The 2001 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University as a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by Woody Widenhofer in his fifth and final season as head coach, the Commodores compiled an overall record of 2–9 with a mark of 0–8 in conference play, placing last out of six teams in the SEC's Eastern Division. The team played home games at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.
Schedule
Game summaries Middle Tennessee For the first time in 13 games MTSU defeated in-state rival Vanderbilt 37 to 28. This was the first meeting since 1956 despite the schools being located approximately 25 miles apart. MTSU running back Dwone Hicks rushed the ball 37 times for 203 yards and QB Wes Counts was 13 of 36 passes for 308 yards as Middle Tennessee won a season-opening game on the road for the first time since 1994 at Tennessee State. Vanderbilt QB Greg Zolman was 13 of 32 for 300 yards passing. Vanderbilt scored 28 points in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 28 to 24 point lead. Middle Tennessee would go on to score 13 unanswered points for the win.
Scoring summary MTSU- Hicks 1 run (Kelly kick) MTSU- Hicks 1 run (Kelly kick) Vandy- R Williams 3 run (Folino kick) Vandy- L Thomas 26 run (Folino kick) MTSU- FG Kelly 22 Vandy- Stricker 48 pass from Zolman (Folino kick) MTSU- Hicks 1 run (Kelly kick) Vandy- M Garrett 73 pass from Zolman (Folino kick) MTSU- Hicks 2 run (kick failed) MTSU- Counts 9 run (Kelly kick)
Player statistics Rushing Middle Tenn – Hicks 37-203, Lee 7-48, Wright 2-31, Counts 6-18. Vanderbilt – L Thomas 7-71, R Williams 12-60, Stricker 2-25, Young 2-23, Zolman 3-11, Mathenia 1-1, Purkey 1-minus 14. Passing Middle Tenn – Counts 27-36-0-308 Vanderbilt – Zolman 13-32-0-300 Receiving Middle Tenn – K Newson 9-113, T Calico 6-83, H Johnson 5-48, Youell 4-34, Lee 2-22, Payne 1-8. Vanderbilt – M Garrett 8-219, Stricker 3-70, Hasanoglu 1-9, R Williams 1-2.
Team stats Middle Tenn/ Vanderbilt First downs 37/ 17 Rushed-yards 52-300/ 28-177 Passing yards 308 /300 Sacked-yards lost 2-15/ 0-0 Return yards 20 /26 Passes 27-36-0/ 13-32-0 Punts 3-42.7 /5-43.6 Fumbles-lost 2-1/ 2-0 Penalties-yards 9-56/ 11-83 Time of possession 39:55/ 20:05
Alabama This was Dennis Franchione's first win at Alabama as ahead football coach. With 5:01 remaining in the game Neal Thomas' fourth field goal sealed the victory for the Crimson Tide. Earlier in the week, Alabama had received official word from the NCAA detailing rules allegations that include payoffs and academic fraud. Chuck Folino kicked three field goals for the Commodores, who started the season 0–2 and 0–1 SEC West.
This was the 17th consecutive victory for Alabama over Vanderbilt and had an overall record of 55–19–4 over Vanderbilt. Entering the fourth period Alabama had a 3-point lead when Folino tied the game with a 38-yarder and 7:10 to play. Vanderbilt's Greg Zolman was 17 of 34 for 253 yards passing. Lew Thomas had 10 carries for 89 yards rushing. Alabama's Ahmad Galloway rushed the ball 24 times for 144 yards. Alabama's record was 1–1 and 1–0 in the SEC East.
Scoring summary Vanderbilt- FG Folino 20 Alabama- FG N Thomas 35 Alabama- FG N Thomas 26 Vanderbilt- FG Folino 25 Alabama- FG N Thomas 31 Vanderbilt- FG Folino 38 Alabama- FG Thomas 27
Player statistics Rushing Alabama – Galloway 24-144, Hudson 11-69, T Watts 8-16. Vanderbilt – L Thomas 10-89, R Williams 14-32, Stricker 3-16, Mathenia 1-7, Zolman 6-5, Team 1-minus 6. Passing Alabama – T Watts 10-17-0-128. Vanderbilt – Zolman 17-34-0-253, Stricker 0-1-0-0. Receiving Alabama – A Carter 3-30, Luke 2-28, T Jones Jr. 2 – 28, Th Sanders 1-26, F Milons 1-8, Collins 1-8. Vanderbilt – Stricker 3-75, Smith 3-73, Mathenia 3-41, R Williams 3-23, Hatcher 2-27, M Garrett 1-9, L Thomas 1-5, Hasanoglu 1-0.
Team statistics Alabama /Vanderbilt First downs 17 /20 Rushed-yards 43-229/ 35-143 Passing yards 128 /253 Sacked-yards lost 1-7 /2-12 Return yards 12 /0 Passes 10-17-0 /17-35-0 Punts 3-28.3 /3-57.0 Fumbles-lost 0-0/ 0-0 Penalties-yards 4-30 /6-33 Time of possession 30:19/ 29:41
Richmond Vanderbilt rallied back in the third quarter with two Lew Thomas 1-yard rushing touchdowns. This was Vandy's first victory of the year; it was over a D I-AA Richmond Spiders, who were (0 2) Richmond made it a close game on a Scott Fulton three yard run with 4:14 remaining in the fourth quarter. Richmond had lost to Virginia on September 1, 2001 17 16 both losses were to a Division I-A school.
