Vandy hasn’t beat USC in 9 years. How much does the streak weigh on the Commodores?

The last time Vanderbilt beat South Carolina, the Gamecocks were into Year 4 of the Steve Spurrier era. USC’s quarterback on Sept. 4, 2008, was Chris Smelley. He tossed for two touchdowns, but also two interceptions as the Commodores upset the then 24th-ranked Gamecocks, 24-17, in Nashville.

The series has been colored garnet and black ever since -- nine wins in a row for South Carolina over Vandy by an average score of 25-15.

The SEC programs meet again at 4 p.m. Saturday at Vanderbilt Stadium.

How much does the Carolina skid matter to the current Vandy players?

“We’ve heard about it,” Vandy linebacker Jordan Griffin told reporters during a Tuesday news conference in Nashville. “It’s about us going out there and just competing as a defense, try to get past that streak and go 1-0 this week as a team.”

Vandy coach Derek Mason was a tad more passionate when talking up his program’s shot at topping an East Division rival for the first time since the George W. Bush administration.

“(Against) South Carolina, we haven’t won since Bobby Johnson was here,” Mason said of the Columbia native and former Commodore coach. “And I give him a lot of credit because he did it twice in his tenure. We’ve lost nine straight, OK? That’s gotta change at some point in time. Why not this week?“We got a football team. They got one too. Like I said, we got a chance to get into a street fight, so let’s go.”

Vandy opened as a 2.5-point underdog to South Carolina. Here’s more of what the Commodores had to say this week:

“On the plane and riding the bus back, I get texts and calls like, ‘Good game, good effort.’ I don’t want to hear that. I’d rather hear, ‘Good W. Good win. You guys did your thing.’

“It’s cool and I appreciate the support, but we play a game to win and we lost. So we try to win this week.” -- Receiver Kalija Lipscomb on the response to the Commodores’ narrow loss to No. 8 Notre Dame last Saturday

“He’s a great quarterback. They’re a great offense. We just got to continue to work on the little things like tackling. We can’t let him get out of the pocket. We just got to put pressure in his face and try to get him down.” -- Griffin on USC quarterback Jake Bentley

“He’s one of the elite in this conference in terms of a big-play receiver.” -- Mason on USC’s Bryan Edwards

“To our 7,600 or 7,800 (students) -- whatever it is -- you need to come out and support this team because it’s you. You’re Vanderbilt. They’re Vanderbilt. ... Come out and support these dudes on Saturday.

“And to our employees -- which is around 22,000 here at Vanderbilt University -- you need to come check out this football team because it is Nashville, it is the SEC and it is Vanderbilt. They are you and you are them. This is who you serve and they serve you. So come on out. Let’s get some of this. We need you.” -- Mason on generating fan support for Saturday’s game