Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
1-1
Vanderbilt University (SECN Alternate)
1-1
Team Stats
MT 0, VANDY 3
VANDY - Tommy Openshaw 32 yd field goal 4 plays, -1 yards, TOP 1:18
MT 3, VANDY 3
MT - ROOKER, Canon 39 yd field goal 10 plays, 45 yards, TOP 2:53
MT 3, VANDY 5
VANDY - TEAM 6 yd safety
MT 10, VANDY 5
MT - JAMES, Richie 1 yd pass from STOCKSTILL, B. (ROOKER, Canon kick) 11 plays, 79 yards, TOP 3:22
MT 10, VANDY 12
VANDY - K. Blasingame 3 yd run (Tommy Openshaw kick), 6 plays, 30 yards, TOP 2:37
MT 10, VANDY 19
VANDY - Ralph Webb 1 yd run (Tommy Openshaw kick), 3 plays, 7 yards, TOP 0:50
MT 17, VANDY 19
MT - LEE, Ty 5 yd pass from STOCKSTILL, B. (ROOKER, Canon kick) 3 plays, 7 yards, TOP 0:30
MT 17, VANDY 26
VANDY - Ralph Webb 3 yd run (Tommy Openshaw kick), 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:18
MT 17, VANDY 33
VANDY - Kalija Lipscomb 16 yd pass from Kyle Shurmur (Tommy Openshaw kick) 7 plays, 63 yards, TOP 1:00
MT 24, VANDY 33
MT - SMITH, Patrick 4 yd pass from STOCKSTILL, B. (ROOKER, Canon kick) 8 plays, 62 yards, TOP 2:30
MT 24, VANDY 40
VANDY - K. Blasingame 1 yd run (Tommy Openshaw kick), 4 plays, 54 yards, TOP 1:48
MT 24, VANDY 47
VANDY - Dallas Rivers 3 yd run (Tommy Openshaw kick), 6 plays, 40 yards, TOP 2:57
Players Mentioned
Blue Raiders drop road contest at Vanderbilt
9/10/2016 8:39:00 PM | Football
James, Stockstill set records
The Blue Raiders tried to overcome early miscues and a rain delay, but Vandy proved to be too much behind junior running back Ralph Webb. The final came to 47-24 in favor of the Commodores.
"Frustrating, disappointing loss," MT head coach Rick Stockstill said. "I'm disappointed in how we played in some areas … I don't know if they stopped us in the first half, we just stopped ourselves. We did some good things, but we just weren't consistent enough. We have to play smarter than how we played."
The loss broke Middle Tennessee's three-game winning streak at Vanderbilt dating back to the 2001, 2002 and 2005 seasons.
MT had issues taking care of the ball early in the first half, turning it over twice and giving up a safety on a muffed punt that led to 10 quick Vandy points.
Despite the miscues, the Blue Raiders moved the ball very effectively most of the game against the Vanderbilt defense. Middle Tennessee outgained the Commodores 495 to 344 in total yards.
"They're a really good defense," Blue Raider redshirt senior I'Tavius Mathers said. "I thought we moved the ball well, though … we just had some stuff that just can't happen."
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Brent Stockstill led the charge offensively for Middle Tennessee. He followed up a big season-opening performance against Alabama A&M by throwing for 399 yards (a new career high) and three touchdowns. He completed 38 passes on 65 attempts (both MT school records) and threw one interception.
"We just wanted to win, that was our only expectation," he said. "In a game like this with such a good defense – their front seven is so good and make it tough to run the ball – I guess it's kind of on my shoulders to get it done through the air. I thought we moved it OK, we just have to finish."
Brent Stockstill's favorite target was fellow redshirt sophomore Richie James, who caught 14 balls (new school record) for 183 yards and one touchdown. Mathers led the way rushing with 13 carries for 65 yards.
Defensively, the Blue Raiders looked up to the task of stopping Vanderbilt's offense through much of the first half. Prior to an hour and 44 minute lightning delay with 5:44 left in the second quarter, the Commodores had gained just 59 yards of total offense.
