Commodores Fall To South Carolina Again, 24-7
Things started out exactly the way Derek Mason and the Vanderbilt Commdores had hoped, but it ended with a wimper as the South Carolina Gamecocks came from behind, scoring 24 unanswered points to pull away for the victory.
The Commodores took their first offensive possession and drove right down the field behind quarterback Riley Neal, who connected with receiver Cam Johnson for a 26 yard touchdown pass to give Vanderbilt an early lead.
Neal, starting in place of the injured Mo Hasan left the game following his touchdown pass and did not return with an unidentified injury.
Enter Deuce Wallace and exit the Vanderbilt passing game.
Prior to his injury Neal completed 3 of 4 passes for 46 yards and the touchdown on one drive. Wallace managed just 6 completions on 15 attempts for 26 yards and two interceptions.
Make no mistake, the Commodores passing game has not exactly been prolific this season, but with Kalijah Lipscomb mysteriously absent from the game- dressed and on the sideline with a towl on his head most of the game- there were few options available for Wallace.
Once again Jared Pinkney was a non-factor, targeted just once and held without a reception as his season of frustration continued.
It was just the opposite for South Carolina, as the Gamecocks entered the contest in a must win situation of their own.
Reciever Bryan Edwards set a school record for receptions in a game with 14 grabs for 136 yards and a touchdown.
His teammate, running back Deshaun Fenwick handled things on the ground, rushing for 139 yards and a score in the win.
In the end, Vanderbilt managed just 189 yards in total offense, were 3 of 11 on third down and allowed Carolina to dominate time of possession but over 7 minutes.
In spite of the lack of offensive production, Commodores defense kept them within stricking distance until Edwards 4th quarter touchdown reception put the game out of reach.
Vanderbilt must now turn it's attention to the Florida Gators, who fell to Georgia earlier in the day as the Commodores travel to Gainesville next week for an 11am kickoff at Florida Field.
The loss leaves the Commodores 2-6 overall and means that they must win out to reach bowl eligibility.
A 29 year veteran of radio in the Middle Tennessee area and 16 years in digital and internet media having covered the Tennessee Titans for Scout Media and TitanInsider.com before joining the Sports Illustrated family of networks.