HOOVER, Ala. — The sixth in a series previewing SEC football teams.

South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier isn’t shy about taking jabs at other SEC teams, but he doesn’t find anything funny about opening the season at Vanderbilt on Aug. 30.

It’s a Thursday night game that will be televised nationally on ESPN.

Spurrier was quick to praise Vanderbilt Coach James Franklin, who in his first season led the Commodores to a 6-7 record and a Liberty Bowl berth against Cincinnati last season. Vanderbilt was a combined 4-20 in the two seasons before Franklin’s arrival.

“He’s got his guys believing at Vandy,” Spurrier said at SEC media days. “They believe they can beat anybody they play. They almost did it last year.

“They played with a lot of fire and energy, just like Coach Franklin has. They’re going to be competitive. We know we’re going to have to play well if we’re going to have a chance to beat them in Nashville.”

Vanderbilt lost to Georgia, Arkansas, Florida,Tennessee and Cincinnati by a combined 26 points last season.

“There were so many opportunities on the table last year that we let slip by,” Commodores senior quarterback Jordan Rodgers said. “We’re not going to let that happen this year. We’re confident, and we’re going to play to a level that you guys haven’t seen before.”

Last season marked Vanderbilt’s fifth bowl appearance since 1955, but Rodgers called it “marginal success” for the program and said the Commodores won’t be one-year wonders.

“We ended up with a losing record, and that’s not OK,” he said. “That’s not acceptable at Vanderbilt. Going to a bowl game is great, but we lost. ... Our goal is to be a lot better than that.”

The Commodores have 16 starters returning to build on last season’s success.

“We’re not anybody’s little brother anymore,” senior cornerback Trey Wilson said. “If you hit us in the mouth, you’d better expect to be hit back hard.”

Vanderbilt players at SEC media days said Franklin, a former Maryland offensive coordinator, has transformed the program with the strength of his personality and positive outlook.

“I think we all were a little shell-shocked when Coach Franklin first came in,” Rodgers said. “We hadn’t had someone before who was that confident, that enthusiastic, that charismatic, that dynamic, come in here and say, ‘Here’s what we’re going to do, and here’s how we’re going to do it.’

“But we bought into it last year .... and now we realize how much better we can be this year. We’re not going to be the kind of team that people are going to overlook anymore on the schedule.”

Franklin, 40, said it’s amazing how far the program has come in the 18 months since his hiring, including having highly rated recruiting classes and new facilities.

“The sky’s the limit for us,” Franklin said. “I truly believe that. It wasn’t just the games we won last year that affected the perception of us, but it’s the play week in, week out. There’s a buzz about Vanderbilt football right now.

“We still have a long way to go, I understand that, but we’re taking steps in the right direction. That’s what we need to continue to do.”

Rodgers said the Commodores have gone from thinking they can win to knowing they can.

“People need to realize, we’re not the same old Vanderbilt, but it’s not as important as internally how we see ourselves,” Rodgers said. “I think past Vanderbilt programs have bought into what other people say, their perceptions, that we can’t be a contender in the SEC.

“We can change that. We no longer think that way. There’s not a trace of that kind of thought in our locker room.”

NEXT South Carolina

About Vanderbilt

LAST YEAR 6-7, 2-6 SEC East

RETURNING STARTERS Offense 9, defense 7, specialists 2

SURE THING Receivers

UNSURE THINGS Place-kicking

OFFENSIVE MVP Running back Zac Stacy

DEFENSIVE MVP Cornerback Trey Wilson

SEC TITLE SCENARIO Vanderbilt, an SEC charter member in 1933, never has won a conference football title, but the Commodores figure to be more competitive under second-year Coach James Franklin. If the Commodores can upset South Carolina at home in the season opener, they’ll make a huge statement nationally.

Sports, Pages 13 on 07/23/2012