NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Charleston Southern nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the college football season on Saturday night at Vanderbilt Stadium. CSU outgained the Vanderbilt Commodores of the Southeastern Conference by nearly 100 yards and put itself in position for the program's first-ever win over an FBS program before falling, 21-20.

The Bucs shut out Vanderbilt in the second half and held the Commodores without a first down after halftime until their final drive of the night. A 30-yard field goal by freshman kicker David Kennedy brought CSU within 21-20 with 10:19 remaining, and the Bucs had the football with a chance to take the lead following a Davion Anderson interception. Vanderbilt forced a three-and-out, though, and ran out the final six minutes of game clock to hold on for the victory.

CSU (5-1) trailed 18-3 late in the first half, but swung the momentum of the game on a blocked punt by sophomore Larenzo Mathis. Mathis blocked the punt and returned it 17 yards for a score to cut the Vanderbilt (2-5) lead to 18-10. The Commodores pushed their advantage to 21-10 at intermission, but were outplayed in the second half.

CSU's ten-play, 78-yard touchdown drive trimmed the deficit to 21-17 at the 5:56 mark of the third quarter, as two big Colton Korn catches set up a Zac Frazier 10-yard touchdown run. The Bucs moved the ball inside the Vanderbilt 30-yard line two more times, but could only come away with three points.

CSU head coach Jamey Chadwell said throughout the week that his team believed it had a chance to win, and the Bucs played like it. Charleston Southern outgained Vanderbilt 252-117 in the second half, and enjoyed a 198-yard margin prior to the Commodores' final drive.

"I'm proud of our team," said Chadwell outside an emotional locker room. "I thought their effort and confidence coming in here was tremendous and we played pretty well for the most part. Our special teams did a nice job of keeping us in the game. I'm proud of the way we played, but disappointed in the result. We didn't come for moral victories and we felt like we could've won the game."

"I never thought coming in that we would get overwhelmed by the environment and the opponent," Chadwell continued. "I thought we played that way all game. We struggled early against their defense. That blocked punt before halftime really gave us a lot of energy. We felt like we controlled the second half but we just couldn't make some plays down in the red zone when we needed to."

Vanderbilt took a 3-0 lead just over four minutes into the contest courtesy of a Tommy Openshaw 39-yard field goal, set up by seven and ten-yard runs from redshirt freshman running back Ralph Webb. CSU thwarted Vanderbilt's next drive behind a sack by Anderson and senior linebacker Zack Johnson, backing the Commodores up and establishing good field position for a scoring drive to tie the game at 3-3.

Sophomores Ben Robinson and Mike Holloway led the field goal drive. Robinson secured an option pitch and found a way to get two yards to convert a fourth-and-one. Holloway scampered for 25 yards to the Vanderbilt 12 on the following snap for one of many highlights in an 18-carry, 105-yard performance. Vanderbilt's defense kept CSU out of the end zone, however, and the Bucs settled for a 23-yard Kennedy field goal on the second play of the second quarter.

Vanderbilt called on backup quarterback Johnny McCrary with its offense sputtering, and the redshirt freshman provided a spark. He hit C.J. Duncan for a 65-yard touchdown pass and a10-3 Vanderbilt lead with 10:12 left in the second quarter, as Duncan came open down the left sideline thanks to a broken coverage on third-and-six.

The Commodores advantage swelled to 18-3 several minutes later thanks to defensive back Taurean Ferguson's interception of an Austin Brown pass. Ferguson returned the pick to the CSU 34-yard line, and Dallas Rivers converted it into six points six plays later with an eight-yard touchdown run. Vanderbilt also added what proved to be a critical two-point conversion, with the holder Taylor Hudson finding long snapper Andrew East in the end zone.

Mathis, the Bucs' sophomore safety from Greenwood, South Carolina, accounted for the game-changing play in special teams. He broke through the line on a Colby Cooke punt attempt, blocked it, scooped up the football and ran 17 yards for CSU's second special teams touchdown of the season.

CSU put together its best drive of the night to close to 21-17 in the third quarter. Sophomore wideout Colton Korn again played the role of catalyst, with a 31-yard catch and run up the left sideline to start the march. Korn also reeled in a nine-yard catch over the middle on fourth-and-six at the Vanderbilt 28. Frazier finished off the drive three plays later, breaking a tackle inside the five on his way to a ten-yard touchdown.

CSU would travel 53 and 79 yards on its next two drives, as the Bucs developed a rhythm and pushed around the Commodores after halftime. Kennedy's 30-yard field goal was the only points they could muster on the two drives, though, helping Vanderbilt escape with the win.

A pair of big passing plays led to Kennedy's field goal. Holloway was wide open on a wheel route and secured a 59-yard catch down the right sideline to move CSU into Vanderbilt territory. Nathan Perera added a leaping 25-yard grab to give the Bucs a first-and-goal opportunity. Perera almost brought in what would have been a go-ahead and potentially game-winning touchdown on second-and-goal, as a high pass went off his outstretched hands in the middle of the end zone.

"What I told the team is that they are a SEC team and I know they are building to get to be a competitive SEC team so I'm realistic," Chadwell said of his postgame message to the Bucs. "If we'll play with that type of passion, energy and emotion we'll be fine the rest of the year. That's one thing I hope people saw. We played with a purpose and played with confidence. I want to take that from it. If we play at that level then I feel good going forward."

CSU returns home next Saturday to open Big South play against Presbyterian in a 3 p.m. homecoming kickoff at Buccaneer Field.