2025 Vanderbilt Football Opponent Preview, Game 1: Charleston Southern
It has been 11 years since Vanderbilt narrowly escaped a major upset against Charleston Southern in Nashville. This time around, Vanderbilt will look to avoid any potential to sweat out a game against Charleston Southern as the Commodores open the 2025 football season against the Buccaneers on the final Saturday in August this fall.
Vanderbilt is looking to build off its first winning season since 2013 as it went 7-6, including a bowl win against Georgia Tech in last season’s Birmingham Bowl. But it will not be easy to climb the mountain of college football when playing in a conference like the SEC every fall.
Charleston Southern is coming off a 1-11 season where the Buccaneers lone win was at No. 15 Furman. Charleston Southern is going into the 2025 season with the same head coach and defensive coordinator, but the Buccaneers hired Seth Strickland as their new offensive coordinator.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on August 30, 2025 and will be streamed on ESPN+/SECN+. While Vanderbilt is the heavy favorite in this game, the Commodores have to remember not to take Charleston Southern lightly.
Offense
Charleston Southern added players at each skill position during the offseason, highlighted by three-star wide receiver Kevin Boone. Boone ranked as the No. 40 wide receiver in the state of South Carolina in the recruiting class.
Charleston Southern also added a dual-threat quarterback in Caden Clay, although it is undetermined right now whether or not Clay will be the starting quarterback for Charleston Southern come August.
Charleston Southern also added Ramell Parker to join the interior part of the offensive line. At South Sumter High School, Parker tallied up 150 pancake blocks in his final two seasons.
Defense
On the defensive side of things, Charleston Southern added four defensive lineman, seven defensive backs and two linebackers in their 24-man signing class. If Charleston Southern can cause Vanderbilt any trouble this fall, it will be on the defensive side disrupting the Vanderbilt offense.
In the 2024-2025 season, Charleston Southern finished 5th in the OVC-Big South Conference in total defense.
Schedule
Vanderbilt is the one of two FBS teams on Charleston Southern’s schedule. Charleston Southern will make its way to Conway, South Carolina after its trip to Nashville to take on Coastal Carolina, but there will be some immediate dip in competition the Buccaneers will face after the first two games. In FCS play, Charleston Southern will face four teams that were ranked in the final FCS rankings of the 2024-2025 season. Three of those four will be in the final three games of the season as Charleston Southern faces Southeast Missouri State, UT Martin and Tennessee State to end their 2025 campaign.
Outlook
In college football, anything can happen, but for this game a Charleston Southern upset here would certainly be a big surprise.
Vanderbilt should be able to not stress towards the latter half of this game and allow for much of the Commodores roster to see some quality playing time and test out their depth on both offense and defense, but it all starts with a strong start in the first quarter to avoid any potential chaos by the end of the game.
The Game
Date: August 30, 2025
Time: 6:00 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+/SECN+
Location: FirstBank Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee
Series history: Vanderbilt leads 1-0 (Vanderbilt won 21-20 in 2014)
The Team
Head coach: Gabe Giardina (Third season)
Defensive coordinator: Nick Reveiz (Third season)
Offensive coordinator: Seth Strickland (First season)
2024-2025 record: 1-11 (0-8 OVC-Big South)
2024 rankings: 118th in FCS in total offense, 54th in total defense
The School
Location: Charleston, South Carolina
Founded: 1964
Enrollment: 3,820 (As of Fall 2024)
Nickname: Buccaneers
School colors: Gold and blue
Mascot: Bucky the Buccaneer
The Program
Series history: 0-1 (Vanderbilt won 21-20 in 2014).
Last conference championship: 2016
FCS Playoff Appearances: Two (2015 and 2016)
The Schedule
August 30: at Vanderbilt
September 6: at Coastal Carolina
September 13: vs Lindenwood
September 20: at William & Mary
September 27: vs South Carolina State
October 4: at Gardner-Webb
October 11: vs Tennessee Tech
October 18: at Western Illinois
October 25: vs Eastern Illinois
November 1: at Southeast Missouri State
November 15: at UT Martin
November 22: vs Tennessee State
Vanderbilt Commodores On SI:
Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.