Gamecocks Host Vandy for Homecoming Game Saturday, Oct. 16

First-year head coach Shane Beamer and the South Carolina Gamecocks (3-3, 0-3 SEC) return to the friendly confines of Williams-Brice Stadium (77,559) this week when they host the Vanderbilt Commodores (2-4, 0-2 SEC) and first-year head coach Clark Lea in a 4 pm ET contest on Saturday, Oct. 16. The SEC Eastern Division matchup will be televised on SEC Network. It’s the second of six-straight SEC contests for the Gamecocks. This week’s game caps Homecoming week on the University of South Carolina campus.
 
OVER THE AIRWAVES: Dave Neal will call the action for SEC Network. He will be joined in the booth by Deuce McAllister. Andraya Carter will patrol the sidelines. The familiar voices of Carolina Hall of Famers Todd Elis and Tommy Suggs handle the call for the Gamecock Radio Network with Jamar Nesbit on the sidelines.

A LITTLE HISTORY: 2021 marks the 128th season of intercollegiate football at the University of South Carolina dating back to 1892. It is the 115th-consecutive year in which South Carolina has competed on the gridiron. The University did not field a team in either 1893 or 1906. Carolina owns an all-time record of 617-598-44, a .508 winning pct.

IT JUST MEANS MORE: The 2021 season marks South Carolina’s 30th year in the Southeastern Conference. South Carolina and Arkansas joined the league prior to the 1992 campaign. The Gamecocks earned the SEC Eastern Division title in the 2010 season. The Gamecocks are 99-137-1 (.420) all-time in SEC regular-season play.

LOOKING FOR A MILESTONE WIN: A win over Vanderbilt would mark South Carolina’s 100th conference win since joining the SEC in 1992.

CAROLINA VS. VANDY: This is the 31st all-time meeting between South Carolina and Vanderbilt, with the Gamecocks holding a commanding 26-4 advantage, including a 12-2 mark when the teams have met in Columbia and a 14-2 record when the games have been played in Nashville. The teams met just once (1961) before they became SEC Eastern Division rivals in 1992, and have met every year since.

IN DOMINATING FASHION: The Gamecocks have won each of the last 12 games between the two squads, their longest winning streak in the series, and 19 of the last 21 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 .867. In the previous 30 outings, Vanderbilt has tallied more than 17 points just six times (24 in 2003, 28 in 2005, 24 in 2008, 25 in 2013, a record-high 34 in 2014 and 27 in 2017).

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: 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. It was the Gamecocks’ 12th-consecutive win over Vandy, their longest streak against any SEC opponent.
 
THE LAST TIME THEY MET HERE: Bryan Edwards caught a school record-tying 14 passes for a career-best 139 yards to lead the Gamecocks to a 24-7 win over Vanderbilt on Nov. 2, 2019 in Columbia. Ryan Hilinski was 24-for-31 for 235 yards for the Gamecocks, including a 25-yard touchdown pass to Edwards midway through the fourth quarter that sealed the win. Freshman Deshaun Fenwick got his first action of 2019, running 18 times for 102 yards. The Commodores lost starting quarterback Riley Neal to injury after the first drive and, with Mo Hasan not playing, turned to third string Deuce Wallace. The junior was 8-for-17 for 30 yards and two interceptions.
 
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. Ryan Bellerose spent the 2018-19 seasons at South Carolina on the strength and conditioning staff. He is now an assistant strength coach for the Commodores.
 
HALL OF FAME: Ten new members were inducted into the University of South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame, sponsored by the Association of Lettermen, on Thursday night and recognized on the field Saturday. This year’s class includes John Abraham, Mike Durrah and Connor Shaw from football, Michael Roth from baseball, Scotti Ward from men’s basketball, Brantley Southers and head coach Nancy Wilson from women’s basketball, Ron Willis from track & field, volleyball coach Kim (Hudson) Williams and Athletics Director Dr. Mike McGee. Since the University of South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame was created in 1967, 197 members, including these ten, have been selected by the University of South Carolina Association of Lettermen.
 
FIRST-YEAR SEC COACHES HEAD-TO-HEAD: South Carolina and Vanderbilt feature a pair of first-year head coaches in Shane Beamer and Clark Lea, respectively. Coach Beamer will go head-to-head with the other three first-year SEC coaches this season. Josh Heupel of Tennessee got the better of it last week. Later this season, Auburn’s first-year coach Bryan Harsin will bring his Tigers to Columbia for a meeting with the Gamecocks.
 
