Three Up, Three Down: Vanderbilt

It wasn’t a flashy day for Ryan Hilinski and Dakereon Joyner, but it was efficient and that counts for something. Hilinski went 24-31 for 235 yards and two touchdowns. Joyner didn’t throw a pass, and only gained nine yards on his six carries, but he was a strong runner in short yardage and ran the zone-read effectively. South Carolina tended to go to Joyner between the 30s and basically run a spread option look.

Hilinski and Joyner also avoided mistakes. They had zero turnovers, and the worst mistakes were Hilinski’s illegal second forward pass and one run where Joyner tried to bounce outside instead of cutting upfield. That has been a trend all season, even in games where they have struggled. Hilinski currently has gone 167 pass attempts without an interception, the longest active streak in the nation and just 10 behind Connor Shaw’s school record.

2. Defense

Vanderbilt does not have the most explosive offense, especially after Riley Neal left with an injury, but neither did Tennessee and the Volunteers whipped the Gamecocks. South Carolina held Vanderbilt to 189 yards of total offense, with 77 yards coming on the opening drive. After that drive, Vanderbilt crossed midfield on its second drive before settling for a punt (a decision that looked bad at the time and even worse in hindsight). That punt was the last play Vanderbilt ran in South Carolina territory. Nine straight drives began and ended on Vanderbilt's side of the field. The 189 yards allowed was the fewest under Will Muschamp.

3. “Workmanlike” effort

Muschamp said it was a workmanlike win, and who am I to disagree. It was not a pretty game by any means, and the first quarter especially was pretty ugly. There was a point in the first half where it felt like the game was in danger of slipping away, despite only being down 7-0. But Muschamp and the coaching staff had a plan. They knew Vanderbilt couldn’t score without help (like three South Carolina penalties on the opening drive), and they kept it simple.

Patience was the key word. They called some downfield shots, and although none of them worked, they kept Vanderbilt from selling out against the run and Hilinski wisely didn’t force anything. He lived to play another down. Mostly that meant running the ball with safe plays. Even South Carolina’s only turnover came on a safe play, a run by Mon Denson, who is normally a reliable ball-carrier.

Plus, as I mentioned at halftime, South Carolina was only a couple of plays (the fumble and one of the defensive penalties) from a 21-0 halftime lead, and that would have looked a lot prettier. But even when the scoreboard didn’t reflect what was happening on the field, South Carolina stuck with its plan and didn’t panic.

THREE DOWN

1. Penalties

South Carolina committed 11 penalties for 94 yards, plus another penalty that was declined (more on that one later). That is way too many. There were three on the first defensive drive alone, two of which negated third down stops. The second was an offsides penalty on cornerback Israel Mukuamu, which should never happen.

“Lining up offsides is stupid,” Muschamp said after the game.

2. Injuries

There isn’t really anything you can do about injuries, they just happen. But the injury report on offense is starting to look like the injury report on defense at the end of last season. The Gamecocks finished the game using the former fifth-string running back, missing three of their top five receivers, and without their starting tackle, not to mention having long ago lost their starting quarterback. How much can they continue to overcome?

Deshaun Fenwick had a really good game at running back, but you’d still rather have Rico Dowdle and Tavien Feaster out there. And with the receiving corps, not only do you lose production, but also experience. That declined penalty I mentioned above? It was an illegal formation because the inexperienced receivers couldn’t get lined up correctly.

3. Red zone offense

South Carolina still hasn’t solved its red zone problems. It was just 3-5 Saturday. The first stop was due to a Mon Denson fumble, and the second was late in the fourth quarter when the game was decided, but South Carolina still ran three plays from the two and didn’t score.

South Carolina squandered a 35-yard punt return by Bryan Edwards (technically just outside the red zone), and could only muster a field goal following R.J. Roderick’s interception despite having first and goal at the seven. As I said above, I liked how South Carolina used Joyner in the run game, and I suspect they have some plays (passes) for him in the red zone that they didn’t want to show against Vanderbilt, but they need something.