College Football Insider Makes Pick for Vanderbilt Commodores and South Carolina
The Vanderbilt Commodores have three stops left on their 2024 path of destruction through the Southeastern Conference, with the first of those three coming at home with the South Carolina Gamecocks.
In what has been the Commodores' best start to a season since 1982, the team has shown outstanding execution on both sides of the ball, with Diego Pavia leading the charge for the offense and the defense working hard in the trenches and forcing a plethora of turnovers.
The next three games on the schedule, however, could prove to be some of the hardest tests that Vandy has had to face so far this year, but they have proven time and time again that when the going gets tough, the tough get going.
In a recent article for CBS Sports, Brandon Marcello made his picks for some of the biggest games taking place within the SEC this weekend, including the Gamecocks at Vanderbilt.
Both teams have shown a propensity for victory and overcoming all odds, with South Carolina upsetting the Texas A&M Aggies just last weekend, and Marcello's pick for who will win the game this Saturday landed on the Gamecocks, though it does carry a caveat.
"The deciding factor will be turnovers," writes Marcello, "quarterback LaNorris Sellers, who combined for 350 yards last week, has committed six turnovers in three losses and only three in five wins. If Vanderbilt forces two or more turnovers, the Commodores win. This is a difficult pick."
While it is most certainly a difficult game to choose a winner from, the Commodores' defense has forced eight interceptions so far this year, an average of 0.89 per game, while also recovering three fumbles out of four forced.
Another of Marcello's questions for this game was, "Can Vanderbilt slow down South Carolina's potent ground game?"
South Carolina has run for an average of 176.5 yards this year, including three separate occasions of running for 200 or more yards in a single game.
While that is highly impressive, the Vanderbilt defense's calling card has been their ability to stifle the run game, as they have allowed only 111.8 yards per game on the ground this year, while only allowing 200 or more in a single game once, and holding five of their nine opponents to less than 100 yards.
Saturday's game certainly looks to be one of the better games of the weekend, on paper, and we only have to wait two more days to see how it all shakes out.
