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South Carolina (1-0, 0-0 SEC) at Vanderbilt (1-0, 0-0 SEC)
Thursday, September 4
8:30 PM ESPN
Vanderbilt Stadium (Natural Grass)
Sports.com Line: South Carolina -10, O/U 41
Always good to get the season started with a “W” and while I rarely play totals, the under (45.4) seemed to make a lot of sense last week with two new quarterbacks getting the start. Both South Carolina’s Tommy Beecher and N.C. State’s Russell Wilson weren’t able to finish the game, Wilson leaving with a concussion and Beecher taking a seat after throwing four interceptions. In the end, despite some fourth quarter fireworks by the Gamecocks, the under was a safe play throughout as South Carolina blanked the Wolfpack 34-0.
Turning the page to the second Thursday night game of the week, we again find ourselves in SEC country and once again with Coach Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks as they travel to Vanderbilt.
That said, while we’ll again see South Carolina, Spurrier’s offense will have a different look this week. After Beecher's performance and the subsequent play of redshirt sophomore QB Chris Smelley who sparked the offense to three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, it was a pretty easy decision to switch signal callers. Smelley was 4-2 as a starter in 2007.
With Smelley under center and more touches for RB Mike Davis, who was benched for the first series and a half against N.C. State for a disciplinary issue, South Carolina’s offense should be more productive, certainly from the outset. And after the performance of Vanderbilt last week, the Gamecocks might well need all the points they can get this Thursday.
Of course, all the experts and pundits – and I’ll admit, including myself – thought this was going to be a really down year for the Commodores. And while a 34-13 handling of Miami (Ohio) certainly doesn’t prove that Vandy is ready to threaten for the SEC title – or even have a winning record in 2008 - it does prove that Coach Bobby Johnson has his squad ready to again be a thorn in the side of each and every opponent this season.
However, you probably don’t have to explain that to Spurrier. Last year the Gamecocks made the mistake of trying to sneak past Vandy on half effort in front of a home crowd in Columbia. That led to a 17-0 first quarter lead for the visitors, one which the Gamecocks could never get past, losing by a final of 17-6. That loss started South Carolina's five-game losing streak to end the season, in the process plummeting from 6-1 and No. 6 in the nation to wrapping up the year 6-6 and without a bowl invite.
So, yes, South Carolina should be on high alert this Thursday night and no doubt would love to dish a little payback to the home team.
Vandy QB Chris Nickson, who had a relatively disappointing year after a stellar sophomore campaign, proved against Miami (Ohio) that he is primed for a big senior season, rushing for a career-high 166 yards. That said, Nickson will likely have to mix up the play calling a bit more this Thursday against a Gamecocks' defense that appears to be one of the SEC's stingiest, as evidenced by that bagel they laid on the Wolfpack.
The final stat sheet showed that the Commodores ran the ball 50 times against the Redhawks while just calling for 16 pass attempts. Nickson will have to lean on WR Sean Walker - one of this team's few speed threats – to loosen up one of the better secondary’s in the country. Facing South Carolina LB’s Eric Norwood and Jasper Brinkley, S Emanuel Cook and CB Captain Munnerlyn will certainly be a tougher test than last week against Miami (Ohio).
The ability of South Carolina’s defense to contain Nickson coupled with the play of Smelley, especially in the first quarter, will likely determine the outcome of this one. As Beecher attempted to do last week, look for Smelley to target preseason first-team All-SEC selection WR Kenny McKinley often. McKinley needs just 11 catches to break the all-time career record at South Carolina.
Overall, Vandy returns just nine starters on offense (3) and defense (6) while South Carolina brings back seven starters on offense and a whopping ten on defense.
South Carolina leads the all-time series 14-3.
