Gameday Guide: Gamecocks vs. Vanderbilt

The South Carolina Gamecocks hit the road again as they look to get back on track and defeat Vanderbilt for the 14th straight season.

South Carolina (5-3, 2-3 SEC) vs. Vanderbilt (3-5, 0-4 SEC)

When: Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022 – 7:30 PM ET

Where: Nashville, Tenn. – Vanderbilt Stadium (40,375)

Broadcast: SEC Network (Dave Neal, Deuce McCallister, Andraya Carter)

Local Radio: Gamecock IMG Sports Network (Todd Ellis, Tommy Suggs, Jamar Nesbit)

Satellite Radio: Sirius/XM 108 or 192

Odds: USC -6.5 (O/U 48.5)

Weather: 68°, 58% chance of rain.

South Carolina Injury report: RB MarShawn Lloyd (game-time decision), DE Terrell Dawkins (out), WR Corey Rucker (out), LB Mo Kaba (out for season), EDGE Jordan Strachan (out for season), WR Chad Terrell (out for season).

Other resources from Gamecock Central: News | Schedule | Future Opponents | Scholarship Breakdown | Roster | Printable Roster | Depth Chart Plus | NFL Gamecocks

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How to watch today’s game

Today’s game is on SEC Network, which is available nationwide from every major cable, satellite, and streaming provider.

Use the SEC Network Channel Finder to find the specific channel for your provider.

The game is available on the ESPN app, but you will need to log in with a username and password from a live TV provider and subscription package that has SEC Network.

The ESPN App is available on Android, Amazon Fire TV, iOS, Chromecast, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, Apple TV, Kindle Fire, Android TV, PS4, XBox and Oculus.

Coverage from South Carolina vs Vanderbilt Week

• Carolina Confidential – Final thoughts on Gamecocks vs. Vanderbilt
• Breaking down the keys: South Carolina vs. Vanderbilt
• Marcus Lattimore weighs in on South Carolina’s offense
• Opponent preview: Vanderbilt looks to challenge South Carolina in Nashville
• Staff picks: South Carolina-Vanderbilt, Week 10 highlights
• Five South Carolina football predictions for the Vanderbilt game
• WATCH: How Beamer evaluates Satterfield’s performance
• The Insider Report – pre-Vanderbilt thoughts
• Three Takeaways: Vandy’s two-QB system, Plan at RB, No midseason changes
• Final injury report before Vanderbilt game
• ‘All hands on deck’ for South Carolina in the run game
• Gamecock Analytics Roundup: Week 10
• Quick Slants with Uva: Block out the noise, execute
• Brian Edwards’ South Carolina wagers, college football selections
• The Insider Report – latest on Gamecock football recruiting

GC LIVE: Gamecocks vs. Vanderbilt Preview

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Quick notes from South Carolina Athletics  

WINNING ON THE ROAD: The Gamecocks are coming off a win at Kentucky in their last SEC road contest. Carolina is looking for its second SEC road win of the season, something they haven’t done since 2018. They are also looking for back-to-back SEC road wins in the same season for the first time since the 2012 campaign when they won at Vanderbilt and at Kentucky in their first two SEC road games.

ON BOWL ALERT: A win over Vanderbilt this week would be the Gamecocks’ sixth win of the season, making them bowl-eligible. The Gamecocks have played in 24 bowl games, posting a 10-14 record in those contests. They dropped their first eight bowl appearances, but are 10-6 since that time, including wins in six of their last eight bowl games. Head coach Shane Beamer is looking to become the third Gamecock head coach to take his team to a bowl game in each of his first two seasons, joining Steve Spurrier (2005-06) and Will Muschamp (2016-17). If the Gamecocks are able to secure a sixth win and earn a bowl invitation, Coach Beamer will have an opportunity to become the first Gamecock head coach to win a bowl game in each of his first two seasons at the helm.

This is the 32nd all-time meeting between South Carolina and Vanderbilt, with the Gamecocks holding a commanding 27-4 advantage, including a 14-2 record when the games have been played in Nashville and a 13-2 mark when the teams have met in Columbia. The teams met just once (1961) before they became SEC Eastern Division rivals in 1992, and have met every year since.

