South Carolina will look to construct on its momentum Saturday afternoon when it visits Vanderbilt for a Southeastern Convention matchup in Nashville, Tenn.
The Gamecocks (5-3, 3-3) totaled 530 yards in a 44-20 dwelling upset of then-No. 10 Texas A&M final week.
Vanderbilt (6-3, 3-2), in the meantime, clinched bowl eligibility for the primary time since 2018 with a 17-7 win at Auburn.
Now, the Commodores will attempt to snap their 15-game shedding streak of their annual sequence with the Gamecocks.
Vanderbilt scored at the very least 27 factors in its first 5 video games this season however hasn’t eclipsed 24 in its final 4. That stated, the Commodores have received three of these video games.
“They’re doing the issues that groups must do so as to win soccer video games,” South Carolina coach Shane Beamer stated of the Commodores. “I do know they’re main the league in time of possession, in order that they’re holding the ball. They’re second within the SEC in turnover margin. They’re main the league in not turning it over. They’re the least-penalized workforce within the SEC. In order that they’re doing an excellent job of not shedding soccer video games, taking part in successful soccer, discovering methods to get video games to the fourth quarter, after which discovering a method to win it within the fourth quarter.”
The physicality of SEC soccer has began to take a toll on quarterback Diego Pavia and working again Sedrick Alexander. Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea stated he is scaled observe again accordingly.
“I assumed our workforce performed actually laborious within the recreation (in opposition to Auburn) … the eagerness, the hassle, all if it was there,” Lea stated of Saturday’s win. “I used to be actually happy with that. However I additionally noticed a workforce that you can simply sense the lag impact of a very bodily season.”
South Carolina presents loads of bodily challenges, too.
That begins with a star-studded protection, together with defensive ends Kyle Kennard and Dylan Stewart, linebacker Demetrius Knight, security Nick Emmanwori and defensive again Jalon Kilgore for a unit that ranks sixteenth nationally in whole protection (304.6 yards per recreation).
Defending 6-foot-3, 242-pound Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers could be a headache, too. The redshirt freshman has improved as a passer and ran for a career-high 106 yards and a landing vs. Texas A&M.
The Gamecocks additionally acquired a season-best recreation from Raheim Sanders, who had 236 yards from scrimmage on 25 touches (20 rushes, 5 receptions) final Saturday.
–Discipline Stage Media