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Dandy for Vandy

Vanderbilt's George Smith catches a first-half touchdown pass as South Carolina's Brandon Isaac looks on. Associated Press (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Pete Iacobelli Associated Press
Vanderbilt's George Smith catches a first-half touchdown pass as South Carolina's Brandon Isaac looks on. Associated Press (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson had no doubt how his Commodores would react, even if many others did, following last week’s disheartening loss to Georgia.

“It made us a little angry,” he said.

Vanderbilt (4-3, 2-3 SEC) took it out on coach Steve Spurrier and No. 6 South Carolina on Saturday with a 17-6 victory.

The win was Vanderbilt’s first over Spurrier in 15 tries and the highest-ranked opponent it defeated in more than 70 years.

A week ago, the Commodores left their home stadium after Georgia’s 20-17 win on a last-second field goal.

“I’m sure that people thought we’d fold in the second half here” after the Commodores led 17-0, Johnson said. “But we didn’t. We came back and played great, maybe better than in the first half.

“That’s a misconception about Vanderbilt. They do everything they possibly can to try and win.”

This time, it was two touchdown passes from Mackenzi Adams, two interceptions by D.J. Moore and a defense that was so stout it didn’t make a difference which quarterback Spurrier used.

The Gamecocks (6-2, 3-2) became the latest Top 10 upset victim.

Little went right for South Carolina. The offense was held to 195 yards. Starter Chris Smelley threw two interceptions and Vanderbilt registered seven sacks.

“This should not be a shock to our team,” Spurrier said. “This should not be a shock. Hopefully, it will straighten them out.”

When it was over, Vanderbilt’s players rushed to the small section of Commodore fans, jumping and pumping their fists in celebration.

The Commodores hadn’t beaten a team ranked this highly since topping No. 6 LSU 7-6 in 1937.

The win was extra sweet for Johnson, a Columbia native. On hand to watch were his friend and former boss at Furman, ex-North Carolina State coach Dick Sheridan, along with some of Johnson’s Eau Claire High coaches.

It was hard to imagine Vanderbilt celebrating much of anything this season after the Georgia loss. But Adams said the Commodores did what they usually do – return to work.

“I’ve been here three years and I’ve been through a lot of tough, close losses and most of the times, you find us on Sunday bouncing back,” Adams said.

Vanderbilt had lost seven straight to South Carolina since 1999.

Spurrier was 2-0 against the Commodores at Duke, then continued the winning at Florida (10-0) and South Carolina (2-0).