[Tuck4Bama]

NASHVILLE — Vanderbilt quarterback Chris Nickson left last week's Alabama game with a leg injury after completing only 5 of 17 passes.

Nickson was injured twice more against Ole Miss on Saturday night, but both times came back better than ever.

He threw for 200 yards and ran for 57 more to lead the Commodores to a 31-17victory.

Said Earl Bennett, the glue-fingered Vandy receiver who caught 10 passes for100 yards, "Chris is a strong guy. He played a heck of a game tonight. I knew he was coming back in the game because it's hard to keep him out of the game unless it's real serious."

Nickson directed the Commodores to a 55-yard scoring drive after the opening kickoff, but landed on his throwing shoulder when he scored on a 3-yard touchdown dive.

He missed Vandy's next possession, going to the locker room for treatment.

He then returned to take Vandy 80 yards for its second touchdown on the Commodores' third possession.

In the second half, Nickson left the game briefly after getting poked in the eye, but again he returned to spark the Commodores.

Nickson's toughness, persistence pay off in Vandy's victory