USC defense settles in after fast Tennessee start

There weren’t any inspirational speeches or scheme adjustments to credit for how South Carolina’s defense responded to Tennessee’s quick 14-0 lead Saturday.

It was just a matter of settling down and making plays, USC coaches and players said.

“You’re never thrilled about falling down 14-0,” co-defensive coordinator Jon Hoke said. “We didn’t change what we were going to do. We executed better.”

The Volunteers led the Gamecocks by two scores just eight minutes into the game behind drives of 67 and 75 yards. In the 11 Tennessee drives that followed, USC’s defense allowed 13 more points, forced five punts and collected three turnovers.

“We just started playing, really,” said linebacker Skai Moore, who recorded a sack. “Everyone started tackling, getting in the right assignments and doing the right things.”

At 408 total yards, Tennessee’s offense was held below its season average of 424.1 yards per game. Of that, 322 yards came on five scoring drives.

The Vols’ rushing total of 153 yards was below its previous average of 214.1.

“We got a lot of people to the ball. We didn’t leave it to one man,” Hoke said. “That was the whole theme going into the game. You can’t leave it to one guy to make the tackle. We got as many people to the ball as we possibly could.”

Six Gamecocks made five or more tackles, led by T.J. Holloman with seven.

USC forced three turnovers after having none in the prior week’s loss to Texas A&M. Fumbles were caused by T.J. Gurley and Phillip Dukes and recovered by Marquavius Lewis and Holloman.

Cornerback Chris Lammons, who entered Saturday’s game after a shoulder injury to Al Harris, was credited with two pass breakups. USC left several turnovers on the field, Hoke said, including some missed interception opportunities by Lammons.

Linebacker Jonathan Walton, who had two tackles to go along with his first career touchdown while playing fullback, said the defense wasn’t as focused as it could have been during Tennessee’s quick start.

“Those first two drives were on us. Not everybody was locked in,” Walton said. “We had missed assignments. We just made adjustments to everybody doing the correct things. It was just a matter of settling down and getting into the swing of things.”

This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 10:17 PM with the headline "USC defense settles in after fast Tennessee start."