NASHVILLE – Charleston Southern opened their 2025 season on Saturday evening in Nashville at Vanderbilt, an up-and-coming team in the SEC. The Buccaneers fell by a final score of 45-3 in the contest.
 
Vanderbilt opened with an early lead by using eight plays to go for 75 yards on their opening drive for a touchdown. After a Bucs three-and-out, the Commadores went 53 yards on four plays to find the endzone for the second time of the day and double their lead to 14-0. They then turned an interception on the Bucs' best drive of the half into another long scoring drive for their first of two touchdowns of the second quarter. The hosts took a 28-0 lead into the halftime break.
 
The second half continued the Commadores' run as they tallied another 17 unanswered points to push their lead out further.
 
On the Buccaneers final drive of the game, Jared Echols and Lek Powell split the reps during the possession and led the squad to their first score of the contest. After 11 plays and 54 yards, Zach Gordon converted an attempt from 38 yards out in his first attempt as a Buc to cap off the evening.
 
In total, six different Charleston Southern players recorded a rush with Isaiah Gordon leading the team with eight carries and 28 yards while Brandon Musch earned his first start and had seven attempts for 19 yards. Chris Rhone paced the squad with three receptions while Jamil Bishop had 36 receiving yards. Zolten Osborne threw for 54 yards in his first start since his 2023 injury-shortened season.
 
Nick Bartalo and Champ Brantley tied for the team-high with six tackles with Justin Waters right behind with five. Waters had a solo TFL and forced fumble in the contest. Malik McKinzie and Mylan Bowan split a sack while Anthony Carter had a pass breakup.
 
The Buccaneers will return to the field next weekend with a trip up the coast to former Big South rival, Coastal Carolina. The kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. EST in Conway with the game to be available live on ESPN+.