In a surprise move, Clark Lea went with true freshman A.J. Swann as his starting quarterback for Saturday’s game at Northern Illinois.
That turned out to be a winning move.
Swann led Vanderbilt to a touchdown on its first drive of the game, a pretty, 12-play, 80-yard drive that drained 7:02 off the clock and finished with a three-yard touchdown pass to tight end Gavin Schoenwald. His second drive: 13 plays, 75 yards, 5:44 off the clock and a three-yard touchdown run by Ray Davis to cash in another scoring chance.
The problem: Northern Illinois met both of Vanderbilt’s first two touchdown drives with touchdowns of its own, even after losing starting quarterback Rocky Lombardi to an apparent injury; and when Vanderbilt finally broke serve with a three-and-out late in the first half, the Huskies took advantage with a quick touchdown near the end of the first half, giving them a 21-14 lead going into the locker room.