Game 3: RV/– Vanderbilt (2-0) at Georgia State (1-1)
When: Saturday, September 14, 6:00 p.m. CT/7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia.
Watch: ESPN+ (Matt Stewart and Sam Crenshaw)
Listen: 102.5 The Game (Andrew Allegretta, Norman Jordan and Kevin Ingram)

Next
• Vanderbilt heads southeast to Atlanta on Saturday to face Georgia State at Center Parc Stadium on ESPN+. The Commodores and Panthers will meet for the first time since Georgia State will visit Nashville in 2025.
• The Commodores look to start the season 3-0 for the first time since 2017.
• Vandy has a 3-0 overall record against teams currently in the Sun Belt Conference.
• Saturday’s contest is a homecoming of sorts for several Commodores. Vandy’s roster includes 10 Georgia natives, including seven from the Atlanta metropolitan area.

Week 2 Shutout
• Vanderbilt beat Alcorn State 55-0 on Saturday to move to 2-0 this season. It was Clark Lea’s third career shutout as defensive coordinator and the first since his Notre Dame defense held South Florida scoreless in 2020.
• The 55 points scored were the most since a 63-10 win at Hawaii to open the 2022 season.
• The defensive unit held Alcorn State to just 71 yards. The last time Vandy held its opponent to under 100 yards was against Chattanooga in 2003, when the Mocs managed just 93 yards.
• Vanderbilt held the Braves to just 40 rushing yards after holding Virginia Tech to 75 rushing yards. This was the first time since 2017 that Vanderbilt limited its opponent to under 100 rushing yards in two consecutive games (at Middle Tennessee and against Alabama A&M).
• Vandy’s offense closed the first half with a field goal, allowing the Commodores to score on all five first-half possessions.
• Saturday’s win was Vandy’s largest margin of victory since a 58-0 victory over Presbyterian on Sept. 17, 2012.

Special games, special players
• In the win over Alcorn State, Martel Hight became the first Dore with over 100 punt return yards since Jonathan Krause (110 yards) at Wake Forest on Nov. 24, 2012. Hight’s punt return for a touchdown was the first since Krause’s in that game.
• Hight is now the first Commodore since the 2019 season to have more than 100 punt return yards in a season, reaching the mark in just two games.
• Jesse Mirco punted just two times for 111 yards in the win over Alcorn State, averaging 49.7 yards per punt this season. Mirco’s 69-yard punt against Alcorn State is the third-longest punt in the FBS this season.
• Brock Taylor made two more field goals against Alcorn State. He has made 4 of 5 field goals this season, three of them from 40 yards or more.
• According to ESPN’s FPI, Vanderbilt’s special teams efficiency of 81.5 ranks 15th among FBS programs.

Thriller Week 1
• Diego Pavia accounted for three touchdowns and totaled 294 yards on offense to lead Vanderbilt to a 34-27 overtime victory over Virginia Tech to open the 2024 season.
• The Commodores have won three straight season-opening games, while Vanderbilt earned its first win over a team with votes since Nov. 12, 2022, when the Dores defeated RV/24 Kentucky at Kroger Field.
• Vandy scored on its first three offensive drives to take a 17-0 lead. It was the first time since 2017 that the Dores scored on their first three drives to start a season.
• The win was Vandy’s first overtime victory under head coach Clark Lea.

Double threat
• Vanderbilt’s quarterbacks have combined for 224 rushing yards in their first two games.
• Nate Johnson’s 56-yard run against Alcorn State is the longest run by a Power 4 quarterback this season, according to Pro Football Focus. Only three quarterbacks in the entire FBS have a longer run: Washington State’s John Matter (68 yards), Utah State’s Bryson Barnes (63 yards) and Navy’s Blake Horvath (62 yards).
• Diego Pavia’s long run this season was 27 yards, making Vanderbilt the only school in the FBS with multiple quarterbacks who have recorded a run of at least 25 yards.

Two and zero
• For the first time since World War II, Vanderbilt has won its first two games in three consecutive seasons. The last such streak of 2-0 victories came from 1941-43.
• The 1941 team started the year with five straight wins and finished the year 8-2. In 1942, the Commodores won three straight games to start the year and finished the year 6-4. The 1943 team played only five games due to World War II and won all five games.
• From 1956 to 1958, the Commodores did not lose their first two games each year. The 1956 team started 3-0, in 1957 the Dores started with a tie, followed by a win and another tie, and in 1958 Vandy started again 3-0.
• Clark Lea is the first Vanderbilt head coach to win the first two games of three consecutive seasons since Ray Morrison did it four straight seasons from 1935-38.