First look: Storylines, betting odds for South Carolina football game vs. Vanderbilt

Madison Hricik
·4 min read
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South Carolina survived the first of four home games that close the 2023 season. The Gamecocks are back at home and facing an SEC opponent. This time, USC is facing a struggling Vanderbilt, who’s beginning a two-game road stretch to close out its season.

Here’s an early look at the Week 11 matchup between the Gamecocks and the Commodores.

South Carolina vs. Vanderbilt TV/stream info

Who: South Carolina (3-6, 1-5 SEC) vs. Vanderbilt (2-8, 0-6 SEC)

Where: Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, SC

When: Noon Saturday

TV: SEC Network

Stream: via the ESPN app

Series history: This is the 33rd all-time meeting between South Carolina and Vanderbilt, going back to 1961. USC leads the series, 28-4, and has a 13-2 advantage at home. Shane Beamer is 2-0 against the Commodores, including a 38-27 win in Nashville last season.

Vegas betting odds

South Carolina is a 14-point favorite against Vanderbilt, according to FanDuel and DraftKings. Meanwhile OddsShark has the Gamecocks as a 12.5-point favorite.

About South Carolina

South Carolina snapped its four-game losing streak with a 38-28 win over Jacksonville State. The skid was the longest of the Beamer era, and the win keeps the Gamecocks’ bowl chances alive.

Wide receiver Xavier Legette and linebacker Stone Blanton were two heroes in the Gamecocks’ win. Legette had 217 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while Blanton had his first pick-six of the season. USC’s defense forced four turnovers — two fumble recoveries and two interceptions — marking the first defensive turnover since playing Tennessee on Sept. 30.

The Gamecocks have two remaining conference games and play the final three games of the regular season at Williams-Brice. USC at home is 3-1 this year and 13-5 in the Beamer era.

About Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt dropped its eighth-straight game with a 31-15 loss to Auburn in Nashville. The Commodores haven’t won a game since Week 1 against Alabama A&M on Sept. 2.

Quarterback Ken Seals threw for 160 yards, with one touchdown and one interception, and rushed for 20 yards. Vanderbilt had 266 yards of total offense against Auburn — the Tigers had 424 yards. Saturday’s loss marked the fifth-straight game where Vanderbilt’s defense has allowed at least 400 yards, with two of the three over 500 yards (Georgia and Missouri).

Vanderbilt’s offense has been out-performed in nearly every statistical category, except passing touchdowns, where quarterback Seals has 19 compared to the combined opponents 17. The Commodores are last in the SEC, and are the only team to have yet to win a conference game this season.

Clark Lea, like Beamer, is in his third season as coach.

Gamecocks and Commodores to watch

USC WR Xavier Legette: The top wide receiver (973 yards) is closing in on becoming the sixth-ever Gamecock to reach the 1,000-yard milestone and first since 2014. His explosive performance against Jacksonville State was the first time the redshirt senior played at that caliber since his injury after Florida.

USC LB Debo Williams: Williams has been one of the more consistent players for USC’s defense, and once again led the Gamecocks with 13 total tackles. The redshirt junior said after the game he knew the USC defense didn’t play its best game, even with the turnovers, and wanted push his teammates to play better against Vanderbilt and beyond.

Vanderbilt RB Sedrick Alexander: Alexander led the Commodores with 40 rushing yards against Auburn and is up to 240 rushing yards this season. The true freshman averages 3.9 yards per carry and has four touchdowns this year. Alexander also has 98 receiving yards this season.

Vanderbilt LB Langston Patterson: The sophomore linebacker is just shy of 50 tackles this season, including 5.5 tackles for loss and one interception. He’s ranked second on the Vanderbilt roster for total tackles, and had a sack for 24 yards.

South Carolina schedule