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Defense cracks in second half
After a solid first half, mistakes and big plays unravel the Gamecocks’ defense
USC's Travian Robertson yanks down Vanderbilt running back Jared Hawkins. No penalty was called.
Gerry Melendez/gmelendez@thestate.com
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NASHVILLE — USC defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson gave his unit a B-minus or C-plus for its performance Thursday night.
But with a struggling offense and a couple bad plays on special teams, the Gamecock defense needed an A to avoid another upset against Vanderbilt.
It didn’t happen.
After pitching a shutout for the first five-and-a-half quarters of the season, the USC defense played on its heels for most of the second half in a 24-17 loss at Vanderbilt.
Johnson and two of his leading defenders maintained they didn’t wear down. Rather it was a case of giving up a few too many big plays and a few errors.
“We go play-to-play-to-play, we probably find good stuff,” Johnson said. “But again, in a tight ballgame like that, you’ve got to make some critical stops. And we had some little breakdowns.”
The difference in halves was stark. Vanderbilt had 50 total yards and four first downs in the first 30 minutes. In the second half, Vandy ran up 175 yards, and quarterback Chris Nickson burned the Gamecocks on several plays.
The biggest was the touchdown that made it 10-10, the first play after a muffed punt. USC cornerback Captain Munnerlyn was beat downfield for a 31-yard touchdown, the longest pass of the night for Nickson.
The rest of the half, Nickson hurt the Gamecocks with his feet. He finished with a net 34 rushing yards, but he created chances with his feet.
“He was the difference in the game,” Johnson said. “He buys time, you’re worried about calling defenses because you’re worried about his ability to run. Even when he doesn’t have the ball in his hands, he’s creating things by just his presence.”
Vanderbilt’s inside running game also got going, with Jared Hawkins (84 yards on 17 carries) busting out at the start of the fourth quarter.
Johnson felt Vanderbilt did a good job of adjusting and finding holes in the defense that weren’t there in the first half. As for his own defense, he felt the tackling could have been better.
Johnson said he didn’t see a “physical difference” at the end. He did point out that a lot of his defenders are on special teams but said that wasn’t a good excuse.
“We weren’t worn down. We were conditioned well,” safety Emanuel Cook said. “They just had the edge on us at the end, basically.”
Reach Emerson at (803) 771-8676.
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