Gamecocks 17, Vanderbilt 13: A quiet 100 yards, a warrior and a missed call

Three things led to the South Carolina Gamecocks 17-13 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores; A very quite 100 yard rushing performance, a warrior-like presence from a (now) undisputed leader, and, somewhat, a missed call.

Let’s get the missed call out of the way first.

Yes, DJ Swearinger did hack Jordan Matthews’ left arm just before the ball got to him. Yes, it would’ve set Vanderbilt up in Carolina territory at the 30. But, it wasn’t the only missed call of the game. Matthews committed an uncallded offensive pass interference early in the game on a pass into the endzone that Swearinger could’ve easily intercepted. Instead, he had to bat it away with one hand. Also, Vandy players were diving at Shaw all game after he went down and not a single late hit flag was thrown.

Now that we’ve gotten the “refs blew it” excuse out of the way, here are the real reasons South Carolina won.

Their defensive line was just as good as advertised. Vandy rushed for just 62 yards and an average of 1.7 yards per carry. Zac Stacy was a 1,000 yard rusher last season, and he could only muster 48 yards on 13 carries.

The secondary did have problems last night. Blown coverages and flat out poor defense led to many big Vandny plays, including their lone touchdown. It wasn’t a terrible performance, though. Jordan Rodgers completed just 10 of 23 passes.

Another reason for the victory? Marcus Lattimore rushed for the quietest 110 yards imaginable. Oh, he also scored both of SC’s touchdowns. He still has some rust to work off, but by the time October rolls around, he’ll be back to his old self.

Finally, Connor Shaw established himself as the surefire, unquestioned leader that South Carolina hasn’t had at quarterback in a long, long, long time. At one point in the game, Shaw said, he couldn’t feel his throwing arm. So what did he do? Come back in after SC went down 13-10 and gut out almost 100 yards rushing. I counted one pass after he came back in the second half. The Gamecock’s offense was completely one dimensional after his injury and he still managed to lead the Gamecocks on time chewing drives that ultimately won them the game.

It wasn’t pretty, but South Carolina got it done.

If Shaw’s arm is fine by the time October rolls around, if Lattimore can stay healthy, and if Carolina’s secondary can find itself, the Gamecocks will get it done all season, too.