Takeaways from Vanderbilt Football's Blowout Win Over Georgia State

NASHVILLE---Vanderbilt football came out and took down Georgia State 70-21 to avenge its 2024 loss to the Panthers and to move to 4-0 for the first time since 2008.

Vanderbilt never allowed this Georgia State any hope on Saturday night as it put up 42 points before halftime and ultimatley eclipsed 70 for the first time since it took down Tennessee 76-0 in 1918.

Here's what we observed from Vanderbilt's blowout win.

Vanderbilt comes out and takes care of business

If Vanderbilt can ever get over what happened this time a year ago at Georgia State, it will be able to do so after Saturday night.

The Commodores came out and dominated Georgia State in a way that should’ve been expected given the bad blood that was created as a result of the Panthers’ win this time a year ago. Vanderbilt looked like it was never going to overlook this Georgia State team and was going to do everything in its power to avoid losing on Saturday.

When the more talented team does that, the game is all but over.

That demonstrates Vanderbilt’s maturity

Clark Lea said that this time a year ago, Vanderbilt “wasn’t ready” to beat Georgia State. It was more talented, but it didn’t have the maturity in its process to leave with a win.

This 2025 Vanderbilt team did.

It had a significantly better week of preparation and reaped the benefits on Saturday as it won by a significant amount. It was never a matter of talent, it’s always been about focus and intensity. Vanderbilt had plenty of that and gets to move forward without a blip on its rèsumè as a result.

Vanderbilt is 4-0 for the first time since 2008

Vanderbilt has been 3-0 a few times in between now and its last 4-0 season, but it’s found itself in the company of one of the best Vanderbilt teams in recent memory after winning Saturday night’s game.

There’s plenty of stats to contextualize the progress this group has made, but this one appears to properly identify the strides its made within the context of the program’s history. This 4-0 stretch isn’t quite as impressive as that one–which included wins over No. 24 South Carolina and Ole Miss–but perhaps it indicates more about the state of the program than that one did.

The Commodores are ranked No. 20 in the AP Top 25 and could likely rise again after Saturday’s convincing win.

Vanderbilt’s offense was excellent, it left no doubt as to how this would end up

Vanderbilt scored a touchdown on its first six drives of the night and averaged 9.5 yards per play in the first half. Yes, really.

Diego Pavia–who eclipsed 4,000 total yards and 3,000 passing yards in his Vanderbilt career before leaving the game with 10:10 to go in the third quarter–ran the show and spread the wealth as he completed 18 of his 24 passing attempts for 245 yards. Pavia also ran for 86 yards on nine carries.

Vanderbilt had 42 points by halftime and all but sealed the result by the time it went into the tunnel. Its defense was good, but not outstandingly sharp. Its offense had the best half it’s had seemingly all season.

More drastic stats

Vanderbilt out-gained Georgia State 635-290. It outrushed it 286-32. It didn’t punt.

Vanderbilt hurried Georgia State quarterbacks seven times, forced a turnover and blocked a punt.

Eli Stowers had a more Eli Stowers-like game

Although Vanderbilt was winning, Stowers had been relatively quiet through Vanderbilt’s first three games. He wasn’t exactly the game MVP on Saturday, but he was a standout.

Stowers caught five passes for 73 yards and led Vanderbilt in receiving like a first round pick often does.

Saturday won’t put Stowers over the top in the NFL Draft talks, but it could’ve been a means for him to breakout in Vanderbilt’s more important games down the stretch.

Miles Capers stands out, too

Capers didn’t quite score on a blocked kick that he nearly took back for a touchdown along the sideline, but Saturday night was his to demonstrate the growth that he’s made throughout his career.

The Vanderbilt pass rusher finished the night with 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss while demonstrating his improved speed and strength.

Capers said that Vanderbilt’s win over South Carolina was his career favorite, but Saturday was among his most effective.

Blaze Berlowitz watch

This was perhaps the most telling Berlowitz outing since his appearance in the 2023 conference USA championship game.

Berlowitz entered the game in the early third quarter and demonstrated the traits that Vanderbilt has liked within him since his arrival in the spring of 2023. The Vanderbilt backup made a few nice reads and demonstrated his ability to run the football with a seven-yard touchdown on the ground.

There’s still plenty of work for Berlowitz to do, but he made a solid impression on Saturday.