Five things to watch: Vanderbilt

They host Vanderbilt, a team they've dominated for the last decade, but they're reeling after two straight losses, including a 41-21 defeat last week at Tennessee.

Before the game starts, we look at a few things to watch as South Carolina tries to keep their hopes of bowl eligibility alive this week.

Can the Gamecocks get some offensive consistency?

It's probably the biggest issue plaguing this year's team with the offense not able to get much going for long stretches of time. Whether it's Ryan Hilinski not being at 100 percent, freshmen mistakes, poor execution or poor play calling, the offense has sputtered at times recently, especially in the second half.

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While they may not need to put up 40 points to beat Vandy, it'll be important to put up a few points if possible to prove to themselves and the fan base they can go out and score in waves against a Power 5 team.

Cover zero issues

Vanderbilt isn't great defensively but they do somethings that could cause the Gamecocks problems. The Commodores play a lot of Cover Zero, which means they play man coverage with no safety help and blitz six or seven defenders.

South Carolina's offensive line hasn't been great in pass protection this year, especially with Dylan Wonnum out, which means Vanderbilt may have ample opportunity to pressure Hilinski.

Receiver resurgence

Keeping on that same track, with the 'Dores playing a lot of single-high safety or Cover Zero, it means the Gamecock receivers will have one-on-one opportunities with no deep help at times.

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If they can win their match-ups, South Carolina has a chance to put up points. They've had trouble with drops recently, and need to curb that down the stretch run and especially Saturday.

Will the front seven get pressure this week?

One of the biggest reasons South Carolina beat Georgia and hung with Florida for three quarters was because of the pressure Javon Kinlaw and the rest of the front seven caused.

That changed against Tennessee and it showed with the Vols, who kept seven or eight players in to protect, passing for 351 yards and racking up explosive play after explosive play.

Vanderbilt might use the same max-protect strategy Tennessee did, but the defensive front will need to get pressure to take some pressure off the secondary.

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Can the Gamecocks convert third downs Saturday?

They're currently next to last in the SEC on third down, converting at just a 32.2 percent clip. It's a big reason for the stagnation offensively, getting behind the sticks a lot and not being able to convert third and medium to long consistently.

Being a running team, the offense operates better when they get good yardages on first down, but it's been tough sledding recently.

They'll need to stay on the field Saturday against Vandy, and that usually means having to convert a third down or two each drive.