5 things we learned about South Carolina from its loss to Vanderbilt
The 2025 gut punch came on the second Saturday in September. The South Carolina football team lost 31-7 on Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium.
To Vanderbilt (3-0, 1-0 SEC).
Losses to Vanderbilt are usually omens of a nightmarish season, but those are rare. The Gamecocks had gone 16 straight games since last falling to the Commodores. George W. Bush was in office the last time a scoreboard had Vanderbilt on top of South Carolina.
But that streak died on Saturday. And now the question is simple: Will South Carolina’s season die with that streak?
Here are five things we learned from the Gamecocks’ loss.
1. The offense without LaNorris Sellers is a mess
A big reason to wonder if this 2025 season is headed for calamity is the health of quarterback LaNorris Sellers.
Late in the first half Saturday, Vanderbilt linebacker Langston Patterson burst through the South Carolina offensive line like a runaway freight train. Sellers never had a chance. Patterson flattened QB1 with a hit that officials deemed worthy of a targeting penalty and, thus, an ejection.
Sellers was on the ground for over a minute before trainers walked him back to the sideline. He went into the locker room just before halftime and spent the rest of the game in the training room.
Two things are unclear: One, what exactly is the injury? And two, how long will it keep him out?
Backup quarterback Luke Doty played in Sellers’ absence and, well, he was fine. Fine because his stats — 18 of 27 for 148 yards — were solid and his results were not.
The Gamecocks’ offense scored zero points in the second half. It lost two fumbles. Doty threw an interception. Running back Rahsul Faison was stuffed on 4th-and-1. Doty misfired on a 4th-and-3. The Gamecocks’ deficit grew and grew until Vanderbilt celebrated in an nearly-empty stadium.
2. The offense with Sellers is ... what?
OK, let’s say Sellers doesn’t get injured and doesn’t leave the game.
Does South Carolina win on Saturday? Whatever your answer — are you confident in that? Are you sure that the Gamecocks’ first-half offense was good enough to beat Vanderbilt?
You could say, Sellers runs up the middle and moves the chains on both of those fourth downs, and that’s convincing.
Just as convincing: The Gamecocks’ offense is broken. Or, at least, fractured.
South Carolina ran for just 86 yards Saturday. It converted just a third of its third-down tries (4 of 12).
Its offensive line still has enough miscues, enough miscommunication each game to jolt any sense of offensive rhythm. And then there are the turnovers. Both Sellers and Doty threw interceptions. The Gamecocks had a pair of fumbles. It missed a field goal. There were countless pre-snap penalties.
Any one of those things could have doomed the Gamecocks on Saturday, even with Sellers healthy and upright.
3. Nyck Harbor is the team’s best WR
South Carolina needed another Vicari Swain punt return touchdown. OK, not really. But the Gamecocks needed something. It needed someone to step up so spectacularly that Beamer could walk into the postgame press conference and say something like, “That’s why we spend so much time recruiting.”
Like with its wide receivers.
Instead, there was Nyck Harbor (4 catches, 66 yards) ... and everyone else.
Sophomore Mazeo Bennett has four catches in three games this season. Freshman Donovan Murph was only targeted twice (and caught both). Another freshman, Brian Rowe Jr., got the start on Saturday and caught three passes, but none went for more than 7 yards.
There is talent on this team. Tons of it. But aside from Harbor, it’s tough to see the talent on offense.
4. Gamecocks need more maturity from Dylan Stewart
It’s not clear if Gamecocks edge Dylan Stewart will play in the first half of the Missouri game. No, not because of any injury.
But because, when Saturday’s game was all but over, Stewart couldn’t keep his cool. After a play, there was some shoving between him and Vanderbilt offensive tackle Bryce Henderson, who was quite vocal this past week.
Then Stewart escalated it, swinging Henderson around and giving him a forceful shove ... right in front of a referee. Stewart was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and ejected from the game. It is still not known if that ejection will carry over to the Missouri game.
In any case, it was another case of Stewart getting pissed off during the course of a game and doing something to hurt his team. Maybe he’s getting held. Maybe offensive linemen are chirping at him. Maybe someone else started it.
Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.
And it doesn’t matter. When Stewart doesn’t keep his emotions in check, South Carolina loses.
5. Can South Carolina respond in the next two weeks?
I predicted before the season the Gamecocks would head into the bye week 5-0. I also thought that South Carolina’s playoff chances hinged on it starting 5-0 — just given how daunting its final five SEC games are.
Obviously, I was wrong about the 5-0 start.
Can the Gamecocks still make the playoff, though? Sure, though confidence in any turnaround hinges on Sellers’ health. It also hinges on how South Carolina responds next Saturday when it travels to play Missouri.
The Tigers (3-0) will be favorites, regardless of whether or not Sellers plays. They have won their first three games by a total of 108 points. Their quarterback, Beau Pribula, looks like one of the better quarterbacks in the SEC. Oh, and the Gamecocks haven’t won at Faurot Field since 2017.
It is not the ideal opponent after a loss like USC went through Saturday. But a South Carolina win could be a massive confidence booster, especially with it being followed up with a home game against lowly Kentucky and then a bye week.
This story was originally published September 14, 2025 at 7:01 AM.
