 75 yards — aided by an overturned interception after the Longhorns were called for a targeting penalty — and found the end zone when Pavia found Stowers for the pair’s first touchdown connection of the day. The magic ran out, however, when the Commodores failed to recover the ensuing onside kick — giving Texas the ball with only 46 seconds remaining. The Longhorns ran out the clock and walked out of Nashville with a win in SEC play.
“That’s a well-coached team,” Lea said. “That’s a good team. That’s a talented team. They’re going to make it hard.”
Vanderbilt Football now looks ahead to a road trip at Auburn on Saturday, Nov. 2. The game will kick off at 11:45 a.m. CDT.
