South Carolina vs Vanderbilt: An Early Look

South Carolina travels to Nashville on Saturday to take on a Vanderbilt team that has been the surprise of the conference. Both teams come into the matchup fresh off a win and looking to extend that streak.

Vanderbilt has seen an emergence this season. For a team that had two SEC wins between 2021-2023 (2-22 overall), this season they have three conference wins and two losses decided by a total of six points. South Carolina can become bowl eligible with a win on Saturday. To do that, here are the early keys to watch out for:

Deigo Pavia

The New Mexico State transfer has played a major role in Vanderbilt success this season. Pavia has completed 62% of his passes for 1,677 yards, but the best mark of his season comes in the touchdown-to-interception ratio as he has 15 touchdowns to 3 interceptions. He leads all QBs in the SEC in rushing yards (563), good enough for 8th overall in the conference. South Carolina is no stranger to playing dual threat QBs, but to win on Saturday Pavia must be contained.

Taking Advantage of Vanderbilt's Secondary

LaNorris Sellers and the Gamecocks' passing offense has gotten better as the season progressed. He's been more confident and his pass catchers have started to emerge. Vanderbilt has been leaky on the back end as they give up an average of 225.9 yards per game to opposing passing attacks. Vanderbilt has allowed 14 passing touchdowns this season and forced 8 interceptions. South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer said Tuesday that the team expects to have Mazeo Bennett Jr. back for this game.