Vanderbilt held Western Kentucky's offense in check for most of the evening, but two huge plays by tight end Tyler Higbee were enough to lead the visiting Hilltoppers to a 14-12 victory over the Commodores at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., on Thursday.

Quarterback Brandon Doughty found a wide-open Higbee for a 65-yard pass completion that set up Western Kentucky's first score and later, Higbee hauled in a 9-yard scoring strike from Doughty with 8:38 remaining.

Vanderbilt held Western Kentucky to less than 100 yards of total offense until Doughty found Higbee open along the right sideline inside the final two minutes of the third. The Commodores finally shoved him out inside their own 5, but one play later, Leon Allen scored on a 4-yard run to give the Hilltoppers a 7-6 lead.

The Commodores self-destructed offensively, scoring only on Tommy Openshaw's field goals from 26 and 49 yards. Three times, Vanderbilt had the ball inside the Western Kentucky 20 and failed to score points.

Twice, Vanderbilt quarterback Johnny McCrary was intercepted in the end zone. Openshaw also missed a 28-yarder in the first half because of bad snap, and tight end Nathan Marcus dropped an easy score that set up Openshaw's last field goal.

McCrary hit wide receiver Trent Sherfield for a 2-yard score with 33 seconds left, but a two-point conversion pass to Marcus came up a yard short.

Vanderbilt held a 3-0 halftime edge and a 206-46 advantage in total offense.