September 7, 2002

VANDERBILT WHIPS FURMAN 49-18, HANDS
BOBBY JOHNSON FIRST VICTORY

Scoring Summary, Statistics

NASHVILLE, TENN. -- Quarterback Jay Cutler totaled 322 yards in offense and five touchdown responsibilities to lead the Vanderbilt Commodores to a 42-18 win over NCAA I-AA fourth-ranked Furman in front of 28,568 fans at Vanderbilt Stadium.

Cutler, a redshirt freshman, threw for 215 yards and a pair of touchdowns to senior wide receiver Dan Stricker, and also rushed for 107 yards and three touchdowns, including a 61-yard third quarter sprint, to pace the Commodores to their first win under new head coach Bobby Johnson, who wrapped up an eight-year tenure at Furman in 2001.

“I’m very proud of our football team,” said Johnson. “I thought they went out and played hard. They got after it pretty good early in the game and got a big enough lead that when Furman tried to come back on us, we had enough margin there and actually put it away at the end. I’m extremely happy.”

“You have to give credit to Vanderbilt and coach Johnson,” said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb, who made his head coaching debut against his former mentor. “You always improve more from your first game to your second, and I thought Vanderbilt improved a great deal from the Georgia Tech game. They just blocked us on offense and did a good job scheming us. The turnovers hurt, especially in the first half, and we had a costly penalty that killed a drive there late in second quarter when we needed a score.”

The loss was the worst suffered by Furman since a 33-0 season opening setback in Clemson in 1998, and the 49 points were the most surrendered by a Paladin squad since a 58-28 loss to East Tennessee State in 1997. Furman committed three fumbles and yielded 557 yards to the Commodores, including 344 on the ground.

Vanderbilt wasted no time in taking the lead, capitalizing on a fumble recovery by Chuck Losey at the Furman 43 to set up a quick strike on the next play — the Commodores’ first snap of the game. Cutler connected with tricker behind the Paladin secondary for a 43-yard touchdown to put Vanderbilt up 7-0 at the 13:15 mark.

Following a 41-yard Bo Moore punt to the Vanderbilt 2, the Commodores’ got a key 10-yard run on a third down draw play by Ronald Hatcher to the 15. From there Cutler hit Stricker for 14 yards to the 29 and two plays later zipped his second scoring strike to Stricker for 59 yards to make it 14-0 at the 5:51 juncture.

Furman answered on its next possession, moving 64 yards on 13 plays to the Vanderbilt 14, where Danny Marshall booted a 31-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter to make it 21-3. Marshall’s field goal, however, proved to be a mild solace for the Paladins, who failed to convert a first and goal situation at the Vanderbilt 4. Two straight losses backed Furman up to the 9, and a delay of game penalty pushed it back to the 14, where quarterback Billy Napier’s fade pass in the end zone sailed out of play.

A second Paladin fumble led to the Commodores’ third touchdown of the game. Fielding a punt at his own 13, Bear Rinehart raced up the middle and broke outside for a 26-yard return, but Jonathan Straub stripped the ball and it was recovered by Vanderbilt’s Nick Getter at the Furman 39.

From there Vanderbilt covered the distance in eight plays before Cutler scored on a 1-yard dive for a 21-3 Vanderbilt advantage.
The Commodores finished off an impressive first half with a 6-play, 78-yard drive that Cutler completed on a 12-yard draw with only 11 seconds left in the half for a 28-3 margin.

The Paladins scored first in the second half, getting a 22-yard Marshall field goal to close the gap to 28-6, but Vanderbilt responded a little over a minute later with Cutler’s 61-yard run to give the Commodores a 35-6 advantage.

Furman used a 1-yard touchdown plunge by fullback Al Means and a 2-yard scoring run from Napier to close the gap to 35-18, but Vanderbilt effectively ended any Paladin comeback bid when Noval McKenzie eluded a host of defenders with a 57-yard touchdown run at the 10:49 juncture of the fourth quarter to make it 42-18.

Napier paced Furman offensively, completing 21-of-31 passes for 241 yards. His favorite target was senior flanker Bear Rinehart, who nabbed seven receptions for 127 yards, and sophomore split end Isaac West, who had seven catches for 82 yards. Junior tailback Hindley Brigham headed up Furman’s ground game with 70 yards on seven carries.

Furman opens its home season next Saturday when it hosts Elon at Paladin Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.