NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt heard all the talk from South Carolina after beating the then-No. 6 Gamecocks last October. It made the Commodores mad.

And for the first time since 1992, they finally did something about it on their own turf.

Chris Nickson threw for a touchdown and ran for another and Vanderbilt beat a ranked opponent on its own field last night, upsetting No. 24 South Carolina, 24-17, in the Southeastern Conference opener for both.

"They thought it was a fluke," Vanderbilt defensive end Steven Stone said of that win. "And that motivated us."

The Commodores (2-0) picked off two of Chris Smelley's passes, sacked him four times, recovered a South Carolina (1-1) fumbled punt and blocked a field goal.