Vanderbilt Beats Austin Peay 28-9 in Lightning-Shortened Opener

Overview

• Vanderbilt opened the season with a 28-9 victory that was stopped with just over two minutes remaining because of lightning, a finish agreed after coaches and officials met on the field.
• Coach Clark Lea started senior Blaze Berlowitz and brought in five-star freshman Jared Curtis before halftime as part of a deliberate plan to evaluate the quarterback position over the first weeks of the season.
• Berlowitz completed 11 of 16 passes for 149 yards and ran 11 times for 45 yards with a rushing touchdown while Curtis was 7 of 9 for 60 yards and ran three times for 22 yards.
• Special teams and a tightened defense decided the game as Vanderbilt scored on a punt return and a blocked extra point return and held Austin Peay to just two first downs in the second half.
• Coaches flagged nine penalties for 73 yards and conservative third-down passing as issues to fix, and the staff will continue assessing quarterback reps in coming games while playing before sellout home crowds.