College Football Game of the Week: South Carolina vs. No. 24 Vanderbilt

One of the most unique and interesting matchups of the week also takes place in the SEC, but not with teams you would expect.

South Carolina and Vanderbilt are two teams that weren’t projected to be top SEC contenders, but with Vanderbilt being ranked and South Carolina hosting an upset city, both these squads are razor-hot.

South Carolina has had one of the tougher schedules in the country up to this point, losing three games so far this season. However, their win against a top Texas A&M team shows the power of the group.

Vanderbilt also sits at three losses this season, but the one win they had over the No. 1 team in the country at the time, Alabama, has propelled them to the national conversation.

Diego Pavia has played great this year at quarterback with 19 total touchdowns and over 500 rushing yards on the season. If Vanderbilt wants to keep up the winning ways of their storytelling season, the success runs through him.

The last time Vanderbilt had at least seven wins in a season was in 2013 when James Franklin, who is a familiar face, led them to a 9-4 overall record and a BBVA Compass Bowl victory.

They finished the season ranked at No. 24 in the AP Poll rankings, which is where they now sit just over a decade later.

Vanderbilt’s sprint to the finish in their final three games of the year is going to be a challenge having to go on the road to LSU and then hosting Tennessee to finish the year.

As for the Cockpit, one of my favorite student section names in all of college football, they have been able to produce a ruckus environment for any visiting team.

South Carolina will be on the road for this game however which is a big reward for the Commodores. 79 points combined have been scored in the last two games against both Oklahoma and Texas A&M for the potent offense.

Raheim Sanders has almost 600 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on the year, but the real hero in my eyes for the Gamecocks is their head coach Shane Beamer.

Beamer has been in the shadow of his father Frank who was one of the greatest college football coaches of all time when he was at Virginia Tech.

Some people may say he got into the business because of nepotism with the family name, and I for one agree with that. In saying that though, I think he is a tremendous football coach who doesn’t get enough credit.

Beamer had an eight-win season back in 2022 and is trending back to that same win total for the 2024 season. Beamer has been one of the more competitive coaches in the SEC, including his win against Tennessee that took them out of the playoff race back in ‘22.

Safe to say that South Carolina has their guy for at least a little while longer.

Both teams have been through a lot of tough teams already, so the test of who is maybe the seventh or eighth team in the conference.

Giustino Racchini is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him please email him at gar5448@psu.edu.