DETAILING THE ‘DORES: Vanderbilt opened the season with three wins in its first four games, all non-conference affairs. They followed that up by dropping four-straight SEC contests before enjoying an off week last week, giving them two weeks to prepare for the Gamecocks. Since getting into SEC play in 2022, the Commodores have been outscored 179-45 and have surrendered 50 or more points three times in that stretch.

IN DOMINATING FASHION: The Gamecocks have won each of the last 13 games between the two squads, their longest winning streak in the series, and 20 of the last 22 meetings between these two SEC Eastern Division rivals. Of the Division I FBS opponents against whom the Gamecocks have at least 10 all-time meetings, Carolina has its best winning percentage against Vanderbilt at .871. In the previous 31 outings, Vanderbilt has tallied more than 17 points just seven times (24 in 2003, 28 in 2005, 24 in 2008, 25 in 2013, a record-high 34 in 2014, 27 in 2017 and 20 in 2021).

THE OUTLIERS: Vanderbilt’s four wins in the series have come in back-to-back fashion on two occasions – first in 1998 and ‘99, then again in 2007 and ‘08. Those four wins have been by a combined total of 22 points (17-14, 11-10, 17-6 and 24-17).

THE LAST TIME THEY MET: Former (and current) graduate assistant Zeb Noland came off the bench to engineer a 75-yard touchdown drive, connecting with Xavier Legette on a 9-yard scoring pass with 37 seconds left to lift South Carolina to a 21-20 win over Vanderbilt in Williams-Brice Stadium on Oct. 16, 2021. South Carolina jumped out to a 13-3 first quarter advantage, but Vandy scored the next 17 points to take a lead before Noland’s heroics. Carolina rolled up 429 yards of offense, but turned the ball over four times in the contest. For more on that game, please turn to page 8 of these game notes.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET IN THE MUSIC CITY: South Carolina left Nashville on Oct. 10, 2020 with a convincing 41-7 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores. Carolina led just 10-0 at the intermission, but exploded for 31 second-half points. Kevin Harris led the charge with 171 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. Collin Hill connected on 16-of-24 passes for 196 yards and added two rushing TDs. Nick Muse was the top receiver with five catches for 85 yards. Ernest Jones notched 13 tackles including a sack and 3.0 tackles for loss as the Gamecocks outgained the Commodores, 485-249. Vandy was just 1-for-11 on third-down conversions and 0-for-4 on fourth-down tries. For more on that game, please turn to page 9 of these game notes.

DROPPING THE ANCHOR: Vanderbilt has recorded a win over every SEC Eastern Division team since its last win over South Carolina in 2008. They topped Florida in 2013, Kentucky in 2015, Georgia in 2016, Tennessee in 2018 and Missouri in 2019.

VANDY TIES: South Carolina associate head coach/special teams coordinator Pete Lembo was the head coach at Ball State from 2011-15. During that time, his special teams coordinator/running backs coach was Justin Lustig, who is now Vanderbilt’s assistant head coach/special teams coordinator/tight ends coach. Joey Lynch, Vandy’s quarterbacks coach, was also on Lembo’s staff at Ball State as the tight ends coach and later as offensive coordinator.

STILL PERFECT: Junior placekicker Mitch Jeter connected on a 39-yard field goal in the third quarter in Saturday’s contest against Missouri. He is now 8-for-8 in field goals this season (and in his career). Jeter is one of 12 placekickers in the FBS who has yet to miss a field goal attempt this season.

FOR STARTERS: Left guard Trai Jones and linebacker Debo Williams both made their first start of the season and the first start of their careers last week against Missouri. The Gamecocks have used 38 different starters on offense (18) and defense (20) this season, ranking 11th in the FBS in number of players making starts this season.

TURNOVERS WIN GAMES: After recording just one takeaway through the season’s first three games while posting a 1-2 record, Carolina recorded 10 turnovers in its next four contests, all wins. South Carolina recorded back-to-back three-interception games against Charlotte and South Carolina State, marking the first time since 2013 that they recorded three INTs in back-to-back games. They did not force a turnover in the loss to Missouri. The Gamecocks are 4-0 this season when winning or breaking even in the turnover battle and 1-3 when committing more turnovers.

Other resources from Gamecock Central: News | Schedule | Future Opponents | Scholarship Breakdown | Roster | Printable Roster | Depth Chart Plus | NFL Gamecocks

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