Vanderbilt finally beat a ranked opponent on its own field, upsetting No. 24 South Carolina 24-17 in college football Thursday. In the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams, Vanderbilt quarterback Chris Nickson threw one touchdown and ran in another. Vanderbilt had made it a habit of knocking off SEC teams on the road with victories at Arkansas and Tennessee in 2005, an upset of then-No. 22 Georgia in 2006 and even pulled off the biggest victory in more than 70 years by downing then-No. 6 South Carolina last October. But the Commodores hadn't upset a ranked team in Vanderbilt Stadium since 1992. “It feels great,” Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said. “I was very proud of our guys. We overcame a lot from the second half, and they just kept plugging away so I'm very pleased with their effort. I'm sorry I lost my voice.” South Carolina had survived four interceptions in winning last week, but the Gamecocks couldn't escape their mistakes against Vanderbilt. The Commodores picked off two of Chris Smelley's passes and sacked him four times, recovered a punt that bounced off a South Carolina player and blocked a field goal. South Carolina's lone touchdown was due to Vanderbilt's only turnover, which the Gamecocks recovered at the Commodores 20 in the first quarter. Smelley threw two touchdown passes, the second with 7:39 left, but overthrew a receiver and was sacked on consecutive plays and the Gamecocks were forced to punt with 2:39 left. The South Carolina meltdown continued in Vanderbilt's clinching touchdown drive. Captain Munnerlyn was twice flagged for fouls on third downs, keeping alive a 68-yard possession capped by Jared Hawkins' 13-yard TD run for a 24