Richmond took a 10–0 lead in the first quarter, on Gustus' four-yard TD run and Doug Kirchner's 31-yard field goal. Richmond was ahead 16 with 4:06 remaining in the first half. Vandy closed to 16–14 gaining momentum on Greg Zolman's second TD pass a 12 pass to Dan Stricker with 0:39 left remaining in the second quarter. Vanderbilt scored its first points on a 41-yard pass Zoleman to Stricker with 0;04 remaining in the first quarter.
This was the first meeting of the teams Richmond had a record of 0–12 all time against the SEC. Vanderbilt's Greg Zolman completed 20 of 32 passes for 236 yards, Lew Thomas rushed 93 yards on 15 carries. Dan Striker had 6 receptions for 84 yards and 2 TD's. Richmond's Gustus completed 6 passes of 14 for 125 yards and ran for 54 yards on 18 attempts.
Scoring summary Richmond- Gatus 4 run (Kirchner kick) Richmond- FG Kirchner 31 Vanderbilt- Stricker 41 pass from Zolman (Stover kick) Richmond- Gatus 1 run (kick failed) Vanderbilt- Stricker 12 pass from Zolman (Stover kick) Vanderbilt- L Thomas 1 run (Zolman run for two-point conversion) Vanderbilt- L Thomas 1 run (two point conversion failed) Richmond- Fulton 3 run (two point conversion failed)
Player statistics Rushing Richmond – Gustus 18-54, Purnell 8-35, D Wills 6-30, Diggs 5-21, Fulton 6-20, Edwards 4-18, Roane 2-7, Alkebu-lan 1-4, Team 1-minus 20. Vanderbilt – L Thomas 15-93, Zolman 3-9, Hasanoglu 1-9, R Williams 6-5, Hatcher 1-0. Passing Richmond – Gustus 6-14-0-125, D Wills 2-4-0-16. Vanderbilt – Zolman 20-32-0-236. Receiving Richmond – Mcnair 3-69, Roane 3-52, Purnell 2-20. Vanderbilt – Stricker 6-84, M Garrett 4-46, Hatcher 3-61, Hasanoglu 2-15, Simone 1-10, Mathenia 1-9, C Brancheau 1-7, L Thomas 1-3, E Robinson 1-1.
Team Stats Richmond/ Vanderbilt First downs 17 /16 Rushed-yards 51-169/ 26-116 Passing yards 141/ 236 Sacked-yards lost 0-0/ 0-0 Return yards 15 20 Passes 8-18-0 /20-32-0 Punts 4-34.5/ 5-32.8 Fumbles-lost 2-0/ 1-1 Penalties-yards 8-66/ 7-44 Time of possession 35:47/ 24:13
Auburn Vanderbilt and Auburn Tigers had played only 10 time between 1955 and 2001. Auburn won them all the previous three meetings Auburn out scored Vanderbilt 78–17. This was a hard fought game by Vandy as the teams were tied 3 times in the game.
Auburn scored first on Chris Williams 51 yard touchdown run with 2:08 into the game. Vanderbilt scored on a four-yard run by Lew Thomas with 8:43 in the third quarter and Tigers' freshman quarterback Jason Campbell passed to Robert Johnson for a 35-yard touchdown pass 1:11 later. The Commodores tied again on a two-yard run by Thomas in the third before the Tigers' scored again on a one-yard run by Williams with 0:50 left in the third.
The fourth Vanderbilt marched 83-yards and scored on a Dan Stricker four-yard reception from Zolman for Vandy's final point of the game. The Tigers' scored last on a Damon Duval's 49 yard field goal with 2:58 remaining in the game. Vanderbilt made an effort to get into field goal range, however, turned the ball over on downs after driving 52 yards.
Scoring summary Auburn – C Williams 51 run (Duval kick) Vanderbilt – L Thomas 4 run (Stover kick) Auburn – Ro Johnson 35 pass from Campbell (Duval kick) Vanderbilt – L Thomas 2 run (Stover kick) Auburn – C Williams 1 run (Duval kick) Vanderbilt – Stricker 4 pass from Zolman (Stover kick) Auburn – FG Duval 49
Player statistics Rushing Auburn – C Williams 6-56, C Moore 11-23, Campbell 9-22, B Johnson 1-7, Team 1-minus 1. Vanderbilt – L Thomas 27-173, R Williams 3-8, Team 1-minus 1, Purkey 1-minus 2, Zolman 5-minus 10. Passing Auburn – Campbell 17-24-0-247. Vanderbilt – Zolman 20-42-1-162, Stricker 0-1-0-0. Receiving Auburn – M Willis 4-87, Ro Johnson 4-56, Carter 3-38, C Moore 3-38, Diamond 1-11, D Green 1-10, J Walkins 1-7. Vanderbilt – Stricker 6-63, M Garrett 3-16, Hasanoglu 2-26, R Williams 2-13, Simone 2-9, Young 2-5, Smith 1-19, Hatcher 1-8, L Thomas 1-3.
