Predicting South Carolina football’s SEC game with Vanderbilt in Columbia
South Carolina’s season is teetering a touch.
After a blowout loss at Tennessee courtesy of a disastrous first quarter, the Gamecocks’ postseason aspirations are on borderline life support. But with SEC bottom feeder Vanderbilt (2-4, 0-2 SEC) coming to town Saturday, there is the possibility that this weekend could springboard USC (3-3, 0-3 SEC) into the back half of its slate.
Quarterback Luke Doty and running back Kevin Harris inspired in spurts despite the mess that was the opening 15 minutes in Knoxville a week ago.
Harris, who hasn’t been quite himself after an offseason back surgery and an undisclosed illness, looked closer to what we expected of him last weekend on Rocky Top. The Georgia native’s numbers weren’t otherworldly — 16 carries for 61 yards — but he did record his first two touchdowns of the season to give South Carolina a puncher’s chance early in the fourth quarter.
Doty, like Harris, has come on strong in recent weeks. After setting high-water marks for completions, yards and passing attempts against Troy, the former four-star recruit flashed the scrambling ability that made him so dynamic against the Volunteers. Doty finished his afternoon with 52 yards on five rushing attempts not including sack yardage. He was also a solid 19 of 31 for 167 yards through the air.
The Gamecocks could also stand to get more from receivers Josh Vann and Jalen Brooks. Vann still sits ninth in the SEC in receiving yards per game, but he hasn’t recorded more than 45 yards in a contest since exploding for 128 yards at No. 1 Georgia.
Brooks, too, excelled against Georgia and recorded a crucial touchdown catch in South Carolina’s near upset of a tricky Kentucky team, though he hasn’t recorded more than 63 yards in a game once this year.
After wowing over the season’s first month, South Carolina’s defense — and the secondary in particular — finally gave way in Saturday’s first half. Tennessee torched USC for almost 400 yards and 38 points in the opening 30 minutes alone.
Some of that had to do with senior safety R.J. Roderick’s first-half suspension due to a targeting call he received in the second half against Troy the week before. That said, the Gamecocks missed assignments and blew coverages as the Volunteers raced all over the USC secondary. That can’t happen a second week in a row.
Vanderbilt heads to Columbia where it has been for much of the past 50 years — at or near the bottom in just about every relevant statistical category in the SEC. The Commodores currently rank 12th in rushing offense, 14th in passing offense and 14th in scoring in the league. They haven’t been much better defensively, sitting 13th in rushing defense, 13th in scoring defense and 14th in passing defense.
Inefficiencies aside, South Carolina hasn’t been all that more impressive offensively. The Gamecocks still sit at or near the bottom of most every major offensive category in the SEC.
Something has to give Saturday.
South Carolina enters the weekend having won 12 consecutive matchups with Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks also hold an all-time mark of 26-4 in the series and only two of those losses have come in Columbia.
Vandy coach Clark Lea, like USC coach Shane Beamer, is in the midst of a massive overhaul. Vanderbilt has been a middle-of-the-pack SEC team on its best days outside of the minor miracle work former head coach James Franklin strung together between 2011 and 2013.
The Commodores have already won two games, which is major progress around Nashville. But this Vanderbilt team is still a three-touchdown underdog for a reason.
If USC can win Saturday with relative ease, it would give the Gamecocks some much-needed confidence ahead of a tricky matchup in College Station, Texas, next week against a Texas A&M squad that just beat No. 1 Alabama. The Aggies should still be heavy betting favorites in that one, but a win this weekend would alleviate some of the questions surrounding the Gamecocks’ program in the recent weeks.
South Carolina has already taken down one nautical-themed mascot this fall in East Carolina. Make it 2-for-2 on Saturday.
Hoist the sails, ready the cannons and prepare for battle. The Gamecocks should get SEC win No. 1 of the season when the Commodores sail into town.
— Prediction: South Carolina 38, Vanderbilt 14 —
