SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 28, 2013
Vanderbilt 52, Alabama-Birmingham 24: Jerron Seymour rushed for 107 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Austyn Carta-Samuels threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another as the host Commodores won their second straight.
Jordan Matthews' 5-yard touchdown catch tied the senior with Dan Stricker for the career receiving touchdowns lead at Vanderbilt with 21 while Jonathan Krause went over 100 yards receiving for a second straight game with 108. Seymour extended his streak of games with a rushing touchdown to five for the Commodores (3-2).
Austin Brown and Jonathan Perry split time at quarterback and combined for 206 yards passing and two scores for Alabama-Birmingham (1-3). Darius Powell and Jamari Staples had the Blazers' only touchdowns and Jordan Howard led the team in rushing with 92 yards on nine carries.
The Commodores jumped in front early with a pair of scores from Seymour and a 50-yard field goal by Carey Spear, and a relentless defense held the Blazers' offense to two field goals from Ty Long in the first half. Leading 17-6 in the second quarter, Kenny Ladler intercepted Brown with 2:18 remaining and the Commodores drove 68 yards in nine plays to go up 24-6 after Carta-Samuels scored from a yard out with five seconds remaining before halftime.
Daniel White intercepted Carta-Samuels on the Commodores' first possession of the third quarter and the Blazers converted the turnover into three points on a 37-yard field goal by Long, but Vanderbilt answered back with an 8-yard score on the ground by Wesley Tate on the ensuing drive. Alabama-Birmingham recovered an onside kick after Perry connected with Powell for a 29-yard score with 12:48 remaining, but the Blazers were unable to capitalize and build a comeback.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Spear is the first kicker in Vanderbilt history with four made field goals from 50-plus yards. ... Matthews also passed Boo Mitchell for third all-time in career receptions at Vanderbilt with 190. ... Jamarcus Nelson - the Blazers' leading receiver on the season - left the game with an ankle injury in the second quarter and did not return.