The South Carolina football team is looking to carry its momentum from upsetting then-No. 10 Texas A&M into Nashville, Tennessee, when the Gamecocks face No. 24 Vanderbilt on Saturday.
The Daily Gamecock spoke with Aidan Rutman, the sports editor for The Vanderbilt Hustler, to capture his thoughts about the Commodores' surprising season and the team's upcoming matchup with South Carolina. The two teams are set to kick off in FirstBank Stadium at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.
The Daily Gamecock: This year, Vanderbilt is bowl-eligible at the earliest point of the season in program history. What’s the mood around the Commodore program?
Rutman: “I've only been covering stuff for four years, but I haven't seen a culture shift like this before. Everybody is so bought in. There's so much love in the locker room. There's so much love. You can tell when they're passing each other for player availabilities, they laugh and they have fun. And you can see it on videos online in the locker room — they're all having a blast.
“I mean, everyone on Vanderbilt’s campus, I think, is a little shocked just because of how bad they've been the past couple years. No one on the team is surprised. I think they were all really, like I said, bought in and really believed that this was what the team is capable of, and they think they’re capable of being even better than this.”
Did you in any way expect (graduate student quarterback) Diego Pavia or the Commodores in general to be having the season they’re having?
“I had hopes that they would be better than the past couple of years, but I was relatively surprised.
“No one was expecting 6-3. No one was expecting to win over Alabama. But I think from the first game, from watching how Pavia played, how the offense ran, and how familiar everybody was and how cohesive everything was, I realized that it was a different type of team. Virginia Tech, obviously, is 5-4 and isn't amazing, but you could tell from the win, at least from my perspective, that they were capable of doing great things, and I think we’re seeing that now.”
Outside of Pavia, who should the Gamecocks keep an eye on this Saturday?
"I'm pretty pumped to watch Vanderbilt's offensive line go toe-to-toe South Carolina's defensive line. I mean, your guys' defensive line is pretty incredible. Vanderbilt's offensive line has been excellent. (Senior) Gunnar Hansen at left tackle has been really, really good. Pavia’s been amazing under pressure, so I think the battle in the trenches is definitely one to monitor.
“And then defensively, I'll give a shout out to (linebacker/safety) Randon Fontenette. I think he’s the best player on the team, (and) he’s certainly the best player on the defense. He looks better and better. He's a sophomore, transferred in from TCU last year, and he's lanky, he's long, he's athletic. He has really, really good ball-hawking ability. They probably won't put a spy on (redshirt freshman quarterback) LaNorris Sellers — that’s not what they have done against mobile quarterbacks. But he's a type of guy that LaNorris Sellers is gonna run into a couple times, and I imagine that South Carolina is planning on neutralizing him in any way they can.”
Is there anything else you wanted to add about the game or Vanderbilt football?
“I'd honestly just love to give a shout out to the coaching staff, and it goes beyond just (head coach Clark) Lea … I don't know how other people are to coordinators and stuff like that, but I think that the general job of Vanderbilt's entire coaching staff, offensive coordinator Tim Beck has been amazing. Jerry Kill, the former New Mexico State head coach who’s now the chief consultant to Clark Lea, but he's also helping with offensive play calling. Robert Steiner has done wonders for them in the strength and training room, I think you see a lot of the stuff on the field that has translated to wins — is that Vanderbilt stronger and fashion they've been in the past.
“Offensive line coach Coach Leno has been really good. Generally, just the entire staff deserves a huge shout out and a huge pat on the back for their efforts this year.
“I know South Carolina is favored, (but) I've generally ignored the odds just because this is the closest Vanderbilt has been to being favored. They’ve been a touchdown underdog or more in every other SEC game, which I think is a little bit baffling at this point of the season just because of how good they’ve been, but I do actually think Vanderbilt breaks the streak.”
Vanderbilt’s already gotten close once under Lea to ending South Carolina’s 16-year streak over the Commodores. What’s your prediction for Saturday?
“I think that it's homecoming this weekend at Vanderbilt. I think there's gonna be really good alumni engagement. I think that they're gonna be a lot of students that go to this game with just like the hype on campus surrounding the program. This is the first time, in my opinion, that Vanderbilt — at least I expect — to have true home-field advantage against an SEC opponent, and I think that between that and LaNorris Sellers' general struggles to throw the ball down field, Vanderbilt has done pretty well against quarterbacks that can't beat it throwing … I think Vanderbilt will do a good enough job binding him and (senior running back Raheim) Rocket (Sanders) in.
"I'll say Vanderbilt takes this one 31-27."