Beat The Streak: Vanderbilt Looks to Break 16-Game Losing Streak to South Carolina

NASHVILLE — Most of Vanderbilt’s players and coaches were already heading towards the locker room in the south end zone at First Bank Stadium as South Carolina coach Shane Beamer raised each of his arms and riled up the remaining contingent of Gamecocks fans, but all of the ones that were there remember something about that day.

If they’re cognizant at all, they remember the cold, muggy day in Nashville that led them to feel some things that they hadn’t yet felt. A team that could explain away every loss as an outing that was merely a product of a play or two going the wrong way in crunch time could no longer do so.

This was more about a team being flat out better than Vanderbilt. It was about a team pummeling it up front and never allowing it to generate any hope that it would have a chance to leave its home field with a win that day.

That South Carolina team pulled the proverbial spirit out of that Vanderbilt team as Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea got to the locker room at halftime and lit into his team for their lack of spirit at the break. No matter what Lea did, he wasn’t going to will his team to a win that night. All that Vanderbilt could do as it left the field a few quarters later was work to fight its way back to relevance.

“It was really painful,” Lea said. “I felt like it was very frustrating last year, having a team play us at our home, with an identity that mirrored ours, but to play better within that identity.  I thought they were the more physical team, again, they sustained their energy longer and that hurt. It hurt our players, too.”

Every Vanderbilt player since it last won in 2008–when George W. Bush was in office and Instagram had yet to be launched—has had that feeling as it left its matchup with South Carolina and has won just four of its 34 matchups against the Gamecocks in program history. It’s almost a right of passage at this point. Lea has seen player after player come through the program that he’s poured everything into since 2021 and leave it without beating this South Carolina team.

Standout safety CJ Taylor did it, so did his counterpart De’Rickey Wright. The lineage goes beyond Lea’s former players, too. Former Vanderbilt linebacker Oren Burks can say he’s won a Super Bowl, but he can’t say he beat South Carolina as a member of Vanderbilt’s program. If he wants to, Jordan Matthews can say with some might that he’s the best receiver to ever come through Vanderbilt’s program, but he can’t say that he beat South Carolina. Neither can current safety Marlen Sewell—who has called Vanderbilt “home” since 2021 and gets one final chance to take down South Carolina on Saturday.

“It would mean a lot,” Sewell said of a potential win. “I’ve been here since 2021 and I’ve been a part of that. We’ve played them each year I’ve been here and we haven’t won. I think it’s gonna be a big step for our program [to win]. As long as we focus on what we gotta do, put us first then we’re going to handle business."

Sewell speaks on behalf of all the Vanderbilt players that have taken four-straight losses to this program. Those groups could have played for former Vanderbilt head coaches Robbie Caldwell, James Franklin, Derek Mason and the same principle would apply.

Lea can say that he’s taken down No. 1 Alabama and gave Vanderbilt its first bowl-eligible season since 2018. He can say he’s re-energized it. He can say he’s built it to have a future brighter than any it’s had in the past.

But, he’s never left the field happy after a game against South Carolina. As a player, Lea was 0-3 against the Gamecocks and had to watch as his teams were outscored 86-44. In his five matchups with South Carolina as Vanderbilt’s head coach, Lea is 0-4 with a score margin of 134-60. Last time his team went to Columbia, it was blown out 47-6 and appeared to throw in the towel at times.

He and his team want that streak to be broken, though. They feel as if it’d only be fitting if that was the case.

“Obviously it would mean a lot,” Vanderbilt offensive lineman Bryce Henderson said. “A year of firsts.”