Commodores Take Out Frustration On ETSU In 38-0 Win

The Vanderbilt Commodores finished the home schedule on Saturday afternoon with  a 38-0 shutout win over the East Tennessee State Buccaneers.

It was all Vanderbilt all day as the Buccaneers never threatened in the contest as the Commodores scored on their first possession of the game when quarterback Riley Neal found tight end Jared Pinkney for a 31 yard touchdown pass. The touchdown reception was the very first for Pinkney this season. 

Ke'Shawn Vaughn got into the act when on the Commodores third possession the senior running back capped a 9play drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to increase their lead to 14-0 following the Ryley Guay point after.  

The two teams combined to produce five more drives, all ended in punts as the first half came to a close with the Commodores leading 14-0.

The second half started with an explosive play as Vaughn went 75 yards on the very first play of the half to increase the Commodores advantage to 21-0 as Guay was onece again good on the point after attempt. The touchdown was the second of the game for Vaughn and pushed him over the century mark for the game. 

Following another ETSU punt, the Commodores used 6:21 seconds of the thrid quarter clock to go just 47 yards in 12 plays ar Guay drilled home a 40 yard field goal to increase the Vanderbilt advantage to 24-0 with 11:59 left in the third quarter. 

Once again the Buccaneers went three-and-out following the Commodores field goal, and the Commodores would make them pay. 

It took Neal and the offense just 4 plays to travel 64 yards where Neal found Pinkney for the second time in the game, this time from 7 yards out for the touchdown. 

The final score of the game came with just over two-minutes remaining when sophomore  running back Mitchell Pryor went 31 yards untouched on the touchdown run to add to the Commodores advantage. 

Neal was replaced by Allan Walters in the fourth quarter after completing  16 of 24 passes for 179 yards, two touchdowns with no interceptions and a quarterback rating of 156.8.

Vaugh also left the game in the fourth after pounding out 139 yards and two touchdowns on just 14 carries in his final appearance at Vanderbilt Stadium. 

Fellow seniors Pinkney and Kalijah Lipscomb also produced in their final home game, as Pinkney collected five receptions for 76 yards a two scores while Lipscomb collected six receptions for 75 yards.   

The 38 points the Commodores scored today was tied for the d highest point total (38 versus LSU) of the season and the most in a win. 

The Commodores end their season next Saturday when the take on Tennessee in Knoxville in a 3pm CST kickoff from Neyland Stadium.