Johnson, Commodores trying to end SEC skid

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - Bobby Johnson knows that South Carolina coach Lou Holtz has made the Vanderbilt Commodores sound like the Southeastern Conference&#39;s best team instead of its worst. <br> <br> ``I can assure you we are not,&#39;&#39; Johnson said. <br> <br> The first-year Vanderbilt coach has been very busy trying to change Vanderbilt&#39;s history. He only has a victory over Division I-AA Furman, his former school, but the Commodores have shown improvement each week. <br> <br> The next step is ending an 11-game SEC losing skid, and the Commodores (1-3, 0-2) get their next chance Saturday night against South Carolina (2-2, 0-1). <br> <br> ``We&#39;re competing a little bit better, but we&#39;ve got to learn how to win,&#39;&#39; Johnson said. <br> <br> At a school mired in 19 consecutive losing seasons, that isn&#39;t easy. Vanderbilt also has lost 20 of its last 21 SEC games, so Johnson has tried to use practice to prepare his Commodores for situations they will face in games so they can be ready. <br> <br> Johnson has 27 sophomores and freshmen on his two-deep roster, but they scored more points in last week&#39;s 41-38 loss at Ole Miss than a Vandy team had scored since beating Georgia 43-30 in 1994. <br> <br> Quarterback Jay Cutler runs the offense, while freshman Norval McKenzie and Kwane Doster currently are his running backs. With Johnson using the option to keep defenses off-guard, Vandy has the SEC&#39;s fourth-best rushing offense, averaging 218.2 yards per game. <br> <br> Holtz has liked what he&#39;s seen of the Commodores so far. <br> <br> ``They&#39;re obviously a very intelligent football team that has great chemistry right now,&#39;&#39; he said. <br> <br> South Carolina is looking to settle a defense that has failed to stop or even slow down teams like New Mexico State and Temple. The Gamecocks allowed Temple to run 81 plays in a 42-24 victory last week. <br> <br> Holtz worries about his defense, which is giving up 169.8 yards per game, allowing Vanderbilt to play keepaway. <br> <br> ``We&#39;re beating ourselves,&#39;&#39; Gamecocks nose tackle Langston Moore said. ``A couple of times, we had missed assignments on the long runs up the middle, it looked like nobody was there. And missed tackles. You can&#39;t do that. It goes back to fundamentals and doing the little things.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Vandy&#39;s defense is even worse, ranking dead last in the SEC giving up 421.2 yards per game. But South Carolina counters with the league&#39;s worst offense despite running back Andrew Pinnock and quarterback Corey Jenkins at 333 yards per game. <br> <br> ``There isn&#39;t any magical answer. We aren&#39;t going to go out and find some superstar. What we&#39;ve got to do is we&#39;ve got to make the ones we have better,&#39;&#39; Holtz said. <br> <br> The winner may be whoever holds onto the ball best. South Carolina has 13 turnovers compared to 11 for Vandy. The Gamecocks also need to limit their penalties after getting 12 against Temple. <br> <br> ``I don&#39;t know if we can exploit it, but I hope it continues for them,&#39;&#39; Johnson said. ``I wish them well in that endeavor.&#39;&#39;