Defense ready to shed perception of last year's group

Ralph Webb guaranteed a victory. It seems like the Gamecock defense, which had been porous last season, took it personally.

It responded by holding Vanderbilt to 242 yards of total offense, the lowest total yards allowed since giving up only 230 to UCF last season and the least allowed in an SEC game since giving up 224 to Georgia in 2012.

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Now the Will-Muschamp-restructured defense turns its attention to Mississippi State. And if the Gamecocks do what they did against run-heavy Vanderbilt to a more balanced Bulldog offense, it could lead to more respect for a defense that’s lagged behind for the past two seasons.

“Honestly, if we just come out and play how T-Rob and Coach Muschamp want us to play, then we’re going to execute on all cylinders,” defensive lineman Dante Sawyer said, “we’re going to be that defense South Carolina used to be.”

Mississippi State is coming off being upset by South Alabama at home in a game where the offense put up almost 400 yards of offense against the Jags, helped in large part by 239 yards on the ground.

That means the Gamecocks, in order to stop the Bulldog march to the endzone, has to do what it did at Vanderbilt: stop the run and force an inexperienced quarterback to throw the ball.

First time starter Damian Williams put up struggled to put up big numbers last week, throwing for 143 yards on 28 attempts with one touchdown. He was consistent in the pocket, but South Carolina knows he can hurt teams with his legs. Williams was the Bulldogs’ leading rusher against South Alabama with 93 yards.

“We’re trying to make them a one-dimensional team, stop the run and make them pass the ball,” linebacker Jonathan Walton said. “That’s what we’re focusing on.”

The Gamecocks know they will be facing a hungry Mississippi State team eager to bounce back from the upset at home, and the Gamecocks are trying to prove they can play in the SEC after winning just one conference game last season.

The Bulldogs have highly-touted recruit Jeffrey Simmons playing Saturday, coming off a one-game suspension for domestic violence over the offseason. Walton admitted it’s hard to gauge this team because last week was uncharacteristic, but does know it should be a tough battle from the start.

“We’re both hungry and we’re both ready to come back and fight for something,” Walton said. “We’ve both got something to lose.”

If South Carolina can do what few expected outside of the team and start undefeated in the SEC, then it could add confidence to a defense trying to earn respect in a tight SEC East race.

But for Walton, he knows one (or two) games don’t define a defense’s prowess. He said it’s going to take an entire season of doing what it did at Vandy for the defense to gain respect.

“We have to do that consistently throughout the year to earn that respect,” Walton said. “We had a down year so we have to prove to everybody what we can do.”