NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Bobby Johnson beat his old team for his first victory as Vanderbilt's coach as the Commodores defeated Division I-AA Furman 49-18 on Saturday night.

Jay Cutler ran for three touchdowns and threw two scoring passes to Dan Stricker to help Vanderbilt rebound from a 45-3 loss to Georgia Tech in Johnson's debut with the Commodores after eight seasons as the Paladins' head coach.

Cutler, in the second game of his career, was 11-of-14 for 215 yards and ran for 106 yards, the most by a Vanderbilt quarterback since 1994. He had a 61-yard touchdown run in the third quarter for Vanderbilt's longest play of the game.

Norval McKenzie added a 57-yard TD run for the Commodores and finished with 99 yards on 11 carries. Vanderbilt finished with 344 yards rushing, and held Furman to just 100 yards on the ground in Bobby Lamb's first game as the Paladins' coach.

Furman's Billy Napier completed 21 of 31 passes for 241 yards, and Bear Rinehart caught seven passes for 127 yards.

Furman pulled to 35-18 in the fourth quarter, but McKenzie's 57-yard TD run put the game well out of reach.

Vanderbilt, which did not cross the 50-yard line until it trailed 38-0 against Georgia Tech, scored on its first offensive play, with Cutler throwing a 43-yard pass to Stricker.

The Commodores drove 97 yards on their second possession, scoring on Cutler's 59-yard pass to Stricker.

Stricker gained 116 yards in the first quarter and finished with 132 on four receptions in Vanderbilt's largest victory in a home opener since 1950.