NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ Jimmy Williams scored on a 65-yard punt return with 1:41 left, and Vanderbilt erased a 25-point second-half deficit to stun Northern Illinois 34-31 Saturday.

Williams caught Kent Baker's punt on the Commodores 35, juked to the right and outran the Huskies' coverage down the sideline. His run climaxed a furious comeback by Vanderbilt (1-1), which trailed 28-3 early in the third quarter.

The Commodores' Greg Zolman found Tom Simone with a 4-yard pass to make it 28-10. Tavarus Hogans hit Rodney Williams on a halfback option for another score, and a 61-yard bomb from Zolman to M.J. Garrett cut the lead to 28-23. An exchange of field goals left the Huskies (0-2) up 31-26, and set the stage for Jimmy Williams' late heroics.

Justin McCareins caught touchdown passes of 38 and 61 yards for Northern Illinois, which scored 21 points in a 6:37 span in the first quarter as a result of three Vanderbilt mistakes

McCareins caught a 38-yard TD pass after an interception, Ivory Bryant's 1-yard touchdown run followed a fumble recovery and Demerist Whitfield blocked a punt by Vandy's John Markham and returned it 37 yards for a score.

That was a rude awakening for the Commodores, who played error-free football in last week's 28-17 loss to then-No. 20 Alabama. The crowd, too, wasn't up to last week, 28,514 after a sellout of 41,600 against the Crimson Tide.

Northern Illinois, which lost last week to Division I-AA Western Illinois, is 3-32 in its last four seasons and was a 17-point underdog against Vanderbilt.