South Carolina football enters Saturday riding a 16-game winning streak over Vanderbilt — a run that dates back to 2008. To put that in perspective, Rihanna’s “Disturbia” topped the charts the last time the Commodores beat the Gamecocks, and current USC quarterback LaNorris Sellers was only three years old.
For Vanderbilt, the skid has turned into extra fuel.
“Obviously, it would mean a lot (to win),” offensive tackle Bryce Henderson said. “We’re not focused on that. All we know is we’re gonna play our football, and we know that we can beat them and we’re gonna go in there and do it.”
The Commodores have momentum heading into Columbia. After routing Charleston Southern 45-3 in Week 1, they rallied from a 20-10 halftime deficit at Virginia Tech last weekend, ripping off 34 unanswered points to win 44-20. That’s notable considering South Carolina scored just 24 points against the Hokies in its opener.
Quarterback Diego Pavia admitted earlier this year that South Carolina was one of the games circled on his calendar. The Gamecocks’ defense, though, isn’t fazed by the extra attention.
“As far as we know, we’ve got every game circled,” defensive end Bryan Thomas Jr. said. “He can have us circled; we respect that. But as far as I know, we’re going to go in there and play fast. We take every game seriously, and we’re going to go out there and ball out.”
Safety DQ Smith echoed the mindset.
“Well, you know that’s our next game,” Smith said. “That’s the game we’re looking forward to as well.”
Last season, Vanderbilt came into the matchup ranked No. 24 in the AP Poll but fell 28-7 at home. Sellers threw for two touchdowns, while running back Rocket Sanders gashed the Commodores with 126 rushing yards and two scores.
This time, the Gamecocks open as four-point favorites. Kickoff is set for 7:45 p.m. EST Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium on SEC Network.
