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

Vanderbilt (2-0) 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 Sept. 19, 1992, a 31-9 win over then-No. 25 Mississippi.

This win was very 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, and it was enough for Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson, a Columbia native and Clemson alum, to nearly lose his voice.

“It feels great,” Johnson said. “I was very proud of our guys, the way they played in the second half. 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 (1-1) had survived four interceptions in shutting out North Carolina State 34-0 last week. 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 to Freddie Brown with 7:39 left.