South Carolina dominated Vanderbilt 21-3 at home on Saturday night.
Breaking it Down…1st Quarter…South Carolina received the opening kick, and Stephen Garcia hit 3 of his first 4 passes to move the Gamecocks inside the Vanderbilt 30 yard line. He then misfired on third down and threw his first interception of the night. The defense came on and forced a quick 3 and out. South Carolina started its next drive at its own 31 but couldn’t get a first down when they went for it on fourth and one. Vandy took over, but they were unable to get a first down and punted. The Gamecocks picked up two first downs, but Garcia was intercepted again. Vanderbilt still couldn’t pick up a first down, but they were able to make a field goal to take a 3-0 lead.
Read more after the break.
2nd Quarter…The Gamecocks started to move again but Garcia was intercepted at the Commodore 36 yard line. Vanderbilt wasn’t moving the ball, and on third down Jadeveon Clowney forced a fumble while sacking the quarterback which Antonio Allen picked up. As Allen was headed to the end zone he was stripped from behind, but Melvin Ingram was there to recover the fumble for the touchdown. Vanderbilt picked up a few first downs on their next drive before punting. South Carolina punted on their next possession. Stephon Gilmore then picked off Vandy QB Larry Smith. The teams exchanged punts before South Carolina took possession at their own 43 with 46 seconds left in the half. On second down Garcia found Marcus Lattimore on a screen play, and Lattimore took the pass 52 yards for the touchdown. Vandy knelt on the ball and USC led 14-3 at the half.
3rd Quarter…Vanderbilt went three and out to start the half, and then the offense got in a rhythm. Garcia and Lattimore led the team 83 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown. Lattimore ran it in from 22 yards out to extend the lead to 21-3. Vanderbilt punted on their next possession, and the Gamecocks picked up a first down and then missed a long field goal try. On the next play Clowney had his second sack and second forced fumble which Quin Smith recovered.
4th Quarter…The Gamecocks were moving again, but Garcia was intercepted again when his pass deflected off of Alshon Jeffrey’s hand in the end zone. Vanderbilt went three and out, and the USC offense moved the ball from its 20 to the Commodore 35 before being stopped on 4th down. Vanderbilt then ran a flea flicker for a touchdown. Just kidding, they went three and out again. South Carolina also then went three and out. On their last possession of the game Vanderbilt picked up a first down before punting. The Gamecocks then ran out the clock.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| Vanderbilt | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| South Carolina | 0 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
Stars of the Game…Jadeveon Clowney…2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 4 tackles…Melvin Ingram…2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery for TD, 4 tackles…Stephon Gilmore…INT, 2 tackles…Marcus Lattimore…20 rushes, 77 yards, TD, 3 receptions 73 yards, TD…Ace Sanders…4 receptions, 75 yards…
What to Take Away From the Game…This team just can’t seem to put a whole game together. When the offense is working, the defense isn’t. When the defense and special teams are working, the offense isn’t. However, this team just can’t seem to lose a game either. So perhaps we should say the defense picked up the slack when the offense couldn’t just as the offense picked up the defense when it needed to.
4-0 with a top 10 ranking is the absolute best place we could hope to be at this point. This team still hasn’t played a perfect game and has potential to play better, but, again, they still haven’t lost either. They are starting to resemble the baseball team we point to so often. They battle for 60 minutes and find ways to win, one way or another. If they keep finding ways to win like they have in September, they could be playing some important games in December and January.
This and that…South Carolina is now 4-0 (2-0)…4-0 is the best USC start since 2001…The 2-0 SEC record is the best start of the Spurrier era…They moved up to #10 in the AP and #9 in USA Today…Vanderbilt rushed for 4 yards on 25 carries…The Commodores had only 77 yards of total offense for the night…They converted 1 of 14 third downs…The Gamecocks have trailed at some point in all 4 games this season…
Up next…South Carolina hosts Auburn at 3:30 on CBS…
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