Wilson interception, strong second half help offense overcome mistakes 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — South Carolina’s offense hit a few roadblocks early in Thursday night’s game against Vanderbilt, committing two turnovers within its first three plays. That was when the defense stepped up to give the team a boost.
With six minutes to play in the first quarter, senior linebacker Shaq Wilson intercepted a pass from Jordan Rodgers at the USC 14-yard line. His 37-yard return set up the Gamecocks’ first scoring opportunity en route to their 17-13 win.
“That’s great discipline by a senior,” said defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward. “We played man-to-man in the red zone because [the Commodores] had shown the tendency to run the football a lot down there, so we were going to load the box and play man-to-man outside ... He was disciplined in taking care of his responsibilities, and that’s what you expect from a senior.”
Wilson also contributed eight tackles to the defensive effort, but junior tailback Marcus Lattimore said the interception was what helped him regain his momentum after his early turnover.
“After our turnover — my turnover — he made that big play,” Lattimore said. “That just got me going ... He pumped me up, too.”
After allowing Vanderbilt to put up 200 offensive yards in the first half, the Gamecocks held the Commodores to just 76 yards after halftime, including 17 in the fourth quarter.
“We played well overall, other than that one mishap where a safety missed the tackle and the guy went all the way,” coach Steve Spurrier said. “But overall, they played super. Anytime you can hold someone to 13 [points] ... It was a game where we were very fortunate.”
The mishap Spurrier referred to came on a 78-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Rodgers to Jordan Matthews. Sophomore safety Brison Williams misplayed his coverage to allow the completion. Defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward said it was one of three major mistakes for the defense on the night
“We played hard, but we made three bad plays, and that’s something we have to correct,” Ward said. “They had two big pass plays that shouldn’t have been big pass plays. We coach our [defensive backs] never to jump for a ball when you’re behind a receiver. We have some work we still have to do."
The defense finished the night with five sacks and allowed Vanderbilt to convert just three of 15 third downs. Sophomore tackle Klecy Quarles tied Wilson for the team lead with eight tackles, and redshirt junior Jimmy Legree, playing his first game at cornerback since moving from free safety, added seven tackles, including two for loss.
Sophomore Jadeveon Clowney played a strong first quarter, with three tackles, but had a quiet second half. Ward said adjustments by Vanderbilt’s offense made it harder to defend late in the game.
“Instead of man protecting, they went to sliding their front two,” Ward said. “We’ll go back and address some better ways to attack the slide because I think we’re going to see that a lot this season.”
Quarles said the Gamecocks could have played better on defense, but at the end of the day, South Carolina’s victory meant they did their job.
“We should have held [Vanderbilt],” Quarles said. “But things happened, and they scored. We came out with more points. Like Coach Spurrier told us, whoever has more points at the end of the game wins.”