Upon Further Review: Vanderbilt 70, Georgia State 21

The final word on Vanderbilt’s home victory over Georgia State, plus 10 things you may not have noticed.

Sep 20, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Drew Dickey (7) scores a touchdown against the Georgia State Panthers during the second half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

NASHVILLE – Revenge is sweet. It is even better when you get it in an emphatic way

Saturday night, Vanderbilt got its revenge against Georgia State by winning 70-21 after last season’s 36-32 loss. Georgia State took an early 3-0 lead, but Vanderbilt quickly got on the scoreboard and ran away with the game.

Before fans knew it, the Commodores were up three possessions before the end of the first quarter and the blowout only got bigger in the following quarter. The Commodores took a 42-9 lead going into halftime and kept its foot on the gas through the rest of the game. They looked like a team that smelt blood in the water early and maximized its opportunity with vengeance.

Vanderbilt finished with over 600 yards of offense and cruised to a 4-0 record. It is hoping to climb the rankings in the newest AP Poll before its nonconference finale against Utah State next week. But for now, here is the final word on Vanderbilt’s dominating win.

Play of the Game: The play of the game goes to Jamison Curtis, who blocked a Georgia State punt and returned it for a touchdown midway through the third quarter. It was the first blocked punt of the season for Vanderbilt this season.

Player of the Game: Everyone on the offense contributed in the game, but Diego Pavia’s performance stood out amongst all the Vanderbilt weapons. Pavia went 18-for-24 for 245 yards and a passing touchdown. He also led the team in rushing yards with 86 yards on nine attempts and ran in a touchdown.

Stat of the Game: Vanderbilt made eight trips to the red zone, which is crazy to fathom in itself. But the Commodores scored a touchdown on all eight trips inside the 20-yard line,a 100 percent efficiency rate.

10 things you may not have noticed

1. Variety of Weapons: Vanderbilt went down the depth chart in its win. It had 12 different receivers catch a pass and 10 different guys run the ball. Even Whit Muschamp, the son of former college football coach Will Muschamp, had a 8-yard carry late in the game.

2. Red Zone The Commodores got into the red zone eight different times, the most trips they have had in a game this season. What is more crazy is they scored a touchdown on every trip. In fact, Vanderbilt went to the red zone more times than it converted on third down.

3. Lots of Points: How long has it been since Vanderbilt scored 70 or more in a game? You would have to go all the way back to the 1918 college football season to find that. In that game, it beat University of Tennessee Athletic Council 76-0. That game was also during the same time as the Spanish Flu pandemic and World War I.

4. Offense: Vanderbilt’s offense was running and throwing up and down the field in all four quarters, totaling 635 yards of offense by the end of the night. The Commodores finished with more pass yards (349) than Georgia State had total yards (290).

5. No Big Superstar: Despite the immense amounts of yards, points and contributors, no rusher nor receiver had over 100 yards. Tight end Eli Stowers led all pass catchers with 73 receiving yards and Pavia led all rushers with 86 yards.

6. Penalties: Perhaps that one thing that went wrong for Vanderbilt were the penalties. It had 10 penalties for 99 yards, but it was still less than Georgia State, which had 15 penalties for 109 yards.

7. Yards Per Play: Vanderbilt ran 71 plays during the game. It averaged nearly a first down (8.9 yards) per play compared to just 4.3 yards per play for Georgia State.

8. Big Rushing Plays: Vanderbilt had seven rushing plays go for 10 or more yards in the game. None bigger was MK Young’s 60-yard rushing touchdown in the second half. Backup quarterback Blaze Berlowitz also had a 43-yard rush before he ran in a touchdown from inside the 10-yard line.

9. Big Passes: Vanderbilt had eight different passes go for at least 15 yards. Four different quarterbacks contributed to those eight plays. Pavia had five of his passes go for over 15 yards. Drew Dickey, Blaze Berlowitz and Whit Muschamp all had one pass completion for over 15 yards.

10. First Downs: Vanderbilt had more first downs in the game (30) than Georgia State had points (21). Georgia State has faced two SEC teams this season. The Panthers have lost by an average of 52.5 points in those games.