Special teams, defense need much improvement for Gamecocks' to contend
The 34 points Vanderbilt put up looked bad for the Gamecock defense until you remember two of the Commodores’ touchdowns came on special teams.
Still, besides senior defensive back Brison Williams’ 53-yard interception return right before halftime, South Carolina did not impress any critics going up against a below average offense.
Head coach Steve Spurrier was one of those critics. He went as far to say he used trickery with sophomore wide receiver Pharoh Cooper late in the fourth quarter because he wanted to keep his defense from getting back on the field. He told the SEC Network after the game that if he didn’t put Cooper in at Wildcat quarterback, the Vanderbilt offense would have came back to tie the contest up “in a minute.”
The Head Ball Coach seemed to settle down once he started looking at the stat sheet in his post-game press conference. He noted Williams’ huge touchdown, which was the first interception return for a score since 2012 against Arkansas.
Spurrier added that his defense held the Commodores to just 55 plays, as well as under 400 total yards of offense.
“Vanderbilt has not been an offensive juggernaut in the SEC, and we did hold them to really not a lot of points,” Spurrier said.
The Commodores came into the matchup averaging just 252 total yards per game and surpassed that mark with 379 against the Gamecocks, despite having to lean on true freshman quarterback Wade Freebeck for the majority of the game. Sophomore Patton Robinette got the start but lasted just two drives before leaving due to a head injury. He led Vanderbilt to a 14-0 lead after an eight-yard touchdown pass to redshirt freshman C.J. Duncan.
Freebeck went 11-for-20 and compiled 168 passing yards with a touchdown and interception apiece. The interception was costly, as it gave the Gamecocks momentum and a 17-14 lead before the break.
Williams said that he was covering the slant on his interception, but the receiver ran an out route and Freebeck just took a long time to throw the ball, allowing the defensive back to get over in time
Considering he is battling a forearm injury, Williams played well and was one of the lone bright spots for the South Carolina defense. He started the game at safety, but moved back to cornerback after some of the younger players were struggling.
A notable error came in the third quarter when the Gamecocks had Vanderbilt pinned deep in its own territory. Freebeck lobbed a second-down pass from inside his own 10-yard line to Steven Scheu for a 31-yard gain because redshirt sophomore Rico McWilliams did not turn his head around in the secondary to locate the ball. Instead of extending its lead with the opponent in bad field position, the Gamecocks allowed a field goal to make the score 27-24.
Things got a bit more positive in the fourth quarter when redshirt senior defensive tackle J.T. Surratt blocked a Vanderbilt 46-yard field goal attempt. Shortly after, South Carolina helped preserve its two-touchdown lead after true freshman Bryson Allen-Williams recovered a fumble by the Commodores’ kick return team.
The fumble was a much better outcome for the Gamecocks than the two kickoffs sophomore Darrius Sims took to the house, which kept the Commodores alive.
Understandably disgusted with the play of his kickoff coverage, Spurrier said he told special teams coordinator Joe Robinson that the head coach would now be in charge of that unit.
Spurrier was not happy at how the defense finished either, allowing an easy four-play, 70-yard drive that resulted in a Vanderbilt touchdown. Williams said everybody on the defense was a bit embarrassed about how the end of the contest played out.
“We gave up a lot of junk yards at the end of the game,” he said. “I think [Spurrier] was mad about that."
Defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward said his team is giving up too many big plays in simple coverages, and it may be a while before the defense becomes one of South Carolina’s strengths.
“We’re still a long way away,” Ward said. “You hate to end the game the way we did the last drive.”