South Carolina vs. Vanderbilt: Game Breakdown and Report Card

Year after year, regardless of how good either team is (or isn’t), Vanderbilt always seems to give the South Carolina Gamecocks trouble, and this year was definitely no different. Even knowing that, most fans went into this game feeling like this would be the game in which South Carolina would have total domination and show the nation that the beginning of the season was simply an adjustment period. However, with just under 6 minutes left in the game, Vanderbilt was within a touchdown, and Gamecock fans were stressed and definitely not enjoying this game. The game was definitely much closer than the 48-34 score showed. So how did it all go down? Let’s take a look.

Passing: this is where Carolina struggled the most, and it wasn’t just in one area. During the first part of the game, not only was Dylan Thompson off target again, but there were a couple of critical dropped passes including a wide open Shaq Roland who was sprinting towards the end zone. The other part that seemed to create problems was the game plan, as Dylan doesn’t seem to be given a lot of screen passes, or quick throws off the line early in the game that would build confidence in both Thompson and the receivers and get the entire offense into a rhythm. Instead, a lot of the passes were long throws downfield or across the middle into coverage, and then when they missed, it was as if each one let more air out of the offense overall. OVERALL: B+

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Rushing:

Mike Davis looked pretty good overall and had a lot of really good runs. However, he did have two fumbles and because the offense didn’t have a lot of rhythm in the first half, there just weren’t enough running plays. In fact, if Pharoh Cooper hadn’t broken loose for over 70 yards, the overall numbers would have looked fairly light. But he did break that run thanks to some great blocking up front as well, and so the run game had some good moments. Ultimately though, South Carolina should have had a huge rushing day, and they didn’t.

OVERALL: B-

Pass Defense: if the Gamecocks had been playing anyone else, I’d probably give them a B+, but this was a Vandy team that hasn’t even fully settled on who their quarterback is, and their receiver team is nowhere near the same without Jordan Matthews. Brison William’s pick six was a beautiful piece of work, from stepping in front to make the catch, to keeping himself in bounds, and then sprinting down the sideline. The last drive really hurt them overall here, too, but you can see things are starting to come together, and there is much less confusion on the field than there was the first two weeks. However, they have find a way to shut down the middle of the field because that continues to get exposed. OVERALL: B-

Rush Defense: it was really sad to see Carolina’s line get pushed around so bad by Vandy, and they had almost 150 rushing with a quarter to go. If they hadn’t been trying to get down the field so quickly, they would have easily put over 200 yards up with the run. This shows the amount of work still left to do by the defense. OVERALL: C-

Sep 20, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores defensive back Darrius Sims (6) celebrates after returning the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown during the first half against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Vanderbilt Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Special Teams: Elliott Fry continues to be an A on special teams and the Gamecocks are lucky to have that level of consistency. However, anyone who was watching this game knows how it went other than that. The Gamecocks allowed not one, but two kickoffs returned for a touchdown. If these had never happened, it could have changed the entire pace and feel of the game. Coach Spurrier said he’d be getting more personally involved in the special teams game going forward, which seems like a good idea at this point. OVERALL: D+

I think everyone is glad to have this game behind us. It still was an SEC matchup on the road, but nonetheless this was not the outcome that coaches, players, or fans were expecting. It’s probably going to be an intense week of practice preparing for Missouri next Saturday night.

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