NASHVILLE, Tenn. Now the Vanderbilt Commodores have gone and done it. Their latest upset of a ranked SEC opponent has coach Bobby Johnson wanting much more than the occasional win.
“This ups the ante a little bit. We've got a responsibility now to keep playing this way. Play better, get better, work hard, and hopefully we can do that,” Johnson said after his Commodores upset No.24 South Carolina 24-17 Thursday night.
Under Johnson, the Commodores have worked hard to move out of the SEC cellar and notch their first winning season since 1982. They have been stringing together big wins – at Arkansas and Tennessee in 2005, an upset of then-No.22 Georgia between the hedges in 2006 and a stunner over then-No.6 South Carolina last October.
But they hadn't beaten the same SEC team in consecutive years since the late 1990s, letting Arkansas escape here in 2006 and Georgia by a field goal last year.
Not Thursday night.
Chris Nickson threw for a touchdown and ran for another, and Jared Hawkins ran for a 13-yard touchdown that provided the winning margin. The result was a win over a ranked opponent in Vanderbilt Stadium for the first time since Sept.19, 1992, when they beat No.25 Mississippi 31-9.
The Commodores (2-0, 1-0) weren't happy at all the talk that came from South Carolina after last year's game.
“They thought it was a fluke,” Vanderbilt defensive end Steven Stone said of that win. “And that motivated us.”
This win was particularly sweet for Vanderbilt, which lost its first 14 games against Steve Spurrier as he coached Duke, Florida and South Carolina. Now the Commodores have won two straight against the ol' ball coach. It was enough for Johnson, a Columbia native and Clemson alum, to nearly lose his voice.
“I was surprised that so many people thought it would be real hard for us to beat them,” Johnson said. “We beat them last year, and I don't know why everybody thought they got so much better than what we were getting.”
Elsewhere
JOHNSON C. SMITH: Because of inclement weather, today's game at Virginia State was moved to 1:30p.m. Sunday.
VIRGINIA: Quarterback Peter Lalich admits he used marijuana and alcohol while on probation for an underage drinking charge. Charlottesville General District Court documents show he will be charged with failure to obey a court order while on probation, The Daily Progress reported. Lalich was arrested on the drinking charge July13 and was given a deferred judgment provided he completes supervised probation.
During a regular probation interview, Lalich admitted on Aug.26 to using alcohol and marijuana. Lalich is scheduled for a Sept.26 hearing on the latest charge.
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