Five things we learned from South Carolina’s win over Vanderbilt
South Carolina beat Vanderbilt 37-14 on Saturday in Nashville, Tenn. Here are five things we learned from the victory:
South Carolina is still a solid team
In the two-week layoff caused by the cancellation of the Marshall game, there was a growing feeling within the team’s fan base and outside of Columbia that the Gamecocks might have been overrated to begin the season. They proved Saturday that they are still just fine. South Carolina dominated a decent Vanderbilt team, outgaining the Commodores 534-284 and averaging 7.0 yards per play. South Carolina has yet to arrive, but the Gamecocks proved against Vanderbilt that the loss to Georgia two weeks ago wasn’t the end of the season.
Javon Kinlaw is hitting his stride
Gamecock fans were sick with worry when Javon Kinlaw was helped off the field in the fourth quarter but were able to breath a smile a relief when a smiling and laughing Kinlaw showed up in the postgame interview room to reveal the injury was simply pain in his toe that he had feared was more serious. Until that time, Kinlaw was having maybe the best game of his career. He finished with five tackles, two sacks, three tackles-for-loss, two forced fumbles, two quarterback hurries and a pass breakup. He might be South Carolina’s best hope to slow down Kentucky running back Benny Snell on Saturday. If Kinlaw can get the same kind of penetration he got against the Commodores, it will make it much harder for the Wildcats to run the ball.
Rico Dowdle is ready for a breakout season
After an embarrassing gaffe against Georgia, junior running back Rico Dowdle rebounded with 112 yards on 20 carries. It was his second 100-yard rushing game of the season. In 17 career games entering the season, he had three 100-yard games. Dowdle has 42 carries for 235 yards this season, and he’s sixth in the SEC in rushing with 78.3 yards per game. (Kentucky’s Snell leads the SEC in rushing with 135 yards per game so expect to hear a lot about him this week.)
Deebo Samuel is getting used to attention
Deebo Samuel is tied for fourth in the SEC in receptions with 20 despite the fact that almost everyone else in the SEC has played four games instead of three. That’s not a surprise to anyone. What is surprising is that he’s 21st in yards per game at 48.3. Samuel is just the third-leading receiver on South Carolina’s team, behind Bryan Edwards (70.3 yards per game) and Shi Smith (63.7 yards per game). Edwards and Smith are having big seasons in part because of all the attention Samuel has been receiving, which is working out OK so far, but it’s clear that Samuel and his coaches want to get him going in a way they haven’t been able to yet this year.
Kentucky is for real
This is not something we learned from South Carolina’s game, but it’s something we learned Saturday that’s very important this week. The Wildcats thumped highly regarded and then-No. 14 Mississippi State 28-7 in Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky., where the Gamecocks will play on Saturday. Kentucky is now ranked No. 17 in the country. This will be the highest-ranked Wildcats team South Carolina has played since 2007 when the No. 11 Gamecocks beat No. 8 Kentucky 38-23. The Wildcats, as every South Carolina fan knows, have beaten South Carolina four consecutive seasons. “They’re a great team. They have a lot of great players,” South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley said. “They’re coached well. We have to go in there and play well. We are trying not to get too wrapped up in (the losing streak). Obviously, it’s there.”