Scouting USC’s next opponent: The Vanderbilt Commodores
When: 4 p.m., Saturday
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium
TV: SEC Network
Last week: Vanderbilt had a bye last week. The week before the Commodores beat Middle Tennessee St. 17-13 on the road.
Three story lines
In Derek Mason’s second year, Vanderbilt is showing signs of improvement. The Commodores have already played Georgia and Ole Miss tough.
Vanderbilt is averaging 412.4 yards of offense per game after putting up less than 300 per game last year.
The contest is still set to take place at Williams-Brice Stadium, but it is worth monitoring this week to see if the game is moved to Nashville.
Three players to watch
Sophomore quarterback Johnny McCrary is averaging 250 passing yards per game. He’ll face a South Carolina defense that has had its share of troubles stopping the pass.
Sophomore running back Ralph Webb is on pace to rush for more than 1,000 yards this season after setting a Vandy freshman record with 907 yards last season.
Sophomore linebacker Zach Cunningham leads the Commodores in tackles with 35. He’s tied for the team lead in tackles for loss with four and has also forced a fumble.
Pick
South Carolina 21, Vanderbilt 20. The Commodores enter Saturday’s game believing they have a strong chance to end their 10-game SEC losing streak. Vanderbilt has the talent to compete with South Carolina, and the Gamecocks will get all they want. I see USC escaping with a close win.
Matt Connolly
This story was originally published October 11, 2015 at 9:47 PM with the headline "Scouting USC’s next opponent: The Vanderbilt Commodores."