10 things we learned about the Gamecocks

1. The Gamecocks are resilient

Like two years ago, Saturday’s game proved to be a tale of two halves. This year the result ended up being a convincing South Carolina victory. The Gamecocks outscored Kentucky 31-0 in the second half to win 38-17. USC scored touchdowns on its first three second-half possessions and scored on five of its six possessions in the final 30 minutes. South Carolina had 240 of its 348 total yards in the second half, and quarterback Connor Shaw finished 15-of-18 for 148 yards and two touchdowns.

2. Don’t forget the defense

The South Carolina defense was just as instrumental in that second-half surge Saturday. Lorenzo Ward’s unit gave up 173 yards and 12 first downs in the first half, then held Kentucky to 70 yards and four first downs in the second half. USC had four sacks and two interceptions in the second half. It’s the second game (UAB the other) in which the defense allowed no second-half points. Kentucky finished with 120 rushing yards after a strong start. Meanwhile the Gamecocks’ rushing defense improved a spot to seventh best in the nation at 77.6 yards per game.

3. Return of the run

South Carolina ran the ball more times Saturday than it has all season, with 48 carries to go with 19 passing attempts. That breakdown was close to the Vanderbilt game (47 rushes, 15 passes). Compare that to USC’s games vs. Missouri (32 rushes, 26 passes); UAB (42 rushes, 37 passes); and ECU (47 passes, 24 rushes). Marcus Lattimore had five carries for 12 yards in the first half but finished with 23 carries for a season-high 120 yards. He also scored twice in the second half. Shaw ran the ball 19 times for 76 yards. USC had much of its success in formations other than the zone read. “Maybe we learned something today, that the old I-formation, the old power play, sweeps are not bad,” Steve Spurrier said. “You don’t have to run those zone reads and all that shotgun stuff all the time. That was very helpful for us.”

4. Kenny Miles is (still) No. 2

This is a repeat entry from last week, but it’s worth mentioning again as Miles had perhaps his best game of the season. He again was the first back off the bench in relief of Lattimore. And his 17-yard touchdown run put the Gamecocks up 21-17 with 4:56 left in the third quarter. He also ran for a first down on a third-and-one try in the fourth quarter. True freshman Mike Davis, who broke out two weeks ago with 84 yards on four carries, had one carry against Missouri for six yards and two carries for nine yards vs. Kentucky.

5. The sack party continues

The Gamecocks added seven more sacks to the stat sheet Saturday, with seven players getting involved. That included Devin Taylor recording 1.5 sacks, his first of the season. The team has 22 sacks through five games, and the 4.4 sacks per game is second in the nation (behind Tulsa at 5.2). Jadeveon Clowney has a team-high 5.5 sacks.

6. Linebackers lead the way

Quin Smith has quietly taken the team lead in tackles with 26 after adding six more against Kentucky. Fellow senior Shaq Wilson is second with 25 tackles. Wilson didn’t record a tackle Saturday but did have a pass breakup. Reginald Bowens added a sack, and Damario Jeffery would have as well had he not grabbed Kentucky quarterback Jalen Whitlow’s facemask. Senior spur DeVonte Holloman led the defensive effort on the field with his best game of the season – six tackles, two tackles-for-loss, one sack and one interception, which he returned 25 yards.

7. The fullback will catch the ball this year

Senior Qua Gilchrist has two catches for 19 yards this year. Gilchrist had a key nine-yard reception late in one of the Gamecocks’ scoring drives against Kentucky. Compare that with Dalton Wilson, who last season played 13 games without a carry or reception.

8. Spurrier still likes to go for it

South Carolina isn’t having as much success this season on fourth-down conversions. The Gamecocks were 0-for-3 on fourth-down tries Saturday and are 2-for-7 on the season (29 percent). Last season USC converted 74 percent of the time on fourth down (23-for-31). The Gamecocks especially dodged a bullet late in the first half Saturday when Spurrier decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 from South Carolina’s 34-yard line. Center T.J. Johnson snapped the shotgun snap over quarterback Connor Shaw’s head, giving the Wildcats the ball at the South Carolina 10-yard line with 1:00 remaining in the half. Kentucky almost scored on its own fumble recovery but a Vic Hampton tackle saved a touchdown.

9. D.L. Moore missed another chance (and where’s Shaq?)

The senior from Bowling Green, Ky., was wide open in the end zone but dropped a perfectly thrown ball. He ended the night with no receptions. Moore has started three games this season, including Saturday, and has two catches, both for touchdowns. While he made a good impression this spring and in the preseason, he has had a number of drops in live games. Meanwhile, freshman Shaq Roland played late against Kentucky. He was targeted but had no catches. Roland (3-55 on the season) is still behind Ace Sanders (12-110, TD) and DeAngelo Smith (1-30, TD) at one of the receiver spots. Moore’s official backups are Nick Jones (3-55 on the year) and K.J. Brent (2-14).

10. Freshmen update: Gurley active again

T.J. Gurley remains the true freshman seeing the most playing time. Gurley backed up Brison Williams and had four tackles. Gurley has 12 tackles overall (as many as Damario Jeffery and Vic Hampton). Kaiwan Lewis continues to play mostly on special teams. Redshirt freshman tight end Drew Owens made the trip to Kentucky but did not play. True freshman spur Jordan Diggs also did not play, as Sharrod Golightly backed up DeVonte Holloman on Saturday.

This story was originally published October 1, 2012 at 2:05 PM with the headline "10 things we learned about the Gamecocks."