South Carolina vs Vanderbilt Preview

After Hurricane Florence canceled last week’s game against Marshall, the South Carolina Gamecocks gear up for an SEC East tilt against the Vanderbilt Commodores. For those keeping track at home, South Carolina has not lost to Vanderbilt since 2008.

The second half against Georgia left a bad taste in everyone’s mouths, so it will be great to see the Gamecocks on the field again. It would have been great to see the boys on the field this past weekend, but obviously the safety of everyone takes precedent.

It remains to be seen just how the Gamecocks will respond to the blowout loss against Georgia. Couple that will Vanderbilt’s near win at Notre Dame, and you have two programs looking to show that they won’t let tough losses define their early seasons.

What to look for on Saturday

Throughout the past decade, Vanderbilt has always been a tough game for South Carolina. While Vanderbilt has not beaten South Carolina since 2008, the games have been relatively close, much too close for the South Carolina fan base.

Look for the South Carolina offense to come out fast against the Commodores. The Gamecocks will look to jump on Vanderbilt early and try to put the game out of reach by halftime. History shows us that this is not what tends to happen when these two meet, but it is exactly what South Carolina is looking to do.

The Gamecocks wanted to do this against Georgia in week 2, however they weren’t able to sustain the fast pace of play, and it ultimately lead to their downfall.

Saturday should be a good measuring stick for the South Carolina Gamecocks in Nashville. Either South Carolina will come out and show they can handle the adversity of a tough loss, or the Gamecock faithful may be in store for a very tough 2018 football season.