Curtis got his reps too, going 7-of-9 for 60 yards in relief work that head coach Clark Lea will happily call a good problem to have. Vanderbilt piled up 28 points despite 99-degree heat in Nashville, and the total sank well under the posted number — a game decided more by defense and special teams than by either offense.
This one never got a normal finish. Lightning near FirstBank Stadium pushed both staffs to agree to end things with 2:16 left, Vanderbilt already up 28-9 and coasting. Before that, Austin Peay made it interesting for a half, hanging around into the second quarter before a special-teams breakdown changed the math for good.
That breakdown was the story of the second half: a muffed Austin Peay punt bounced into traffic and Vanderbilt linebacker Josiah Broxton scooped it up for a touchdown to make it 28-9. Sedrick Alexander had already added a physical fourth-down touchdown run of his own. By the time the storm rolled in, Vanderbilt had answered the only real question hanging over Week 1 — life after Pavia works, at least against an FCS opponent.