After the delay, though, Vandy ripped off 285 yards over the rest of the game. The Commodores scored twice in in the last five minutes of the first half to turn a two-point lead into a 33-17 halftime score.
"I thought our defense played really good that first part until the rain delay," Rick Stockstill said. "We were ready, we had a good plan inside what we were doing during the delay. [The delay] isn't an excuse, we just didn't play well enough defensively those five minutes or six minutes after the rain."
Redshirt sophomore Darius Harris, who was making his second start for the Blue Raiders, led the way on defense with 12 total tackles, .5 sacks and 1.5 tackles for loss. He also forced a fumble, which he recovered.
"Until you watch the film it's hard to say, but it looked like he played fast and tackled well," Rick Stockstill said. "I thought he played hard."
Webb was the main driver for Vanderbilt's offensive attack, rushing for a career-high 211 yards on 29 carries with two scores.
Middle Tennessee now sits at 1-1 on the season with a road trip to Bowling Green (1-1) upcoming in Week 3.
James said the Blue Raiders have to forget about the loss and come back Sunday with a focus on the Falcons.
"We played hard, we just didn't execute very well," he said. "That's what Sunday practices are for – after a loss you just shake it off and come back tomorrow and work."
MIDDLE TENNESSEE POSTGAME NOTES
CAPTAINS: Today's game captains were RB I'Tavius Mathers, DE Steven Rhodes and LS William Eads.
NUMBER 10: QB Brent Stockstill recorded his 10th career 300-yard passing game when he tallied a career-high 399 yards against Vanderbilt on Saturday. A Middle Tennessee career record, Stockstill has accomplished the feat in just 16 games played. The lefty now has a 300-yard game in seven of his last eight outings.
WILSON BLOCK: DT Azar wilson came away with the first blocked kick of his career when he rejected a Vanderbilt punt on the first play after the 1:44 delay. It went down as the first blocked kick of the season for MT and the 36th under Rick Stockstill (18 FGs, 14 punts, 4 PATs).
STOCKSTILL MOVES UP TD LIST: With 3 touchdown passes against Vanderbilt, sophomore Brent Stockstill moved past Clint Marks for 5th place on the all-time list. Stockstill now has 38 career TD passes and is chasing the all-time record of 53 set by Logan Kilgore.
6th FOR RICHIE: Sophomore WR Richie James recorded his sixth career 100-yard receiving in the contest at Vanderbilt. James finished with 14 receptions for 183 yards. The 6 100-yard games puts him sixth all-time and just one back of third place Tyrone Calico (7) and Demetric Mostiller (7).
JAMES SETS SCHOOL RECORD: Sophomore Richie James broke the Middle Tennessee single-game receiving mark with 14 receptions against Vanderbilt. James broke the previous mark of 13 established by Ed Batties last season at Illinois.
STOCKSTILL SETS NEW MARKS IN SINGLE-GAME PASSING: With 38 pass completions and 65 pass attempts on the evening, Brent Stockstill broke his own school records for completions (36) and attempts (56) in a single game.
WEATHER DELAY: With 5:40 left to play in the first half the game officials delayed the contest due to weather in the area. The delay started at 4:26 PM and ended at 6:10 PM (1:44 delay).
QUICK HITTERS: Brent Stockstill has now thrown at least one TD in 8 straight games … DT Shaquille Huff started his team-leading 27th straight game today … Steven Rhodes, Shaquille Huff, and Hunter Rogers all played in their team-leading 40th career game today … The safety given up by MT in the first quarter was the first by an MT opponent since Alabama on Sept. 12, 2015 … The MT defense gave up its first TD of the season in the second quarter against Vandy … Desmond Anderson, who had one start at running back last year, made his first career start as a wide receiver in today's game against Vanderbilt … DE Jahmal Jones made his first career start … WR Ty Lee hauled in his first career touchdown late in the second quarter to pull MT within 19-17 … LB Darius Harris recorded his first career fumble recovery early in the third quarter.
