Steelman suffered an injury to his left leg late in the first half and didn't return.
While Army had no update after the game, Vanderbilt coach James Franklin said he heard that Steelman wasn't seriously injured. "I'm glad to hear that their quarterback should be OK," Franklin said. "I have tremendous respect for him. ... I'm glad he's OK."
Even with him, the nation's top rushing offense, finished with just 104 yards rushing in the first half and 270 in the game, though most of it came after Vanderbilt built a 31-point lead.
"I think our guys continue to play hard, we just don't play well enough," Army coach Rich Ellerson. "We knew we had some physical challenges there, but we gave as good as we got there for a bit. We play hard enough, but we don't play well enough."
Steelman was helped off the field with 2:20 left in the first half and did not return as Army (2-5) used three quarterbacks. Playing just 65 miles south of his hometown of Bowling Green, Ky., Steelman hit the ground hard after being sacked with Army trailing 20-6. He was helped off the field and did not put any weight on his left foot. He was replaced by Max Jenkins, who was later pulled for Angel Santiago.
It was the first time in his career that Steelman, the team's leading rusher, didn't return after sustaining an injury. The junior has started in all 32 games, a record for an Army quarterback. Steelman, who was recruited by Vanderbilt (4-3), finished with 40 rushing yards and just 18 yards on 1 of 3 passing.
The Black Knights lost three fumbles and their fourth straight road game. They had committed nine turnovers in their four previous losses and the miscues cost them again. Two of their three fumbles led to Vanderbilt touchdowns.
The first came on an exchange between Steelman and fullback Jared Hassin early in the first quarter. On the next play, Vanderbilt quarterback Jordan Rodgers connected with Chris Boyd for a 43-yard touchdown pass to put Army in a 13-0 hole less than five minutes in.
The Black Knights then took advantage of a short field after an interception by Andrew Rodriguez. Malcolm Brown followed with a 23-yard touchdown run down the sideline but Army's Alex Carlton missed the extra point. From there, Vanderbilt smothered Army's triple-option offense until late in the third quarter when Larry Dixon ripped off a 57-yard run.
Zac Stacy set career highs with 198 yards rushing and three touchdowns for Vanderbilt and quarterback Jordan Rodgers made the most of his first career start as the Commodores snapped a three-game slide. Stacy's rushing total was the third most in a single game for Vanderbilt and the first three-touchdown game for the team since 2007.
Rodgers, younger brother of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, rushed for 96 yards and a score and passed for 186 yards and another TD. He had two passes of more than 40 yards.
Rodgers gave Vanderbilt much of what it's been looking for this season from former starter Larry Smith. He was consistent, a threat to run and once in a while went deep while leading the Commodores to a season-high 530 yards.
Vanderbilt's coaching staff utilized some deception to make the most of Rodgers' abilities. On some plays, he took the snap, set to pass, executed a pump fake, then pulled the ball down. That worked to perfection on Vanderbilt's first and third scores, runs of 1 yard by Stacy and 12 by Rodgers.
Franklin's decision to refocus on the run appeared to be the right call. The Commodores opened 3-0 under the first-year coach but stumbled with three consecutive losses. Rodgers, a redshirt junior who missed last year and was limited in spring drills by a torn labrum, relieved Smith last week against Georgia and guided the Commodores to three scores while rushing for 80 yards.
His only real mistake against Army came in the fourth quarter when under pressure he threw an interception to Geoffrey Bacon, who returned it 70 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 37-21. But Stacy sealed the win with a 55-yard scoring run.
The win keeps the Commodores in the postseason picture. They need two more wins to clinch bowl eligibility for the first time since 2008. Three of their final five opponents have winning records.
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