Click Here for the Post & Cocky Preview Show: Vanderbilt at South Carolina
The No. 12 South Carolina Gamecocks (3-0, 1-0) will take on the Vanderbilt Commodores (3-0, 1-0) at Williams Brice Stadium Stadium on Saturday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:05 pm ET and the game will be televised by ESPN2.
South Carolina is coming off of a near-upset at the hands of the Navy Midshipmen (2-1) last Saturday night, winning by a slim three-point margin for the second week in a row, 24-21.
"We've played similarly every game," Spurrier said Tuesday in his weekly press conference. "We keep thinking it's all going to come together. It hasn't quite yet but we're 3-0. That's a good sign that we've won a couple of games being behind in the 4th quarter. I don't think that's happened around here so we're doing some things."
Marcus Lattimore carried the Gamecock offense throughout the night, rushing for a career-high 246 yards and all three of South Carolina's touchdowns.
"We figured the best way to try to win the game was to just hand it to him and keep blocking," Spurrier said after Saturday's win.
Lattimore ran for more yards than the great George Rogers ever did in his illustrious collegiate career. Rogers' best day was against Wake Forest in 1978, when he rushed for 237 yards against the Demon Deacons.
QB Stephen Garcia finished the game 18-25 for a season-high 204 yards and one interception, spreading the ball to seven different receivers. WR Nick Jones led the receivers in yardage with 52 yards on three catches. Lattimore and WR Jason Barnes each had four receptions.
Antonio Allen closed the game with an interception on 4th down that eliminated Navy's chances to upset Carolina, while Jay Wooten's 48-yard field goal as time expired in the first half proved to be the difference.
Vanderbilt is off to a red hot start and are coming fresh off of a 30-7 beatdown of Ole Miss in their SEC opener.
QB Larry Smith threw for 103 yards and rushed for a touchdown while Zac Stacy ran for 169 yards, including a 77 yard touchdown, on 11 carries.
Vanderbilt also leads the nation in interceptions after picking off Ole Miss QB Zack Stoudt five times last week, returning one of them for a 52-yard touchdown. The Commodore defense is also top 20 in scoring defense, allowing only 14 points per game so far this season.
"We struggled with them down there last year at Vandy," said Spurrier. "They play the coverages that most teams play. They disguise well with a zone blitz. You look at them on tape and guys are in position. They play fundamentally sound. That's why they're playing well right now. It will be good challenge for us no doubt about it. They're playing with a lot of confidence and a lot of fire. We'll see if we can match it."
With Vanderbilt and South Carolina off to 3-0 starts, it is safe to say this will be a huge game early on in the SEC East divisional race. Expect Vanderbilt to come out fired up and ready to take on a divisional rival who they have had some success against in the past. I expect to see another hard fought game as the Commodores have impressed so far this season. With the first home SEC game, I like the Gamecocks to be ready and to play their best game of the season thus far and improve to 4-0 going into next week's game vs. Auburn.
Prediction:
No. 12 South Carolina 31 Vanderbilt 27
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South Carolina's game with Vanderbilt comes in a week that the university has become the target of some scrutiny. The University of South Carolina received a letter of allegations from the NCAA on Monday afternoon. 12 student-athletes were accused of staying in The Whitney Hotel for a reduced rate of $14.95 per night. 10 of those athletes named in the letter are current football players and two are women's track and field athletes. Also, a booster was alleged to give up to $8,000 in impermissible benefits to potential recruits. The university will have until Dec. 14 to respond to the letter and is expected to be in front of the board Feb. 17-18.
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