Sept. 21, 2014

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SCORE BY QUARTERS
Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
South Carolina	0	17	10	21	48
Vanderbilt	14	0	10	10	34

VIDEO COVERAGE
Highlights
Coach Spurrier
Coach Ward
Dylan Thompson	Mike Davis, Pharoh Cooper
Brison Williams	Nick Jones

TEAM STAT COMPARISON
1st Downs	24	18
Total Yards	449	379
Passing	237	223
Rushing	212	156
Penalties-Yards	5-35	7-75
3rd Down Conversions	7-12	4-10
4th Down Conversions	0-0	0-0
Turnovers	1	1
Time of Possession	31:02	28:58

PASSING LEADERS
South Carolina	COM	ATT	YDS	TD	INT
Dylan Thompson	22	34	237	3	0
Vanderbilt	COM	ATT	YDS	TD	INT
Wade Freebeck	11	20	168	1	1
Patton Robinette	4	5	55	1	0

RUSHING LEADERS
South Carolina	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LG
Mike Davis	17	84	4.8	0	15
Pharoh Cooper	2	74	37.0	0	70
Vanderbilt	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LG
Ralph Webb	19	98	5.1	0	20
Jerron Seymour	6	32	5.3	0	13

RECEIVING LEADERS
South Carolina	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LG
Pharoh Cooper	10	114	11.4	0	24
Mike Davis	4	30	7.5	0	17
Vanderbilt	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LG
Steven Scheu	3	83	27.7	0	44
Latevius Rayford	3	16	5.3	0	6

SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter				SC	VU
	TD	14:49	Darrius Sims 91 yd kickoff return PAT KICK by Tommy Openshaw (GOOD)	0	7
	TD	00:54	C.J. Duncan 8 yd PASS from Patton Robinette PAT KICK by Tommy Openshaw (GOOD)	0	14
2nd Quarter				SC	VU
	FG	12:50	Elliott Fry 26 yd	3	14
	TD	05:58	Damiere Byrd 29 yd PASS from Dylan Thompson PAT KICK by Elliott Fry (GOOD)	10	14
	TD	00:23	Brison Williams 53 yd interception return PAT KICK by Elliott Fry (GOOD)	17	14
3rd Quarter				SC	VU
	TD	09:59	Shaq Roland 29 yd PASS from Dylan Thompson PAT KICK by Elliott Fry (GOOD)	24	14
	TD	09:45	Darrius Sims 100 yd kickoff return PAT KICK by Tommy Openshaw (GOOD)	24	21
	FG	06:42	Elliott Fry 43 yd	27	21
	FG	00:23	Tommy Openshaw 25 yd	27	24
4th Quarter				SC	VU
	TD	10:34	Nick Jones 7 yd PASS from Dylan Thompson PAT KICK by Elliott Fry (GOOD)	34	24
	FG	05:57	Tommy Openshaw 30 yd	34	27
	TD	04:35	Dylan Thompson 1 yd RUSH PAT KICK by Elliott Fry (GOOD)	41	27
	TD	01:32	David Williams 2 yd RUSH PAT KICK by Elliott Fry (GOOD)	48	27
	TD	00:47	Kris Kentera 7 yd PASS from Wade Freebeck PAT KICK by Tommy Openshaw (GOOD)	48	34

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After a trailing 14-0 early in the game, No. 14 South Carolina came back to defeat Vanderbilt on the road, 48-34, Saturday night at Vanderbilt Stadium.

It only took 11 seconds into the game for the Commodores to get on the board as Darrius Sims found an alley on the opening kickoff and returned it 91 yards for a touchdown, his first of two of the night, to give Vanderbilt the early 7-0 lead.

On the Commodores next drive, Patton Robinette hit an open Davis Dudchock for a 29-yard gain off of a play action pass to get the Commodores down to the South Carolina 27-yard line. Vanderbilt moved the ball down inside the 10, and on third-and-goal, Robinette connected with C.J. Duncan on a slant for an eight-yard touchdown to give the home team a 14-0 advantage with 54 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

On their third possession of the game, the Gamecocks were able to move the ball into Vanderbilt territory as senior quarterback Dylan Thompson hit sophomore wide receiver Pharoh Cooper, who had been involved early and often, for a 22-yard gain. Unable to move deeper into the Commodores’ end, sophomore kicker Elliott Fry converted on a 45-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 14-3 with under 13 minutes left in the first half.

After forcing Vanderbilt to punt on its next possession, momentum began to shift. Back-to-back 19-yard gains from Cooper and junior running back Brandon Wilds moved the Gamecocks down to the Commodores’ 42-yard line. Four plays later, senior wide receiver Damiere Byrd slipped past his defender and Thompson connected with him at the back of the end zone for a 29-yard score to move within four at 14-10 with 5:58 on the clock.

Carolina grabbed its first lead of the night with 23 seconds left before halftime as senior Brison Williams jumped a late out-route from freshman Wade Freebeck, who entered the game in the first quarter after Robinette left the game with an injury. The defensive back returned the interception 53 yards to give the Gamecocks a 17-14 lead.

On the opening drive of the second half, South Carolina picked up where it left off in the second quarter and moved the ball into Vanderbilt territory. Facing a third-and-15, Thompson got the pass off to Cooper on the left sideline for a 15-yard gain. Following a review of the play, Thompson hit junior receiver Shaq Roland on a 29-yard post route for a touchdown to extend the Gamecocks’ lead to 24-14. On the ensuing kickoff though, Sims struck again, finding a crease and returning the ball 100 yards for his second touchdown of the game to bring Vanderbilt back to within three.

