VANDY HOLD GAMECOCKS
WITHOUT TD 17-6
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- It took more
than two decades for Vanderbilt to finally beat Steve Spurrier. But boy,
this one was worth the wait for the Commodores.
Mackenzi Adams threw two touchdown passes
and D.J. Moore had two key interceptions as Vanderbilt upset No. 6 South
Carolina 17-6 Saturday, ending Spurrier's unblemished record against the
school that began in 1987.
Spurrier came into this 14-0 all-time vs.
the Commodores (4-3, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) and, with the Gamecocks
(6-2, 3-2) ranked as high as they'd been since 1984, seemed a strong bet to
keep that streak alive.
Instead, Vanderbilt took a 17-0 lead in the
first quarter and held off Spurrier's club the rest of the way.
Vanderbilt's players rushed to the small
section of Commodore fans when the game ended, jumping and pumping their
fists in celebration.
And why not? The Commodores hadn't beaten a
team ranked this highly since topping No. 6 LSU, 7-6, in 1937.
Vanderbilt had lost seven straight to South
Carolina since last winning in 1999.
Spurrier was 2-0 against the Commodores at
Duke, then continued the winning at Florida (10-0) and South Carolina (2-0).
Earlier this season, Spurrier had run his
streak over Kentucky to 15-0, but the Gamecocks couldn't extend this one.
Vanderbilt had Georgia on the ropes a week
ago before a field goal at the end gave the Bulldogs a 20-17 victory. This
time, the Commodores hung on despite everything Spurrier threw at them.
Chris Smelly drove the Gamecocks 63 yards
to the Andy 13, but Moore stepped in front of a pass in the end zone to stop
the series.
Backup quarterback Blake Mitchell bounced a
throw short on fourth-and-5. A series later, Mitchell's pass was picked off
by linebacker Jonathan Goof with 11:05 remaining.
South Carolina had another chance to close
in when Adams fumbled with 8 minutes left and Eric Norway recovered.
Linebacker Marcus Bugs and defensive end Curtis Gated sacked Mitchell on
consecutive downs to end the threat.
Vanderbilt managed only 201 yards, but that
was more than enough as the Gamecocks gained only 195.
Smelly was 12 of 20 for 145 yards and two
interceptions, while Mitchell was 3 of 8 for 19 yards.
Moore got things going for Vanderbilt early
on. His first interception set up Bryan Hahnfeldt's 32-yard field goal.
One play later, Ryan Hamilton picked up
Cory Boyd's fumble to put the Commodores in position again. Adams found
George Smith for a 22-yard touchdown.
Vanderbilt kept up the first-quarter
pressure. Two-series later, Adams had runs of 19 and 4 yards, then closed
the drive with his second TD pass, a 20-yard toss to Justin Wheeler.
The Commodores were up 17-0, stunning most
of the 79,212 at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Earl Bennett, Vanderbilt's standout
receiver, came in needing three catches to tie the SEC's reception record of
208, held by Craig Yeast of Kentucky. Bennett, who caught 16 balls here
against the Gamecocks two years ago, was held to two catches.
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