Vandy grounds out victory over winless Rice

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Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	23	14
Total Yards	484	282
Passing	268	122
Rushing	216	160
Penalties	9-74	5-40
3rd Down Conversions	8-20	3-18
4th Down Conversions	0-0	1-2
Turnovers	1	4
Possession	30:26	29:34

Air/Ground Leaders
Vanderbilt Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Smith 23/41 268 0 1	Rice Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Lewis 6/18 64 0 2 Shepherd 6/14 58 1 2
Vanderbilt Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Norman 11 119 1 58 Hawkins 11 61 0 17	Rice Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Ross 7 63 1 48 Shepherd 13 53 0 13
Vanderbilt Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Umoh 5 95 0 54 Cole 7 67 0 19	Rice Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Dixon 4 40 1 15 Wardlow 2 32 0 18

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				VAN	RICE
	TD	11:33	John Cole 31 Yd Run (Ryan Fowler Kick)	7	0
	TD	08:05	Charles Ross 48 Yd Run (Clark Fangmeier Kick)	7	7
	FG	04:18	Ryan Fowler 37 Yd	10	7
SECOND QUARTER				VAN	RICE
	FG	04:46	Clark Fangmeier 39 Yd	10	10
THIRD QUARTER				VAN	RICE
	FG	04:35	Ryan Fowler 33 Yd	13	10
	TD	01:47	Larry Smith 6 Yd Run (Ryan Fowler Kick)	20	10
FOURTH QUARTER				VAN	RICE
	TD	12:47	Warren Norman 58 Yd Run (Ryan Fowler Kick)	27	10
	FG	10:57	Ryan Fowler 23 Yd	30	10
	TD	05:54	Toren Dixon 12 Yd Pass From John Thomas Shepherd (Clark Fangmeier Kick)	30	17
	TD	04:06	Kennard Reeves 11 Yd Run (Two-Point Conversion Failed)	36	17

HOUSTON -- Vanderbilt ran the ball 43 times for 216 yards, scored four rushing touchdowns and beat Rice 36-17 Saturday night in Houston.

Warren Norman ran the ball 11 times for a game-high 119 yards and scored a 58-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to break the game open for the Commodores (2-2), who snapped a two-game losing streak. Kennard Reeves, John Cole and quarterback Larry Smith each scored on the ground for Vanderbilt.

Charles Ross had seven carries for 63 yards and a touchdown for Rice (0-4).

John Thomas Shepherd was one of two quarterbacks who played for the Owls, who managed just 17 first downs, were intercepted four times and converted just 3 of 18 times on third down in their home opener. Shepherd completed 6 of 14 passes for 58 yards and a touchdown.

Cole scored from 31 yards on a reverse less than three minutes into the game. Ross ran for a 48-yard TD to tie the game later in the first quarter, but the Commodores went on to take a 30-10 lead. Reeves' 11-yard touchdown run capped the scoring.