Fry extended the Gamecocks’ lead to 27-21 on the next possession, converting from 43 yards out for his second field goal of the night with 6:42 on the clock. Late in the third quarter, the Carolina defense held the Commodores to a 25-yard field goal after Vanderbilt had a first-and-goal from the Gamecocks’ five-yard line.

South Carolina responded with a 10-play, 61-yard drive that Thompson capped off by rolling to his right and finding senior receiver Nick Jones in the corner of the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 34-24 with 10:34 left in the game. Vanderbilt followed with a 9-play drive that gave Tommy Openshaw a 46-yard field goal attempt to cut into the deficit, but senior defensive tackle J.T. Surratt came up with the Carolina’s second blocked field goal of the season.

On Carolina’s first play of the ensuing drive, junior running back Mike Davis lost a fumble. Vanderbilt used the opportunity to close to within seven, at 34-27, after Openshaw converted on a 30-yard field goal with 5:57 remaining.

South Carolina went into the wildcat on the next drive, and on the second play, Cooper broke a 70-yard run before being caught just before he crossed the goal line. Thompson came in on the following play and scored on a one-yard rush to make it 41-27.

After freshman linebacker Bryson Allen-Williams recovered a fumble on the kickoff, redshirt freshman running back David Williams capped off a short drive with a two-yard touchdown run with 1:32 on the clock. With 47 seconds left, Freebeck connected with Kris Kentera for a seven-yard touchdown to make it 48-34.

GAME CHANGER With Vanderbilt trailing 27-21 late in the third quarter, the Commodores had a first-and-goal from the five-yard line, but the Gamecocks’ defense held them to a field goal to maintain a three-point lead. Dylan Thompson found Nick Jones for a seven-yard touchdown on the following drive to push the lead back to 10 with 10:34 left in the game.

KEY STAT South Carolina’s 449 total yards of offense is the most by the Gamecocks in a game this season.

NOTABLES

• South Carolina defeated Vanderbilt 48-34. The Gamecocks improved to 3-1 on the year and 2-1 in the SEC with Vanderbilt falling to 1-3 and 0-2 in league play. It is the most points by the Gamecocks this season and the most on the road since 52 at Arkansas last year on Oct. 12, 2013. It is the most combined points ever between the Gamecocks and Commodores and the most points by the Gamecocks vs. Vanderbilt since South Carolina scored 52 vs. the Commodores in 1995.
• South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier earned his 202nd win as an SEC head coach to surpass Georgia legend Vince Dooley for second on the all-time list for wins as an SEC head coach. Only Paul (Bear) Bryant (292) has won more as an SEC head coach.
• Sophomore wide receiver Pharoh Cooper set a career-high for receptions and receiving yards with 10 catches for 114 yards. His previous high was 5 receptions vs. East Carolina on Sept. 6, 2014 and 58 receiving yards vs. Texas A&M on Aug. 28, 2014. It is the most receptions in a game by a Gamecock this season and the most since Bruce Ellington and Mike Davis had 10 apiece at Missouri on Oct. 26, 2013. It also is the most receiving yards by a Gamecock this season; the previous high was 113 yards by Nick Jones vs. Texas A&M on Aug. 28, 2014. In addition, Cooper rushed 2 carries for 74 yards including a 70-yard run from scrimmage. It was the longest rush by a Gamecock this season and the longest since Mike Davis rushed 75 yards for a touchdown at Georgia on Sept. 7, 2013.
• Senior quarterback Dylan Thompson finished 22-for-34 for 237 passing yards and three touchdowns. Thompson is now 208-for-360 in his career for 2,967 passing yards, 33 yards shy of becoming the 13th quarterback in school history to pass for 3,000 or more yards.
• Junior tailback Mike Davis rushed 17 carries for 82 yards. Davis moved into the top-20 in USC history in career rushing. He now has 313 carries for 1,722 yards and is 88 yards shy of Rob DeBoer (1990-93) at 1,810 for 19th in school history.
• Senior defensive back Brison Williams’ 53-yard interception return for a touchdown was the first interception return for a touchdown by the Gamecocks since D.J. Swearinger tallied a 69-yard interception return for a touchdown vs. Arkansas on Nov. 10, 2012. The interception was the fourth of his career as well.

UP NEXT South Carolina heads back to Williams-Brice Stadium to face No. 18 Missouri for the Mayor’s Cup. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., ET on ESPN. The Tigers were handed their first loss of season today, falling 31-27 to Indiana.

QUOTABLE South Carolina Quarterback Dylan Thompson

On Spurrier’s disposition after the game
“Probably not but probably the same can be said for the other guys in the locker room. We can’t play like that. We have to sharpen up in every facet of the game. We come in here and just play sloppy. It was sloppy game; hard to watch as a fan I’m sure. We did get the win. You appreciate road wins especially in the SEC. But we have to sharpen up.”

South Carolina Wide Receiver Pharoh Cooper

On persevering through the whole game
“It’s not easy to get up, but that’s football. That’s the game. You’re gonna take some hits, take some shots, be bruised up after the game. We just gotta have the mindset to keep pushing and win the game.”

South Carolina Running Back Mike Davis

On if South Carolina is where it needs to be at this point in the season
“Not really, but things happen and I’m happy where we are. We’re a great team, we have a great offensive line, and great skilled people around us. I love my guys to death.”

TWEETS OF THE GAME