ABOUT LAST WEEK: With the help of two Carolina turnovers, Tennessee scored on each of its first four possessions in opening up a 28-0 lead after the first quarter and never looked back in a 45-20 win over South Carolina in Knoxville last Saturday afternoon. The Gamecocks would score 20 of the game’s final 30 points and collect a season-high six sacks, but could not overcome the slow start. Carolina had not allowed as many as 28 first-quarter points in at least 40 years.
 
HARRIS FINDS THE END ZONE: Kevin Harris reached the end zone twice at Tennessee, his first two rushing touchdowns of the season. Harris moved into sole possession of 10th place on Carolina’s all-time rushing touchdowns list with 21.
RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS-CAREER
1. Marcus Lattimore (2010-12) 38
2. George Rogers (1977-80) 31
Harold Green (1986-89) 31
4. Brandon Bennett (1991-94) 27
Andrew Pinnock (1999-02) 27
6. Jeff Grantz (1973-75) 26
7. Cory Boyd (2003-07) 23
8. Jay Lynn Hodgin (1972-74) 22
Mike Davis (2012-14) 22
10. Kevin Harris (2019-21) 21
 
SPECIAL TEAMS SCORE: The Gamecocks got a touchdown from their special teams when punter Kai Kroeger connected with Payton Mangrum on a 44-yard pass on a fake punt in the third quarter at Tennessee. It was Kroeger’s second career completion in as many attempts, as he connected with Dakereon Joyner on a similar play last season. It was the Gamecocks’ fourth non-offensive touchdown of the season.
 
TARGETING THE TIGHT END: The trio of tight ends – Nick Muse, Jaheim Bell and Traevon Kenion – were targeted 12 times at Tennessee, with seven receptions for 78 yards. They gained 54 of the 78 yards after contact.
 
SACK MASTERS: The Gamecock defense was credited with a season-high six sacks at Tennessee, with six different players each getting credit for one sack. It was the most sacks recorded by the Gamecocks since notching seven sacks at Tennessee in 2017.
 
JAYLAN PLAYING LIKE AN ALL-AMERICAN: Jaylan Foster had another big day at Tennessee in an All-America-type season. He logged a career-high 13 tackles, including 2.0 tackles for loss and a sack. It was his third-consecutive game with at least 11 tackles and he ranks third in the SEC with 8.67 tackles per game. He is tied for the NCAA lead with four interceptions.
 
FINISH STRONG: The Gamecocks have been very good in the fourth quarter of their games this season. Carolina has outscored its opponents by a 39-13 margin in the final period. Carolina has been outscored by a 56-24 margin in the first quarter, but hold an advantage in each of the final three stanzas (42-39 in the 2nd and 27-24 in the 3rd).
 
THAT’S OUR BALL: The Gamecock defense has been outstanding in forcing turnovers this season. They forced a season-high four turnovers against Troy, collecting a pair of fumbles along with two interceptions. For the season, South Carolina has forced 14 turnovers – nine interceptions and five fumbles, ranking in a tie for seventh in the NCAA with Oregon State, Wake Forest and Washington State. Iowa leads the country with 20.
 
PICK PARTY: The Gamecocks have picked off two passes in four of their six games this season and have nine interceptions total. Included are a trio of pick-sixes by Jordan Burch, Damani Staley and David Spaulding. Jaylan Foster leads the way individually with four, which ties him for the NCAA lead. The Gamecocks are tied for fifth in the nation in pass interceptions. South Carolina recorded just eight INTs in 10 games last year. Iowa leads the nation with 16 interceptions.
 
THREE TO THE HOUSE: The Gamecock defense has scored three times this season on pick-sixes. In the opener against Eastern Illinois, it was defensive end Jordan Burch who picked off a pass and rumbled 61 yards to paydirt. That was Carolina’s first pick-six since Israel Mukuamu went 53 yards for a score at Georgia in 2019 and the first for a Gamecock defensive lineman since Devin Taylor raced 48 yards at Arkansas in 2011. Linebacker Damani Staley got the Gamecocks on the scoreboard with just a minute left in the first half on a 63-yard interception return against East Carolina.  David Spaulding went 74 yards with an interception return in the final minute of the first half against Troy. The Gamecocks are tied for second in the NCAA behind only Ohio State (5) with three defensive touchdowns. The three interception returns for touchdowns is the most for Carolina in a season since 2010 (5)