No. 24 Vanderbilt being bowl eligible not enough with South Carolina up next

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Being bowl eligible to start off November isn’t enough for No. 24 Vanderbilt. No, coach Clark Lea wants much more for his 24th-ranked Commodores.

They can take yet another step toward even bigger goals Saturday by ending a a 15-game skid to South Carolina (5-3, 3-3 SEC) in a season where the Commodores (6-3, 3-2) already have ended even bigger droughts. Lea and his Commodores are eager to see just what they can accomplish now that they’re closer to the top of the SEC than the cellar where this program has usually been come November.

“I believe that this team knows that in our conference we can’t have a misplaced focus and expect to get the outcome we want,” Lea said. “And these guys are hungry to take this as far as we can take it.”

The loss that hurts worse came late at Georgia State. Still, the Commodores’ three losses have been by a combined 10 points, two of them to teams ranked Nos. 5 and 7. It’s why Vanderbilt is enjoying its best start since 1982 when the Commodores won six of their first nine games. They haven’t won four SEC games since 2013 in James Franklin’s last season as coach.

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The game against the Gamecocks is just their second this season as a ranked team, which hadn’t happened here since 2008.

It won’t be easy against the Gamecocks, who are coming off a 44-20 rout of then-No. 10 Texas A&M. Another win makes South Carolina bowl eligible, and coach Shane Beamer is leaning heavily on the blueprint from two years ago when the Gamecocks finished a 63-38 victory over No. 5 Tennessee by winning 31-30 at No. 8 Clemson a week later.

“Tennessee was a flash in the pan,” Beamer said. “There’s no way you could do it the next week against Clemson. So leaning into what we did two years ago.”

Not the same old Vandy

Not too long ago when Steve Spurrier coached South Carolina, he fielded several questions about how well his team played in a victory over Vanderbilt. After two or three, Spurrier simply said, “It’s just Vandy.”

Not these days. Beamer said it was “a wake-up call” when Vanderbilt defeated Beamer’s alma mater, Virginia Tech, to start the season. Beamer’s been impressed with the Commodores ever since. Diego Pavia has been a big key for Vanderbilt, getting Beamer’s attention last season when Pavia led New Mexico State to a win at Auburn.

“And I never thought that that guy would wind up in the SEC,” Beamer said.

Dores ending streaks

Vanderbilt snapped a 23-game skid with its upset of Alabama that also ended a 60-game drought in games against AP top five teams. They just beat Auburn for the first time since 2012 and that 17-7 victory that was Vanderbilt’s first at Auburn. They hadn’t beaten both Alabama and Auburn in the same season since 1955.

“The past does not matter with Vanderbilt,” South Carolina offensive lineman Cason Henry said. “They’re a great team this year, they’ve got a great quarterback, a great defensive line and we have to bring the same kill-hunt mentality that we did to (Texas) A&M.”

Defensive Gamecocks

Lea, who took over as defensive coordinator for Vanderbilt this season, knows his Commodores face a stiff challenge from South Carolina. The Gamecocks rank 16th nationally giving up 304.8 yards per game and are 20th holding opponents to 18.9 points. They’re third in sacks per game.

“If we’re off schedule early, it’s going to become a defensive grinder,” Lea said.

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