Team stats Auburn / Vanderbilt First downs 13 / 18 Rushed-yards 28-107 / 37-168 Passing yards 247 /162 Sacked-yards lost 2-25 /1-11 Return yards 57 / 45 Passes 17-24-0 /20-43-1 Punts 6-45.5 / 7-37.0 Fumbles-lost 4-2 /1-1 Penalties-yards 10-89 /5-50 Time of possession 26:11/33:49
Georgia Scoring summary Georgia – M Smith 3 run (Bennett kick) Georgia – M Smith 40 run (Bennett kick) Georgia – Gibson 58 pass from Da Greene (Bennett kick) Vanderbilt – M Garrett 8 pass from Zolman (Folino kick) Georgia – FG Bennett 27 Vanderbilt – Zolman 1 run (Folino kick) Georgia – Edwards 17 pass from Da Greene (two-point conversion failed)
Player statistics Rushing Georgia – M Smith 9-69, Haynes 7-25, Gibson 1-22, Sanks 4-21, K Bailey 3-12, Team 1-minus 1, Da Greene 6-minus 9. Vanderbilt – L Thomas 23-75, R Williams 3-28, Stricker 1-15, Mathenia 2-14, Zolman 9-minus 12. Passing Georgia – Da Greene 19-26-0-305. Vanderbilt – Zolman 24-50-0-316. Receiving Georgia – Gibson 6-106, Haynes 3-88, Mcmichael 3-44, Edwards 3-35, Mitchell 2-13, Watson 1-10, K Bailey 1-9. Vanderbilt – Stricker 8-137, Mathenia 6-78, L Thomas 4-27, M Garrett 2-17, Simone 2-6, Young 1-49, Hasanoglu 1-2.
Team stats Georgia/ Vanderbilt First downs 20/ 23 Rushed-yards 31-139/ 38-120 Passing yards 305 /316 Sacked-yards lost 2-12/ 1-14 Return yards 0 /11 Passes 19-26-0 /24-50-0 Punts 5-45.8 /73-36.3 Fumbles-lost 3-3 /2-1 Penalties-yards 12-76/ 9-79 Time of possession 25:20/ 34:40
At South Carolina Vanderbilt was blown-out by South Carolina and the team was weakening. Before the Georgia game all games where close the next 5 SEC team would do the same thing to the down and out Dores. Other than Duke Vandy was at least a 14-point underdog.
Scoring summary South Carolina -TD: BRIAN SCOTT 41 Yard Pass From PHIL PETTY (DANIEL WEAVER Kick), 3:53 South Carolina – TD: DEREK WATSON 7 Yard Run (DANIEL WEAVER Kick), 12:48 Vanderbilt – TD: GREG ZOLMAN 1 Yard Run (CHUCK FOLINO Kick), 6:36 South Carolina – FG: DANIEL WEAVER 42 Yard, 9:55 South Carolina – SAFETY: 13:50 Vanderbilt – TD: TOM SIMONE 19 Yard Pass From GREG ZOLMAN (CHUCK FOLINO Kick), 1:38 South Carolina – TD: ANDREW PINNOCK 15 Yard Run (DANIEL WEAVER Kick), 5:06 South Carolina – TD: CHAVEZ DONNINGS 14 Yard Pass From PHIL PETTY (TWO-POINT CONVERSION FAILED), 9:43 South Carolina – TD: COREY JENKINS 5 Yard Run (DANIEL WEAVER Kick), 1:16 South Carolina – TD: WILLIS HAM 10 Yard Pass From DONDRIAL PINKINS (DANIEL WEAVER Kick), 7:02
At Duke Vanderbilt has its only road win and last win of the year, to a Duke team that was 0–7 before the Vandy game, and finished 0–11.
Scoring summary Duke – Wade 1 run (Garber kick) Vanderbilt – Stricker 45 pass from Zolman (Folino kick) Vanderbilt – R Williams 1 run (Folino kick) Duke – Brzezinski 4 pass from Bryant (Garber kick) Vanderbilt – R Williams 2 run (Folino kick) Vanderbilt – M Garrett 54 pass from Zolman (Folino kick) Vanderbilt – Mathenia 13 run (Folino kick) Duke – Bryant 1 run (kick failed) Duke – M Hart 31 pass from Bryant (M Hart reception for two-point conversion) Vanderbilt – Zolman 6 run (Folino kick)
Player statistics Rushing Vanderbilt – R Williams 18-155, L Thomas 8-123, Zolman 10-32, Mathenia 2-16, Stricker 1-9, Hatcher 1-3. Duke – Douglas 29-169, Wade 16-39, Sharpe 1-13, K Moore 2-11, Bryant 8-3, Dargan 1-3. Passing