Vanderbilt checked a big item off its to-do list by beating South Carolina

Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea, center, watches the action from the sideline in the second half of an NCAA college football game against South Carolina, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/David Yeazell)

Vanderbilt checked a big item off its to-do list by beating South Carolina, and there's still more work to do.

The Commodores are 3-0 for the first time since 2017 and were rewarded for their 31-7 win over the Gamecocks with a No. 20 ranking in Sunday's Associated Press Top 25.

Like last year, when their upset of a top-ranked Alabama highlighted a 6-3 start, the Commodores are beginning to hear the kind of things from the public that can make a player's head get too big for his helmet.

The breakthroughs keep happening for Clark Lea, who grew up in Nashville and played two seasons at Vandy in the early 2000s when the program was the dregs of not just the SEC but the entire Bowl Subdivision. He returned in 2021 as head coach.

Saturday's 24-point win marked Vandy's first in the South Carolina series since 2008. It also gave the Commodores three wins by at least 20 points to open a season for the first time since 1930.

“Don’t sleep on us,” fifth-year edge Miles Capers said. “We’re coming for everybody right now. Just get ready.”

The question is, Will the Commodores be ready? Last year's 28-7 home loss to South Carolina was the first of three straight losses that left Vandy 6-6. That was good enough to get the Commodores into the Birmingham Bowl, their first postseason game since 2018, and their win over Georgia Tech gave them their first winning record since 2013.

What happened against South Carolina, however, ate at Lea for months and served as a cautionary tale.

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Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia runs the ball against South Carolina during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/David Yeazell)

“That was a hard loss for us,” he said. “In a moment where we really felt we were at a point we could gain some momentum, that scarred us, and over time scars heal and you learn from them.”

The Commodores will be out to settle another score on Saturday when Georgia State visits. Last year, they lost 36-32 on the road to the Sun Belt Conference team.

Vandy will be favored against Georgia State and against Utah State the following week. Five of its last six games will be against Top 25 teams, starting with a trip to Alabama on Oct. 4.

The Commodores are rolling nicely so far with Diego Pavia having one of the nation's best passer ratings, a ground game churning out 5.8 yards per carry and 203 per game and a defense that already has seven takeaways and allowed a total of three second-half points.

“We're good enough to win all our games,” Lea said, “but we have to play a certain way. Tonight (against South Carolina) we were able to do that so we were able to come out on top.”

Preventing Ireland hangover

No. 12 Iowa State made it through its first four games undefeated, not a small feat for a team that played its first game Aug. 23 in Ireland and hasn't had a break since. Coach Matt Campbell has frequently noted how teams that play in the annual Emerald Isle game tend to struggle as the season progresses. Just look at the team the Cyclones beat in Dublin. Kansas State sits 1-3 and needed a last-minute touchdown to get its only win, over North Dakota of the Championship Subdivision. Iowa State posted an easy win over FCS South Dakota after its return from Ireland, barely beat rival Iowa and survived Saturday's 24-16 road scare against Arkansas State. This week brings a well-deserved open date. “Nobody has been able to do what they've done so far in college football from the Ireland piece of it,” Campbell said of his players. “You're proud of their ability to hang in there. We didn't flinch, we didn't waver, we played right through it.” Extra Points South Carolina (No. 11) and Clemson (No. 12) each took big falls to plunge out of the Top 25. Last week Arizona State (No. 12) and Florida (No. 13) did the same. Not since 1998 had at least two teams in consecutive weeks fallen 10-plus spots out of the rankings. ... The work of Jayden Maiava has played a large part in Southern California's return to the rankings at No. 25. As impressive as Maiava's 329 passing yards per game is his average of 14.1 yards per attempt, nearly 3 yards more than the next FBS quarterback. ... No. 1 Ohio State's defense has not allowed a touchdown in the first half through three games. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Iowa State coach Matt Campbell yells to his team from the sidelines as they play Arkansas State during an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in Jonesboro, Ark. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)