USC Victorious Over Vandy 48-34

NASHVILLE, TN (USC) — 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.