SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 13, 2014
Vanderbilt 34, Massachusetts 31: Ralph Webb ran for 116 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:08 left as the Commodores came from behind to knock off the visiting Minutemen.
Patton Robinette went 15-of-21 for 147 yards and a TD and added a score on the ground for Vanderbilt (1-2), which earned its first win under new coach Derek Mason. Robinette completed two passes to C.J. Duncan for a total of 49 yards to set up Webb’s 4-yard TD and found Duncan again for the two-point conversion.
Blake Lucas missed a 22-yard field goal attempt with two seconds left for Massachusetts (0-3), which fell to the Commodores for the third straight season. Blake Frohnapfel was 17-of-34 for 205 yards and a touchdown while Lorenzo Woodley ran for two TDs and Rodney Mills added a pair of receiving scores for the Minutemen.
Massachusetts jumped out to an early lead on Frohnapfel’s 13-yard pass to Mills just over six minutes into the contest and made it a 14-0 gap on a fake when punter Brian McDonald tossed a short pass to Mills, who broke 53 yards for the score. Vanderbilt finally scored its first offensive TD of the season just under five minutes into the second when Robinette burst through on a 1-yard run.
Robinette’s 3-yard TD pass to Steven Scheu with seven seconds left in the half cut the Commodores’ deficit to 24-20 at the break, but Woodley capped the first drive of the third with a 2-yard TD run to stretch it to 31-20. Vanderbilt got the better of a special teams play with a punt block that Stephen Weatherly returned for a TD to cut it to a six-point deficit with 8:57 left, and Webb capped the final scoring drive before the Minutemen fell short.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Vanderbilt had a TD taken away in the fourth quarter when officials ruled that Robinette delivered a pass past the line of scrimmage, and had another called back in the third quarter when a review revealed that Frohnapfel was down before a fumble that was run back to the end zone. … Duncan led the Commodores’ receiving corps with four catches for 72 yards. … Woodley was held to 43 yards on 22 carries and the Minutemen totaled 88 yards on the ground.