Shane Beamer was unsure how his South Carolina Gamecocks would perform on the road after their big win over then-No. 10 Texas A&M the previous week. But he didn’t need to worry.
Raheim Sanders rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns, and also caught a 43-yard touchdown pass, leading South Carolina to a 28-7 victory over No. 24 Vanderbilt on Saturday. This win marked the Gamecocks’ second straight victory over a Top 25 team.
With the win, South Carolina (6-3, 4-3 SEC) became bowl eligible. Beamer expressed pride in his team’s performance.
“This ain’t an easy place to play for a lot of reasons,” Beamer said. “Everyone thought there’d be a letdown coming off last week, but for our guys to come in here and know it’s going to be a tough, gritty game because of the way Vanderbilt plays football is really satisfying for us.”
Vanderbilt (6-4, 3-3) has now lost 16 consecutive games to South Carolina, their former SEC Eastern Division rival. This loss also marked their biggest defeat of the season, after having lost their first three games by a total of just 10 points, two of those losses coming to teams ranked in the Top 10.
Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea expressed frustration after the game, calling it a “three-phase (expletive) kicking” by a more physical team.
“Obviously I’m frustrated… coming up short in the game, frustrated also with the feeling that we didn’t represent ourselves the way that we wanted to… and playing to an identity,” Lea said. “And that’s probably the part of it that hurts the most for me.”
South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers helped keep possession away from Vanderbilt’s offense, which leads the SEC in time of possession. Sellers passed for 238 yards and two touchdowns. He gave South Carolina a 7-0 lead at halftime with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Simon.
In the third quarter, South Carolina increased its lead to 14-0 when Sellers avoided a sack and connected with Jared Brown for a 51-yard gain, setting up Sanders’ 33-yard touchdown run.
Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia tried to spark a comeback with a 17-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, pulling the Commodores within 14-7.
However, Sanders added a 1-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter and then caught a 43-yard touchdown pass with 7:55 left, sealing the victory for South Carolina.
Pavia, who had been named the AP’s top first-year transfer in the SEC at the halfway point of the season, passed for 166 yards and rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown. He was injured around 6:40 remaining in the game after a 28-yard completion was called back due to offensive pass interference.
Lea said Pavia’s injury was still being evaluated and he would provide an update in the coming days.
