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Vanderbilt Football took down Charleston Southern, 45-3, on Aug. 30 to begin its season 1-0. The Commodores could not be stopped on both offense and defense, eventually putting in a large number of backups in the second half.
Pavia went 20-for-25 with 275 passing yards in his time played, while tight end Eli Stowers headlined the receiving core with 86 total receiving yards. Vanderbilt’s defense also limited Charleston Southern to just 135 total yards of offense.
“It’s good to win,” head coach Clark Lea said postgame. “I don’t take wins for granted. These guys have worked really hard and earned that win.”
Charleston Southern won the toss and elected to defer, giving the Commodores the ball to start the game. Back-to-back quick burst runs from running back Sedrick Alexander and quarterback Diego Pavia kicked off the evening, and the Commodores were rolling from there. The Buccaneers couldn’t contain Vanderbilt in the opening drive, as Kayleb Barnett scored off a quick nine-yard shovel pass to give the Commodores the early 7-0 lead just five minutes into the game.
The Commodores’ defense was up next as they looked to stifle Buccaneers quarterback Zolten Osborne. Vanderbilt did so effectively, stopping a quick run from Charleston Southern’s Brandon Musch before forcing a quick three-out after a false start penalty.
Pavia and Co. were back on the field after just two minutes of game time elapsed. Pavia quickly connected with Stowers for a 41-yard reception to get back in the redzone for the second time of the night. Wide receiver Junior Sherrill then caught a quick 12-yard laser in the middle of the end zone to extend Vanderbilt’s lead to 14-0 with 6:59 remaining in the first quarter.
The Buccaneers finally moved the sticks for the first time of the night with five minutes left in the quarter, after Musch found a hole on third down. However, all momentum was lost after Vanderbilt safety CJ Heard picked off Osborne’s pass intended for Landon Sauers.
Vanderbilt’s offense once again trotted onto the field as it looked to break the game wide open. A deep ball, intended for new two-way player Martel Hight, sailed over the receiver’s head, but back-to-back completions to Tre Richardson once again had the Commodores in Charleston Southern territory as the first quarter came to a close.
Alexander got things started in the second, hurdling a defender to inch inside the redzone to the 17-yard line. A quick completion to Hoskins and then pitch to running back AJ Newberry put the Commodores up 21-0 with 10:19 remaining in the second half.
“We’ve been determined in the run game through our practices and we just enjoyed the moment,” Alexander said after the game. “We had so many running backs do great things tonight, and the running game, that’s what’s gonna get us somewhere.”
Osborne and Co. got the ball back after a weak return to the 15-yard line. The Commodores’ defense dominated from the first snap of the drive, forcing a three-and-out to get Pavia the ball right back.
Vanderbilt’s first penalty of the night came on second down, as Cade McConnell jumped on the line of scrimmage. A short rush on third down by Newberry was shy of the first down marker and Vanderbilt opted to punt it away in an attempt to pin the Buccaneers back deep in their own territory with 6:02 remaining.
The Buccaneers went three-and-out, putting Pavia back out on the field as time dwindled in the half. A deep ball intended for Trent Hudson slipped right through his hands, but offsetting offensive holding and defensive pass interference calls retained Vanderbilt’s down. Consecutive throws to Richardson (25-yard reception) and Alexander (26-yard reception) set up another Vanderbilt touchdown to make it 28-0 with 3:11 left in the half.
“Diego was efficient,” Lea said. “We were moving him in the run game. We were completing passes. It looked exactly how we wanted [it] to look.”
The Buccaneers were forced to punt after a short 15-yard completion for Quay Kindell came up short of the first down. The Commodores’ offense went back to work, trying to stretch the remaining last minute of time to score some points. However, back-to-back holding calls on Vanderbilt nullified two deep completions to Hoskins and Sherrill, pushing them back into its own territory. The half finished with a completion to Stowers.
“We lost fundamental technical focus,” Lea said of the operational penalties. “[When] you do that, you stop moving your feet and start grabbing, you incur penalties.”
Pavia was 17-for-21 with 270 passing yards in the first half, while Richardson led the receivers with 74 yards in the first 30 minutes.
Charleston Southern kicked things off in the second half, but Osborne continued to struggle to get the ball in the hands of his receivers. A quick three-and-out gave Vanderbilt the ball back, but Pavia couldn’t get anything going either as the Commodores punted it away.
A completion to Rhone set up another fourth down for the Buccaneers, and an abysmal 11-yard punt put the Commodores in great field position with 8:14 left in the third. After a pass interference call on Charleston Southern corner Avery Dixon, MK Young powered through into the end zone for a touchdown. The Commodores took a 35-0 lead with 5:47 remaining in the quarter.
Osborne made a few completions on the Buccaneers’ subsequent drive but fumbled the ball as he was sacked. The ball was recovered by Vanderbilt defensive lineman Khordae Sydnor as Vanderbilt took control once again. Alexander ran out the clock as the third quarter came to a close.
Vanderbilt backup quarterback Blaze Berlowitz then took the field to run Vanderbilt’s offense in the fourth, relieving Pavia of his duties. Pavia finished with 275 yards and three passing touchdowns in his first start of 2025.
Berlowitz had a less than ideal start to the game, completing just 1-of-4 passes to set up a 35-yard field goal for kicker Brock Taylor. The junior knocked it through the uprights, though, as Vanderbilt took a 38-0 lead with 11:48 left in the game.
Another three-and-out for the Buccaneers set up Berlowitz with good field position. After a few short rushes, running back Jamezell Lassiter burst through a gap on the right side for the 35-yard rushing touchdown with 7:14 left in the fourth quarter.
“[It was his] first game action, [and] I felt like he ran the ball well,” Lea said. “He made good decisions on the whole…I was happy to get Blaze out there [because] we will need him to continue to develop.”
Charleston Southern finally got points on the board as they marched down into Vanderbilt territory and kicked a field goal. However, with just seven seconds remaining, the Commodores had sealed the game.
It was a dominant performance for Vanderbilt from start to finish, as it took down Charleston Southern 45-3 to begin the 2025 season. The Commodores return to action on Saturday, Sept. 6 in Blacksburg, Virginia, as they take on the Virginia Tech Hokies.
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