This was a game of almost<\/em>.<\/p>\n Vanderbilt<\/strong> almost<\/em> beat South Carolina<\/strong> Thursday night as they kicked off Derek Mason<\/strong>\u2019s third season in Nashville<\/strong>. In the first half, the Vanderbilt defense held South Carolina to 88 yards of offense and recovered two fumbles. Sophomore quarterback Kyle Shurmur<\/strong><\/a> came out of the game in the first quarter for two\u00a0series while\u00a0back up Wade Freebeck <\/strong><\/a>was in. Freebeck had back-to-back three-and-outs before\u00a0Shurmur returned. This move had the media buzzing, but Mason insisted in the post game presser it was a non-issue. The Dores<\/strong> went into halftime leading the Gamecocks<\/strong> 10-0.<\/p>\n Ralph Webb<\/strong><\/a> and former linebacker Khari Blasingame<\/strong><\/a> almost<\/em> broke loose several times for huge gains, and possible touchdowns. They accounted for 165 of the 242 yards of offense Thursday night. Blasingame\u2019s bigger build was a welcome addition to the run game. This dynamic duo kept the ball moving in the right direction, but the Vandy offense failed to keep firing on all cylinders. As Mason said after the game “we were inconsistent\u2026Kyle never found rhythm \u2026 you have got to find rhythm. We just didn\u2019t find rhythm”. Vandy almost<\/em> had rhythm, but some inopportune penalties killed it.<\/p>\n The Gamecocks came out in the second half on a mission. The Commodores<\/strong> came out and gave up 10 unanswered points. With less than\u00a0eight minutes left in the game, and the score tied 10-10, the\u00a0Dynamic Duo (Blasingame and Webb) drove\u00a049 yards and was able to get the Commodores in field goal range. Tommy Oppenshaw<\/strong><\/a> had a 44-yard attempt that almost<\/em> went through\u00a0the uprights but went wide left instead.<\/p>\n South Carolina had 3:44 left on the clock as they took the field late in the fourth quarter. Perry Orth<\/a>,<\/strong> their veteran quarterback,\u00a0took advantage of the opportunity and got the Gamecocks into Vandy territory. As the\u00a0Dores defense tried to push them back, the Gamecocks were left with one option: a career-long field goal for Elliot Fry<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0And he nailed it, from 55 yards with :41 seconds on the clock. In return, Shurmur tried to get back into field goal range, but the Dores were out of time and out of gas.<\/p>\nThe Offense<\/h3>\n
The After Half-time Show<\/h3>\n
Relentless, Tough and Intelligent<\/h3>\n