Quarterback Diego Pavia threw for 245 yards, ran for 86 yards and accounted for two touchdowns to lead No. 20 Vanderbilt to a 70-21 win over Georgia State on Saturday in Nashville.
Vanderbilt (4-0), motivated by the memory of last year’s upset loss to Georgia State in Atlanta, showed no letdown after last week’s win at No. 11 South Carolina. It is Vanderbilt’s first 4-0 start since 2008, when they opened with five straight wins.
It was the most points scored by Vandy since they tallied 76 against Tennessee in 1918.
Vandy amassed 635 total yards and scored eight rushing touchdowns. The Commodores held the Panthers (1-3) to 32 rushing yards and 290 total yards, with eight tackles for loss and three sacks. Vanderbilt never had to punt.
Pavia completed 16 of 20 first-half passes for 236 yards to nine different receivers. He played the first series in the second half before being rested. He completed 18 of 24 for 245 yards with one touchdown and carried nine times for 86 yards and one touchdown.
The Commodores scored touchdowns on each of their six possessions in the first half to take a 42-9 lead at the break.
After Georgia State scored on Braeden McAlister’s 52-yard field goal to open the game, Vandy scored three unanswered touchdowns on a 3-yard run by Sedrick Alexander, a 16-yard run by Pavia and an 8-yard run by Junior Sherrill.
Georgia State made it 21-9 when Jordon Simmons caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Cameran Brown, only to have Vanderbilt tack on three more scores. A.J. Newberry scored on runs of 2 and 8 yards and Pavia directed an 83-yard drive in 53 seconds that ended when he threw a 10-yard pass to Alexander with 24 seconds remaining.
GSU scored on the first drive of the second half on a 3-yard pass from T.J. Finley to Leo Blackburn.
Vandy answered with a 60-yard touchdown run from Makhilyn Young and scored again when Jamison Curtis blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown. It was Vandy’s first blocked punt for a score since 2014.
