Vanderbilt’s Defense Puts on Another Dominant Performance Over No. 11 South Carolina

The Commodores shut out their opponent in the second half for the second consecutive game.

Sep 13, 2025; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers (16) is hit by Vanderbilt Commodores linebacker Langston Patterson (10) as he passes. Sellers was injured on the play and Patterson was ejected for targeting in the second quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

COLUMBIA, S.C. – If last week’s performance was not enough to silence the doubters of Vanderbilt football, maybe Saturday night’s performance made the detractors rethink their perceptions of the Commodores. 

Last week, Vanderbilt’s defense had a remarkable turnaround against Virginia Tech, shutting out the Hokies in the second half. As the college football world saw Virginia Tech lose to Old Dominion, maybe it gave fans a reason to still doubt how legit Vanderbilt and its defense really is. But after last night, the disrespect toward Vanderbilt got quieter. 

Vanderbilt’s defense showed up and showed out against Saturday as it took down South Carolina 31-7 en route to another second half shutout. South Carolina’s only points came in the first nine minutes of the game. The other 51 minutes, Vanderbilt did not allow a single point. 

South Carolina did not have starting quarterback LaNorris Sellers for the second half of the game due to an injury, and it did have an impact on the game. But give credit where credit is due. Vanderbilt’s defense executed well in the second for a third week in a row. Through three games, the Commodores have surrendered just three points in the second half, which came off a Charleston Southern field goal with seven seconds left in Week 1.

Vanderbilt’s defensive ability to press even harder on the gas as the game goes on has become a trend early on this season and head coach Clark Lea believes it all goes back to the team’s conditioning.

“I think that's a credit to our strength and conditioning staff.  You know, it's a testament to our coaching staff to find the answers or find the calls that are on the sheet at halftime. But I think most importantly, most significantly, it's a credit to our team. This is a team that cares a lot,” Lea said.

In Saturday’s game, Vanderbilt forced South Carolina to force four turnovers, the first time it has forced at least three turnovers in a game since October 2022 against Missouri. On top of that, the ‘Dores stuffed the Gamecocks on third and fourth down for a combined 5-for-15, including 1-for-6 on third down in the second half. Again, the defense got stronger as the game went on.

“We have big aspirations, and so you have to play well in the second half to win in our league. And we want to be finishers, and we've been able to do that. Again, it goes back to the fact that every week you reset, you got to redefine who you are,” Lea said. “The more that we can generate possessions for our offense, the more we have a chance to kind of impose a physical style that I think can wear some teams out over four quarters. And so, hopefully we can continue that.”

One of those four turnovers was an interception by Zayin Wood in the red zone. With South Carolina driving down the field with ease early in the game, it looked as if the Gamecocks were about to take the lead. But the defensive line applied pressure to Sellers and forced him to throw an inadvised pass that was caught by Wood. It was a play that proved to be a major swing in the game.

“I thought Zaylin’s interception early in the game was a huge play. I think that may have been the biggest of the four, because I felt like we were on our heels, and they had a really good plan to start the game, and their quarterback was finding the guys,” Lea said. “They were finding space, and that didn't feel great. But Zaylin was able to step up and make a big play for us to kind of shift momentum.”

With two road tests that Vanderbilt has passed, the Commodores have proven that they are a defense that opposing SEC schools should worry about.